# Magnetic load switching?



## Wildisme (Aug 5, 2016)

Not sure if this exists or not. I feel like I've seen it somewhere but I could very well be wrong. 

With my sons table I just finished. It has a point to point trolley that ends inside of a tunnel in the hill. 

Looking forward I know I plan to make myself a larger table once we buy our new house. This got me to thinking of a point to point running coal out of the mountain. What I'm curious about is if there is such a thing as a car load that rotates inside the car? Where it can go into the hill empty, go over a magnet that pulls the load up into place, then return to a refinery elsewhere, and have a different magnet that pulls the load back down or rotates it to make the car look as though it has dumped its load before returning to the mine. 

Due to the way it would work I would assume it could only be setup for 1-2 cars to work as it would need to make the change when the sensor stops it for its delay and reverse. 

Does such a thing exist? Or anything like this where a load can be made to look empty and then filled without manual change?


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## Cannon0006 (Dec 5, 2015)

the small size of N-scale does work against you here, the magnet would have to be powerful enough to flip the load, but weak enough it doesn't lift the car off the track, or disrupt any delicate electronics nearby.

Its doable, but it may require an experimental phase to accomplish


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## Wildisme (Aug 5, 2016)

The best idea I could think of is to do a load cut in half. Then have each side hinged against the wall at the top of the car. 

One side with a thin strip of metal in edge and the other with a thin magnet strip. This would keep the load closed(loaded) while moving. Then have a strong magnet under the track at each end. One opposing force to cause the load to close. And one on the other end of the track to pull the load down and desperate the two pieces. 

Does this type of thing exist in larger scales? Something to model after? Or is this something that has not been done?


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Another way*



Wildisme said:


> The best idea I could think of is to do a load cut in half. Then have each side hinged against the wall at the top of the car.
> 
> One side with a thin strip of metal in edge and the other with a thin magnet strip. This would keep the load closed(loaded) while moving. Then have a strong magnet under the track at each end. One opposing force to cause the load to close. And one on the other end of the track to pull the load down and desperate the two pieces.
> 
> ...


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## Wildisme (Aug 5, 2016)

traction fan said:


> Wildisme said:
> 
> 
> > The best idea I could think of is to do a load cut in half. Then have each side hinged against the wall at the top of the car.
> ...


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Very interesting idea.

My first thought is to use the standard foam
coal loads but with a thin metal strip glued to the
bottom. Ensure the load can move without
binding. Then, at the power plant, use a controllable electromagnet
to remove the load. The magnet should be
movable (maybe a pulley or lever system) to
drop the load in a bin then move back for
the next load.

You could have the same type of system in
the mine tipple to place the load in the hopper
cars.

Or, in the mine tipple you could have the 'loads'
on a conveyor of some sort so that one by one
they could drop into the hopper cars.

Sounds like quite a challenge. 

Don


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