Redore My advice, from personal experience, is that magnetite and model railroads do not mix, no matter how well it is secured. The magnetite particles and dust get into motors and anything else connected to the motors with a steel shaft. Don't do it.
My advice, from personal experience, is that magnetite and model railroads do not mix, no matter how well it is secured. The magnetite particles and dust get into motors and anything else connected to the motors with a steel shaft. Don't do it.
It's good advice but that is what will set my layout apart from most others. All my loads will be real Nova Scotia materials. Real materials will be used in structures and ground cover.
I have been running a lifetime trial for four months now using many unprotected real Nova Scotia loads in open hoppers and gondolas. These loads include gypsum, magnetite, barite, scrap metal, coal, ocean driftwood, and soon pyrite. Two DC trains have been running pulling all of these cars plus an assortment of other car types. I have had loads spill onto the tracks and cleaned up without any noticable degradation in train performance. This lifetime trial is set up in its own location and will continue indefinitely using the two dedicated locomotives. So far not a single problem.
I live in northern Minnesota where magnetite is mined for iron ore, and magnetite dust is mixed in with everything around here. My advice, from personal experience, is that magnetite and model railroads do not mix, no matter how well it is secured. The magnetite particles and dust get into motors and anything else connected to the motors with a steel shaft. Don't do it.
If you need the sparkly black, use some other non metallic mineral. If you need the magnetic properties, imbed a piece of steel.
Oh, there is one last thing I can post in this thread as I begin to design sensors for animation. This is my magnetic test car with 72 ceramic magnets attracted to eachother and to the metal car floor. They are not going to move no matter how fast the train goes.
All ready to paint today. Did I mention the company can also make yummy-looking fake Oh Henry bars (this one not HO scale)? End of thread - thank you. P.S. Will look up track cleaning articles in my model railroad magazine collection today.
Finally, a top layer of 'concrete' mix is applied. Note that the block is sitting on a piece of paper from stickers - easily removed later.
Four pieces of magnetite are embedded into the block on the top of an initial layer of 'concrete' mix.
The ingredients are thouroughly mixed until the wood glue begins to get a little sticky.
A gram of Cape Blomidon red sandstone is added as a filler. Colour doesn't matter for this block because it will be painted in a concrete colour after it fully cures.
Next they add 2 grams of LePage quick dry wood glue.
In this case the company is making a concrete block out of Windsor gypsum particles. Three grams are measured.
Designing sensors that actually do neat things will take some design and testing work so I'll wrap up this thread with a few pictures showing you how Rusty Steele and Sons Ltd. embed pieces of magnetite in their block products. This is one in progress that they started last night. First they dip into their stock of processed red and grey sandstones, shale, coal, and gypsum - all gathered from field trips in and around my real layout area on/near the Bay of Fundy.
Indeed this sample has a capacitance of 0.015 nF (nanoFarads). It may be necessary to take this type of capacitance into account in some circuit designs.
When two magnetite layers are separated by a dielectric (the hard brown stone in the middle may be the mineral jasper) the sample may exhibit electrical capacitance.
In order to incorporate magnetite as a sensor component, its electrical properties need to be understood. In this photo you can see that a continuous electrical path exists between the ohmmeter probes giving a near-zero electrical resistance. In other words, as already mentioned, the magnetite is an excellent electrical conductor.
Seagull standing on his favourite rock. I can move the gull anywhere there is embedded magnetite and he won't easily fall down.
By mixing fast-drying wood glue with shale particles and magnetite powder, Rusty Steele and Sons, Ltd. (the name of my HO scale metal scrapyard) makes large blocks for building foundations and retaining walls. This type of block, one of several Steele products, is attracted to magnets because of the embedded magnetite. This morning I glued a small piece of ceramic magnet that I broke yesterday to the feet of an HO scale seagull. The seagull-on-ceramic-magnet (that looks like a rock) can now be moved anywhere in the layout where there is metal.
gmpullman I'm pretty sure it was an idea from RR_Mel (Melvin Perry) but using the MR forum search I can not find the original thread!
I'm pretty sure it was an idea from RR_Mel (Melvin Perry) but using the MR forum search I can not find the original thread!
There are many articles on track cleaning in my model railroad magazine library that dates back to the 1950s. I'll have a look there and post my findings.
rrinker I certainly noticed that classic vintage Leader meter you have there I have a few vintage meters as well as some more modern ones.
I certainly noticed that classic vintage Leader meter you have there I have a few vintage meters as well as some more modern ones.
Well that tells my age LOL. I bought it brand new in the late 1970s I believe. Still in great condition and works as well as when I bought it.
OldSchoolScratchbuilderBTW that magnetic pick-up car is a great idea!
Thanks, Ed
OldSchoolScratchbuilder Excellent advice! In my case, all ferrous/ferric materials will be sealed, including the ore in the hopper cars. Also note the multimeter in my pics. Everything is tested for electrical conductivity. BTW that magnetic pick-up car is a great idea!
Excellent advice! In my case, all ferrous/ferric materials will be sealed, including the ore in the hopper cars. Also note the multimeter in my pics. Everything is tested for electrical conductivity. BTW that magnetic pick-up car is a great idea!
I certainly noticed that classic vintage Leader meter you have there I have a few vintage meters as well as some more modern ones. Can be a whole separate hobby, collecting and restoring vintage test equipment. So far I have mostly resisted.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Hi, OldSchool
OldSchoolScratchbuilderMagnetite is also electrically conductive, I'll exploit this property as well, so you don't want to short out all your electronics or even breathe in the dust.
I'm sure you have considered this but just to mention so that others who may want to use landscape or ballast materials on their layouts that anything electrically conductive is liable to wreak havoc at the rails and switch points or especially motors and speakers that have magnets.
I came across some cinder ballast material, commercially made, but it still had a large percentage of ferrous material in it. If it had been used as ballast it surely would have acted just like a BIG resistor across the rails.
So, I caution anyone against using conductive/metallic materials around their electronics.
I occasionally run this magnetic pick-up car and I'm amazed what it finds in the track-bed.
Some locomotives have low-mounted speakers (in the fuel tanks) and you surely wouldn't want this stuff in your speakers!
Thanks for the informative thread!
Regards, Ed
Two other important sensor components that I have used in the past are (1) electrically-conductive copper decals and (2) spring-loaded micro-electronic contacts. HO scale train wheels show you how small these contacts are, and they have springs inside!
... and they crush to pieces easily! By now you may be inclined to think that scientists like to break stuff - you would be right. The pieces are now better suited to HO scale applications.
Indeed, these magnets are quite strong for their size ...
Another component of magnetic sensor systems that I will design for this layout is the ceramic magnet. These 18-mm-diameter magnets won't rust and can be glued to many other materials. I buy packs of 100 discs on Amazon.
So, back in the lab, that massive piece of magnetite has been crushed and sorted. I filled a hopper with real iron ore from Nova Scotia (I can change the scale and use smaller pieces at a later date). Some of the larger pieces will be used in scenery or embedded as part of a magnetic sensor system. Smaller pieces like those in the jar will be used in the fabrication of HO scale items that can be set into motion under the influence of a magnetic field. The powder/fine particles in the beaker on the scale can be used in building materials. I will be demonstrating some of these ideas as the weekend progresses.
I use a variety of sieves to separate particle sizes according to my anticipated applications. If I can't find a sieve with the hole size I need, I make one by punching lots of holes in a tin/aluminum can.