Time to visit this subject again. For a couple years I've been using Goo Gone in my TTX tank track cleaning car. Since I don't operate often (mainlines tend to get covered with styrene, paper, tools, etc!) I didn't think it unusual to have to run the track cleaning train over all trackage prior to operating. But I've started to notice I need to clean track even after a week or two of inactivity. Sound decoders make the contact problem much more obvious than it was without them. For awhile I thought it was the loco pickups. So I decided to switch to Aero Cars track cleaning fluid. I also had a feeling that the adjustment screw on the TTX car would open slightly as the car ran around the layout, due to vibration, and resulted in too much fluid being dispensed. So I proceeded as follows: First I used an old t shirt (clean!) moistened with fluid and rubbed the mainline rails (240') I'll get to the secondary trackage later. I removed a lot of black gunk! But did not attempt to keep rubbing till no black appeared, as it never seemed to stop. Then I made up a track cleaning train consisting of the TTX car (dry), a Centerline car (dry) and two Athearn boxcars with masonite blocks mounted. I let this run for over an hour. The nice new clean cloth on the two cars displayed some black, the masonite blocks had silvery streaks on them. I then cleaned the wheels on a dozen freight cars, and on my Athearn 2-8-2. Now I've badmouthed the tractive effort of this loco before, so won't do it here. However, it used to pull maybe 7 cars up a 34" radius 2% helix, now it was only 3! I put it aside, used my Bachmann Mountain, it pulled the 12 cars up, bur slipped in doing so. It wouldn't have before. Next I cleaned the wheels on 9 Walthers Budd cars and a PA. This train has run around the layout for a long time. It couldn't make the grade! Only managed 6 cars. so I am led to believe the AeroCar cleaner leaves the rails quite slick, tho Blake says he uses it without having this problem. Perhaps it is just a combo of Goo Gone residue and the new cleaner. The next night I cleaned the mainline again, with a clean dry t shirt material, then ran the fresly cleaned track cleaning train around for another hour. Still evidence of black stuff on the rails. Pickup however seems flawless. Traction on that helix a bit better, but not much. Hopefully several repeat performances will continue to improve traction. I think I will try to stick to dry cleaning methods, using fluid very sparingly only when and where needed. If anyone has had similar results I'd like to hear how things worked out.