# Intermodal Containers question



## ftauss (Sep 18, 2012)

At a recent train show I saw the Kato 53' articulated well cars. I see quite a bit of them behind NS locos so I bought the set. 

Fantastic! Looked great. Ran great. The containers they supplied had magnets and dimples to keep them in place when double stacking.

I also bought 2 sets of Walther's 305' articulated well cars from e**y. I got both of them for the Buy It Now price of other sets. Patience is key. They have Rapidos so I'll need to something about that pretty quick. 

So far I've only found Kato and JTU that have magnets and apparently not all the JTUs have them and they are more expensive. I've found Con-Cor, Atlas, Micro Trains, Kato and JTU. JTU does sell magnet kits to upgrade to magnetic for theirs, Atlas's, and one other company's non-magnetic containers.

I went and bought 9 containers from e**y. They do not have magnets in them. What do you guys use to double stack if there are no magnets? I buy another 2 pack of Kato and a JTU set with magnets. 

Has anyone tried the 1:150 scale "architectural" model containers. They are very inexpensive have lots of different markings but despite their claim that they will fit in a N Scale 53' well car I'm a bit leery. 

Thanks
Frank


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## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

"I feel your pain" regarding the cost of the JTU models. Here maybe 250 miles from the Port of Seattle, re-painted 20-footers are a common sight on construction and industrial sites. But at ~$22 a pair for N scale, they're too expensive to use for scenery. I'm buying up as many of those ~$7 Walthers 40-ft Hi-cubes (and BLMA 16-ft PODS) as I can get. 

Also, I'm not familiar with "architectural" model containers but be aware that 1:150 is considered "N scale" by some Japanese manufacturers, notably Tomytec/Tomix. Your concern is justified.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Add your own magnets?/Magnet tape?*



ftauss said:


> At a recent train show I saw the Kato 53' articulated well cars. I see quite a bit of them behind NS locos so I bought the set.
> 
> Fantastic! Looked great. Ran great. The containers they supplied had magnets and dimples to keep them in place when double stacking.
> 
> ...




Frank;

Containers would be way too modern for my layout, so I have not actually done this.

Can you add your own magnets, or a strip of magnet tape, to your containers? Home Depot sells rolls of magnet tape, and magnets. Including some little round ones that are small enough to fit inside an N-scale container. They are about 1/4" in diameter and 1/16" thick. They are very powerful, rare earth type, magnets, so I would use magnets only on the bottom of the containers, and a thin sheet of steel as a new, cut-to size, top for each container. When two of these little devils stick to each other, they are very hard to get apart. I've had to use an X-actro knife blade, wedged between the two, in order to pry them away from each other.

If the model containers are hollow, you can glue the magnets inside. If the containers are solid plastic castings, you could drill a shallow, magnet diameter sized, hole in the bottom, and then glue the magnet flush with the bottom of the container. It would also be possible to melt the magnet into the container by setting the magnet on an inverted container, and then pushing a hot soldering iron down on the magnet. It will soon get hot enough to melt its way into the plastic.

Quite a bit easier would be to use magnet tape. The downside is that the tape is 1/16", or one N-scale foot, thick. The modified container would therefore be a foot too high. I don't know if that would matter to you. The magnet tape is sticky on one side, so it will stick to the plastic container. Magnetically, the tape is quite weak. This is the same stuff that is stuck to the back of many decorative refrigerator magnets. You could again use a thin sheet steel roof and tape on the bottom of each container. With either of these modifications, you will need to paint the new top, and bottom, parts to match the container.

Good luck, Have fun;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


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## ftauss (Sep 18, 2012)

I have 9 of them that I bought fairly cheap. Some of the markings are a little rough so a repaint might not be a bad idea.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

ftauss said:


> I have 9 of them that I bought fairly cheap. Some of the markings are a little rough so a repaint might not be a bad idea.



Most containers get messed up from use.
They either travel the roads or rail or worse yet are subjected to the salt water when on ships.

Maybe you want to keep some with the beat up look?


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## ftauss (Sep 18, 2012)

Big Ed, right you are. Tractionfan I had a thought to follow up. Since the ones with magnets have them top and bottom maybe I could just add magnets to the bottom of the ones without magnets and put them on the ones with magnets. Only the nonvisible side gets marked up. 

Frank


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Sounds good, but...*



ftauss said:


> Big Ed, right you are. Tractionfan I had a thought to follow up. Since the ones with magnets have them top and bottom maybe I could just add magnets to the bottom of the ones without magnets and put them on the ones with magnets. Only the nonvisible side gets marked up.
> 
> Frank


Frank;

That sounds like a good plan. One caution though, If you buy the little magnets I described from Home Depot, remember they are super powerful. If they are close to another magnet (the one already in the lower container) they may stick too well. I don't know what type of magnets are already in the containers. Unless they are also very powerful, there should not be a problem. You might try your idea on one container, and then make sure you can pull it off easily. 

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


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## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

While we're on the subject, I bought a pair of those ~$20/pair JTC 20-footers. *The good news:* The signage on the door end is very accurate. *The bad news:* They can't sit side by side because the magnets in the bases repel each other!


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## ftauss (Sep 18, 2012)

One other thing. If buying off of Fleabay be wary. I searched on "n scale 53' container". The ads did not state size so I ***-u-med it was N scale. Duh. That is what I searched for.

The freaking things are big enough to park an n scale engine in. HO scale.  I have already arranged to return them.

Grrr.
Frank


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*magnet flip?*



GNfan said:


> While we're on the subject, I bought a pair of those ~$20/pair JTC 20-footers. *The good news:* The signage on the door end is very accurate. *The bad news:* They can't sit side by side because the magnets in the bases repel each other!


GNfan;

Can you get at one of the magnets and flip it over?

regards;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


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## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

traction fan said:


> GNfan;
> Can you get at one of the magnets and flip it over?


Like a lot of these, the floor appears to be made of a different material, and I suppose you could probably pry it out and remove the magnets. I was just surprised to see it, and it makes me wonder if these things "play nice" with decoupling magnets.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Uncouple,? Jump?*



GNfan said:


> Like a lot of these, the floor appears to be made of a different material, and I suppose you could probably pry it out and remove the magnets. I was just surprised to see it, and it makes me wonder if these things "play nice" with decoupling magnets.


GNfan;

I doubt the magnets inside your containers would cause an unplanned uncoupling. Even riding low in a well car, they wouldn't be close enough to the couplers to interfere with them. Also the container magnets are likely "aimed" downward, in terms of their magnetic field. Uncoupling magnets create a sideways field in order to swing the steel trip pins out to the sides. It's not that easy to take any old magnet and uncouple Micro-Trains couplers. The magnet(s) need to be set up right.

However, it may possibly be that a magnet-equipped container might try jumping upward, or trying to stick the car down on the uncoupler, (depending on magnet orientation) when it passes over one. Only trying will tell for certain, but again the vertical vs. horizontal field orientation would probably prevent this. Try it and see.

regards;

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:


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## GNfan (Jun 3, 2016)

GNfan said:


> Like a lot of these, the floor appears to be made of a different material, and I suppose you could probably pry it out and remove the magnets.


*Update:* It turns out that all that holds the floor in is magnetic attraction between the magnet glued to the inside of the floor and the little metal plate glued to the inside of the roof. The floors come out easily and are the one place where these aren't detailed. Since mine are destined to be scenery, I took the floors and magnets out. 

These are strong little magnets. I don't have a well car to see what would happen if one of these passed over a Micro-trains uncoupling magnet set between the rails. Someone should try it.


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