Using neodymium magnets between the sleepers

Hi Ron.   Thank you for your reply.  As yet I haven't purchased a Dremel, maybe one day? I do have a knife with some spare blades though. All the best. Kevin

Hi Ron.  Fitting Neodymium 3mm cube magnets between code 75 rails versus Kadee magnet.                                   My Weller Dual Heat soldering gun has a special flat bit for melting/ cutting plastic would that be okay( assuming that I fitted Kadee magnets in code 75) to deal with the sleepers? Or could the plastic be toxic?
All the best. Kevin

Buffers -that's why you make your own prongs, bit wider, stronger magnets.

Nigel

Hi Nigel.   Thank you ,but, I don't follow you there , I. am not ceratain what you mean "make your own prongs". A bit wider , stronger? Wider Stronger that what???    All the best. Kevin

[user=1801]Passed Driver[/user] wrote:

Hi Ron.  Fitting Neodymium 3mm cube magnets between code 75 rails versus Kadee magnet.                                   My Weller Dual Heat soldering gun has a special flat bit for melting/ cutting plastic would that be okay( assuming that I fitted Kadee magnets in code 75) to deal with the sleepers? Or could the plastic be toxic?
All the best. Kevin

Kevin, melting the plastic if it ends up nice and neat and close to the rails - yes but I would not like to say about the fumes…

Hi Ron.   Thank you for your reply. It is the fragility of the Dremel blades and having to wear " steaming hot safety goggles " that concerned me. I will revisit the 3 mm cube Neodymium magnets once I have checked the pins on the Kadee gauge.    All the best. Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Google Rix Uncoupler, they look like a tuning fork with magnets on the inner face of the prongs. As the width needs to be wider than HO stock, and the buffers get in the way, a stronger magnetic field is called for. Which means bigger magnets. Magnetic fields are like all EM radiation, intensity falls off rapidly with distance (cube root or thereabouts). Although all bets are probably off with steel buffers.

Soldering irons and plastic sleepers? Not recommended. Tough to clean the iron afterwards and the plastic decomposes into a myriad of toxic products. If they're glued down us a sharp 1/4" chisel and soft mallet. Dremel cut-off blades will also melt the plastic. You need the cutting blade.

Nigel

Hi Nigel.  Thank you again.   As it so happens I own such a beast, and a mallet to bash? It with. All very technical But I think with a little bit of pressure I could slice through it without waking the neighbours.  Kevin

A link to a short article with photos by somebody who tried the Rix uncoupler with UK stock followed by a photo of one.

Rix Uncoupling Tool - for Kadees | Model Railway Forum

Hi Gene.  Thank you for the info. You have given me an idea. If I cannot get either the already purchased Kadee magnets to function or indeed likewise with the Neodymium , I will try a lineside structure i.e. a pair of platforms or similar to blend in with the depot.  But there is one very  important question ? How many magnets are set in each prong of this gadget??? And the Polarity of the magnets???  All the best  Kevin.   

Kevin, the Rix uncoupler has one magnet per side & if my memory is good, how to place them into the plastic holder is explained in the instructions that come with it.
https://rixproducts.com/product/rix-uncoupling-tool-ho/

but to make them work on UK outline, it has to be modified as per that modelrailforum link that Gene provided


and now  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ0AeE26zCk

Hi Ron.   Thank you for your reply. I am going to persist with the Neodymium magnets/ Kadee first, as I'd rather keep my "hands off". I have become all too aware of my clumsy hands for the "hands on apptpoach". (Apart from enjoying my travels half way round the World by Train and Plane over the the last fifty years) I would have been better off sticking with model railways then I would have lost touch with the hobby, so much. All the best. Kevin

Hi Ron.  Thank you. But there is a problem, I laid the track direct on the baseboard , no cork underlay .  Kevinj

Well then Kevin, you will have to use a sharp blade & slowly cut the baseboard out.

Hi Kevin,

Or a Dremel with a milling/router bit on the end (which is what I use for small depressions/holes). Salutary lesson here - always use underlay, even in yards.

That said, why not simply use the Kadee 321 or 322 and just cut the sleepers out and shim to the correct height. Paint it yellow or rust and it looks like one of those protective metal plates that cover rods, wires, power lines. Or make it part of a vehicle crossing and paint wood planks on it.

Or simply remove that section of track, dig a hole, and replace.

Nigel

Hi Nigel.  Thank you for your reply.  If only I had gone for either code 100 or a Cork underlay???   Maybe one day?   We cannot dwell on previous errors though.  All the best. Kevin

[user=1632]BCDR[/user] wrote:

Hi Kevin,

Or simply remove that section of track, dig a hole, and replace.

Nigel

And Kevin , that is what I would do myself.
 It has been known on the D&S for me to rip out existing ballasted turnouts & tracks  & re-lay them with changes.
One such change as suggested by a crew member, was to remove a diamond and one turnout and add a Y & a 3 way to give a run around for flexibility. The diamond & turnout was already ballasted.

Part of the hobby…  I am not the only one on YMR to replace turnouts in existing ballasted areas..

Hi Ron. Thank you for your reply .  I am certain that is excellent advice, and I do hope and believe that if I ever get to the stage where I can build a permanent layout I will be able to follow all the tips that YMRC members have given me.I returned to the hobby with a bang, plenty of ideas which "led into a siding" . First I built a four part, clamp together, baseboard . I was going to build a small branchline in Kent, I went ahead and purchased a " two car push pull unit" and I was full of ideas, until I found that the "Hawkhurst branch" had already been built. I still have the baseboard , and it is currently being used as a "correct height"  work bench, I have mostly BR (S) stock. Being a Southerner I still hold the dream of a "Man Cave" with a line somewhere in Kent, or even down to Exeter. Meantime I am developing my skills with the shunting planks and a lot of Passenger Stock packed away in crates ready for that day which seems a long way off. Then I will probably be too old to build lt???  All the best. Kevin

Hi Ron.   Thank you for your advice, but, when I with my Ham Fisted ways, rip out track, it is only fit for the Bin. no matter how careful I am, once it has been laid, tested, and okay it gets ballasted, even the cheap "pound shop "
Product will not move it  after soaking ( and risking the baseboard ) it takes a lot of persuasion to shift it.
Would you give me the heads up, on your method.  All the best. Kevin

Kevin, when I glue my ballast, it is with a mix of PVA & water- 40%PVA to water 60%  and then spray the track and ballast with "wet" water that is water with a drop or two of detergent that allows liquid to spread. Then I dribble the watery PVA over the lot being careful at turnouts. Granted it may take a few hours to dry - so what?

Now to remove the track later , I just respray with normal water and using a paint scraper, scrape & lift, yes, it gets messy  but that is OK, can be cleaned up. My baseboards don't get ruined.
My friend around the corner from me, has for many years, reused track & turnouts from more layouts he has built than I have had hot dinners.
 When I lift mine, the track, etc gets soaked in the bath to allow a wire brush to remove the rest of the ballast