Further to the article on tacking below. The person is using and old set of train bogies with metal wheels which of course will lead to tracking - The following could help.
If you look closely the blue chain links are finely engineered with a ridge that runs on the undersurface of the roadbed. Ensure your magnets are pushed in flush within the links cavity for the magnets. Any proud edge will rub on the surface. You should always have the roadbed perfectly flush with the top of the channeling so there is major lifting the chain as this may also precipitate the chain lifting out completely and jamming. The underside of your road bed is just as important so make sure you give it enough protective coats of paint as hard continuous use will wear away the surface covering both sides. Th only other option with your wheel hack is to get something like duct tape and cut a fine strip and wrapped it around the wheels so that it is not the metal running on the road surface rather the duct tape insulating it which should not track on your paint so easily. Hope this helps - Clyde
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The following query came through on our Facebook page
My "vehicle" has no wheels, so I have mounted a TT scale railroad truck on the underside of the vehicle. My concern is the metal train wheels will "scratch/leave rub marks" any surface paint as we see the sliders do. I am planning to use thin, clear acrylic as a top surface, with a dirt road surface painted on the bottom/track side of the acrylic and just paint the top of the acrylic with a matt finish to dull the shine. Do the magnets in the track and/or the track itself rub against the bottom of whatever ones uses as a top surface? The question that popped in my head is if the magnets on the vehicle will pull the track magnet up to run along the bottom of the road surface material, in essence defeating the purpose of using paint on the bottom side. My Reply was Tracking from tyres is common unless they are rubber, however if you mount magnets directly onto the chassis so they just clear the roadbed, they will still be pulled along by the track magnets but will not leave a mark on the roadbed. The more coats of matt finish will help and also a light rub over with steel wool will smooth the surface without removing the protection - it is like sanding it down! |
AuthorClyde has been involved for many years with the Magnorail system having initially built his own layout "Echo Lakes" featuring two concepts using the Magnorail System. In 2019 he rebirthed his layout as Crater Lake featuring four Magnorail circuits plus an Ho3 train line around the perimeter which is now the Magnorail flagship for exhibitions. Archives
May 2022
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