[double00]

LisaP4, is your advice offering a tongue in the cheek?
Each day I run my layout for a few hours, and after each session is over, at least rail head require a wipe over with a clean dry cloth - the deposit left on the cloth resembles that of graphite grease and certainly any deposit on your fingers require lots of soap and scrubbing to remove from the skin of the fingers.

 

[double00]

LisaP4 - Sorry no offence intended - can you enlighten me as to how often do you run and length of duration that the locomotives traverse over your layout's track?
I must admit in my being more than interested in reducing this chore in cleaning the rails after at least two hours continuous running of the rolling stock. In what I hear and have read, 99% of modellers suffer from this complaint.
I still maintain that the fault lies in the metal used in the rail manufacture and a reaction to the metal when an electricity current is passed through the rail and taken up by another metal found in the form of the rolling stock wheels.