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Post by boxcarwilly on Oct 26, 2013 14:03:58 GMT -5
I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to how I might keep loads on my flatcars? Up to now I have been using Scotch brand double sided tape, but I find it too awkward to work with and it tends to leave a sticky residue when I remove it. I'm looking for something more efficient, easy to handle, and yet be inconspicuous while between the load and car deck. The same application would be helpful for my Stackwell container cars. I have a number of containers of different lengths and just slightly different widths and using the double sided tape doesn't always work well to secure them. I was thinking of some kind of magnet but I can't find anything thin enough that can be hidden. Any ideas?
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Post by tjdreams on Oct 26, 2013 15:57:18 GMT -5
Have you tried "Tacky Wax"
or how about "Fugitive Glue" sometimes called "glue dots". (it's the sticky stuff that hold credit cards to the paper)
I think you can get both at most any craft store.
I have used tacky wax with some success but it is tempter sensitive too hot or too cold and it will loose it's adhesiveness. Which may help in your case, just pop the car in the fridge for a bit and the load should lift right off
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Post by boxcarwilly on Oct 27, 2013 10:40:40 GMT -5
I've never heard of either of these. There's a couple of craft stores just a few blocks from here, I'll have to check them out to see if they carry this stuff. Interesting. Thanks TJ.
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Post by markm on Oct 27, 2013 15:32:57 GMT -5
Boxcar,
I guess it depends on the type of loads. I've had some success with magnetic strips cut from flexable magnetic sheets on the load and small pieces of steel on the rolling stock.
Mark
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Post by boxcarwilly on Oct 28, 2013 11:28:07 GMT -5
Hey Mark.
The loads I'm referring to are those that come with the cars. You know the one's I'm talking about. Nothing fancy. Lumber, pipe, that sort of thing. I've given a great deal of consideration to those strips but they are extremely hard to find here, at least in the size I'd like. Almost paper thin. The thinnest I can find is 1/32". Still too thick to be discrete. But I wonder if I could cut very fine strips and use them like dunage on the car deck and the bottom of the load and put them side by each. HUMMMMM!!!!!!
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Post by markm on Oct 28, 2013 12:58:44 GMT -5
Willy,
I'm cheap. I used the refrigerator magnets that my doctor, dentist and insurance agent sent me in the mail. The magnetic sheets can be cut with a shop knife. The wonderful thing about magnets is that cut one in half and you have two magnets (although each is a bit weaker). I've been able to hide them in loads like lumber and use thin steel on the car, which is easier to find in thin stock. I've tried cutting out parts of the wood deck on the car and replacing it with metal. I've also tried adding small blocks of steel underneath the car made to look like an equipment box. The biggest issue I've had is keeping the magnet attraction strong enough to hold the load without being too strong that it becomes difficult to remove without derailing the car or affecting the MTL turnouts (which have a small magnet inside). I've found magnets from other household items like pot holders to be too strong.
Hope this helps,
Mark
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Post by boxcarwilly on Oct 29, 2013 12:27:11 GMT -5
Mark.
That's a great idea. The attraction doesn't have to be all that strong, just enough to hold the load in place since the cars aren't traveling that fast especially around curves to make centrifical force push the load off the deck. That might work and you're right about the turnouts. Have to watch out for them. I'm wondering if a small piece of tin foil on the deck of the flat car might be enough to attract these magnets? The other thing is the containers on my Stackwells. Pieces of these magnets would be ideal for those containers that have a recessed bottom plate, but that only solves half the problem. There is no place to put a piece on the top of the container below that wouldn't be showing. I don't want that. I'd have to have something strong enough to attach to the inside of the roof of the container. I don't think these frig magnets have enough strength to pull through even that small amount of plastic, do they?
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Post by markm on Oct 29, 2013 13:19:24 GMT -5
Willy,
Using magnets is an on-going project with me, so I would appreciate any insights you discover. You actually need to use a steel foil with the magnets, but there are some adhesive-backed thin steel foils that are used in electronics. I'm afraid I don't know the source of the foil I have.
The containers I have are built with a steel bottom. I think that a piece of magnetic sheet inside on the roof would be enough to hold them together. I've found some of the sheets I've used are quite powerful and will hold through the sides and roof of MTL boxcars.
Mark
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Post by boxcarwilly on Oct 30, 2013 12:59:37 GMT -5
Thanks Mark.
I'll have to investigate this further. Based on what you have said about the foil, I'm thinking that maybe aluminum foil might be sufficient for the flatcar loads as long as pieces were cut small enough to be hidden by the load itself, and the thin metal sheeting for the containers glued in place inside roofs of containers might also be what I need. Interesting.
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Post by markm on Oct 30, 2013 13:43:01 GMT -5
Willy,
Just one thing I have to correct: aluminum foil is not magetic.
Mark
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Post by Kez on Oct 30, 2013 21:21:52 GMT -5
I use the white "Sticky Tack". It's a gum-like substance that never dries out, and never loses its mild but effective sticky properties. I swear by the stuff for many uses.
You should be able to find it at any hardware store in the picture hanging section.
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