Walthers Maersk/Sealand Container??

tehachapifan Jan 24, 2007

  1. tehachapifan

    tehachapifan TrainBoard Member

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  2. loco1999

    loco1999 TrainBoard Supporter

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  3. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    Maybe get an undec silver container and find some Micro Scale decals?
    No one has the container thing right in N scale. Walthers has the best interlocking system, Kato ups it a notch with magnets (but makes containers in all but two roadnames: JB Hunt and EMP) and deLuxe has an impressive plethora of road names but is too lazy to use interlocking pins, so we are expected to use their container putty which is unreliable and causes misalignment due to temperature, humidity and vibration conditions.
     
  4. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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  5. jagged ben

    jagged ben TrainBoard Member

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    Actually the Kato roadnames are BSNF and EMP. JB Hunt would be nice.

    I'VE got the container thing right...:). It involves magnets...I keep meaning to take some pictures and show you guys. Guess I should do that...
     
  6. Kel N Scale

    Kel N Scale TrainBoard Member

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    EMP and BNSF... JB Hunt doesn't have any containers this style..

    Now, you can get NACS and Hub Group decals from Microscale for those BNSF cans...

    Kel
     
  7. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    WHERE DID YOU GET THE MAGNETS??? MUST...GET...MAGNETS...
     
  8. James Costello

    James Costello TrainBoard Member

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    Microscale doesn't make Maersk or Maersk Sealand container decals.
    A-Line had Microscale produce them in HO, but A-Line retain the artwork and so far have been unwilling to release them in N.

    My local craft shop sells rolls of magnetic tape that I'm planning on using to magnetise my containers. The plan is to glue to the inside of the roof and floor.
     
  9. James Costello

    James Costello TrainBoard Member

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    Russ, I'm not convinced the one on ebay is N Scale. I've never seen one in the Walthers catalog (haven't had a thorough look in the 2007 one though), on their website (it's still not there on a search) or in any of their delear reservations.

    What's throwing me further is that the ebay photo shows a 1-3-1 corrugation door and a full corrugated side. The 40' Hi-Cube container that Walthers makes in N has 2 logo panels on the sides and no corrugations on the door. You'd have thought we'd have heard about a new body style....

    Unfortunately you can't see the label well enough on the ebay photo to get a product number or anything.....
     
  10. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    Oooh, I need to warn you about that stuff.
    As you know, magnets come in two different kinds of polarities and only magnets of opposing polarities are attracted to each other. Most "magnetic tape" or "magnetic strips" are "universal" meaning they are actually composed of alternating bands of polarity strips to ensure anything magnetic will stick to it.

    Yes, I learned this the hard way when I found a strip of cheap stick-on magnets at Michael's in hopes they would make great uncoupling magnets.

    The problem with those kinds of magnets is that if you stick them together you will be offset by at least one of the bands, which is not good for containers, which rely on a more precise attraction point. The Kato container magnets have specific polarities for the roof and floor magnets and are placed at strategically centered positions to ensure a precise fit. Using craft store magnets would offset them somewhat.
     
  11. James Costello

    James Costello TrainBoard Member

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    I was worried about that. Thats ok....time for Plan B. ;-)
     
  12. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    After some research, I present plan B:

    http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=B6301

    [​IMG]

    This particular magnet is 3/8" long, which is the exact width of the bottom of a deLuxe Innovations 40' container (the floors of those containers consist of a "channel" where the sides fit inside the walls of the top piece, so the width of the inside of that channel is 3/8"). They cost 19 cents each and 38 cents worth per container, plus some CA, Goo or caulk ain't that bad.
     
  13. Nelson B

    Nelson B TrainBoard Member

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  14. jagged ben

    jagged ben TrainBoard Member

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    Here is the deal I went for...
    link

    4.5 cents a magnet, you won't find a better price.

    My method requires 4 magnets per container, and I do have perhaps over 250 containers now, so a 1000 count was worth it.

    What the heck, I'll describe the method for you, even sans pictures. :)

    1) Cut laserjet printer paper into widths slightly less than 3 inches (which is 40 n scale feet)...conveniently if you measure the 8 1/2" side of standard paper into thirds you get exactly the right width.

    2) Now slice those widths into approximately 1/4" strips (so the slightly under 3" dimension becomes the length.) Ideally, you have an office style paper shredder that will do this for you in seconds. Or, slice multiple sheets with a paper cutter. Just don't kill yourself doing one at a time. :)

    3) Now, at each end of a paper strip, place two magents on each side of the strip. The magnets will hold themselves onto the paper, no glue required. Also, you do not need to worry about the polarity...the paper will be able to twist around to adjust for that.

    4) Now you have a strip of paper with four magnets, two on each end.

    Open up your container, drop the strip into the container loose, close it back up and...

    YOUR DONE!

    That's how easy it is...Once you get the method down, you can do one container in as little as 15-20 seconds.

    Do two containers (any size 40' or above), stick them together and see how well it works. Trust me.

    One last note: 20' containers don't need the strip of paper, just a single magnet (or two) loose inside. You'll see how that works when you stick two of them under a longer one.

    I promise to start a new thread with pictures and futher notes at some point.
     
  15. jagged ben

    jagged ben TrainBoard Member

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    Actually, only the floor piece is a magnet. The roof piece is just a piece of steel.

    And their "strategic" placement doesn't work for 20' containers like my method does. :)
     
  16. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    It has to be magnetic for it to attract in the first place!
    Besides, when I first opened my Kato container up to discover the magnetic method, I removed the roof piece and placed it back. But when I connected the other container to it, it would not attract, so I opened the container again, flipped it over and it attracted again.
     
  17. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    Pictures please! I don't quite understand why the paper strips are needed. How much weight is added to the container?

    I assume by this method the magnets are powerful enough to attract through the height distance of a container? If that is true won't they attract the track as well?
     
  18. daniel_leavitt2000

    daniel_leavitt2000 TrainBoard Member

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    The Walthers container is HO. N scale 40' containers are packaged horizontally in the plastic.

    The Kato pegs line up with those from walthers, so I am now incorperating the magnet system (actually invented by Walthers for their My-Jack) into all my containers. Deluxe and Con-Cor need yp update their tooling to use this peg system.
     
  19. jagged ben

    jagged ben TrainBoard Member

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    No...any iron alloy will hold to a magnet, even if it is not magnetized itself. Your fridge door has steel in it but it's not a magnet.


    Interesting...my Kato containers don't behave this way. It's possible they are not all produced the same, or the steel pieces in yours (perhaps a slightly different alloy than mine) have been magnetized by prolonged proximity to the magnets.
     
  20. jagged ben

    jagged ben TrainBoard Member

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    Okay! Attached...sheesh. No, I'm kidding, thanks for the encouragment. :)

    The second picture shows one assembled strip on its side and one flat, BTW.

    The strips keep the two sets of magnets at opposite ends of the containers. This helps with containers that don't have pins (i.e. Deluxe) and also makes the method work with 20' containers.

    Not much, weighting the containers remains a separate issue.

    [/quote] I assume by this method the magnets are powerful enough to attract through the height distance of a container? If that is true won't they attract the track as well?[/quote]

    The magnets are powerful enough, as the last two pictures prove. I didn't have to worry about jostling the containers as I held them up. Note though that results depend on the size and grade of the magnets you use...the ones I got worked out pretty much perfectly.

    Stuff at track height generally isn't an issue because the magnets in a lower container end up at the roof, and are only significantly attracted to the upper containers magnets. If you run single containers in a wellcar, and have uncoupling magnets or other magnetic devices on your layout, you may end up needing to take the magnets out temporarily.

    Now be patient while I go open a Railimages account and repost this properly...:)
     

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