Gary, I think the easiest way to mark the magnets would be to make a tie at each end a different color. It might be a new tie where the rest are weathered, or it might be a tie so weathered that it looks ready to be replaced, or it could be a tie just a little longer than the rest of the ties. If it is consistent throughout the layout, you would know about it, but it would not be obvious to anyone observing unless it was pointed out to them. The other thing I've noticed on most of the spurs around the City Of Industry before I retired was a derail is located at every spur to derail any rail car that might get loose and roll through the switch onto the mainline. Each of those derails is marked by a sign on a post. The post and sign is white with simple block lettering saying "DERAIL" in caps. Those tracks were all on the UP, but it wouldn't surprise me if Santa Fe did the same thing. All of the spur were lower than the main line that they came off of, but they had derails installed with a sign anyway. If the derail sign just happened to be on the next to the end of the magnet, it would work as a reference point and be a very realistic detail at the same time.

Well, Gary, I hate to change the subject in the middle of this interesting discussion on marking magnets buried under the ties (an important consideration) ... but I said I would go out and get images of Pipes, and I did.

Pipes Crossing Canals Along the Sides of Bridges ...


The Other Side of that Bridge ...


The Opposite Side of the Other Side of that Bridge ...


... Crossing canals without the benefit of a bridge ...






... And Just Popping Up Out of the Ground to Show Off Their Fancy "Patriotic" Valves ...







So ... if you use a view block like one of these, you should not have too much trouble hiding the point of intersection between layout and backdrop! Plus, if you put a couple of those "up-out-of-the-ground-show-your-valves-dive-back-into-the-ground" situations, the pipes crossing canals (or bayous) will be a reinforced detail.

Edit: I've moved these images ... Had to re-link them, but it was Fun (NOT!)

Gary S Wrote:Still, I'll probably have to mark the magnet locations with some railroad junk, maybe an old pallet, or a couple of old ties, a crushed 55 gallon drum, etc. There are around 2 dozen e-mags around the layout.

Gary, why not just use a simple sign to denote magnet locations? I've used only a couple of the permanent uncoupling magnets on my layout, but they're very useful in the staging yard, especially for passenger cars with diaphragms.
I used a piece of dowel, painted yellow and with a black stripe added near the top. There are always lots of mysterious (to the neophyte) signs along the right-of-way, so such a sign wouldn't look out of place.

[attachment=19754]

Wayne

Russ Bellinis Wrote:Gary, I think the easiest way to mark the magnets would be to make a tie at each end a different color. It might be a new tie where the rest are weathered, or it might be a tie so weathered that it looks ready to be replaced, or it could be a tie just a little longer than the rest of the ties.

Another great idea. I like this one alot - unobtrusive and natural. Thank you for the idea, Russ. Another thought I just had was adding an oil spot to the ballast where the magnet is, or some other change in ballast color.

biL, thanks for getting the photos - will definitely have some of those crossing the bayous. I think that we often overlook the little details like this when we are building our layouts. It would serve us well to drive around and just take pictures of various generic areas and then scrutinize the photos for the details.
Hopefully next week I will get some time to find some of the pipe crossings around here too.

Thanks again for the photos - and not only do I like the pipes, but I also like the simplicity of the bridge in the first photo - may model it too.

doctorwayne Wrote:Gary, why not just use a simple sign to denote magnet locations? I've used only a couple of the permanent uncoupling magnets on my layout, but they're very useful in the staging yard, especially for passenger cars with diaphrams.

Another good and easy suggestion. Thanks DocWayne.

On your passenger cars and magnetic uncoupling, do you ever have problems with the diaphrams sticking the cars together? Since I am not a passenger guy, don't know how those are made. Do they just match up between cars with a "compression" fit, so they seperate easily?

Well, I am off to the layout room to put in a full day of wiring....

The diaphragms don't mechanically interlock with those on the next car, and, ideally, they just touch under normal operation. There is some room for them to compress during uncoupling, but, of course, no room for a Rix-type uncoupling wand or skewer, and even separating them by using two 0-5-0 switchers can be difficult.

[attachment=19755]

Wayne

Lots of wiring progress, but still alot to be done.

I completed all of the conduit runs and got all the wire pulled in. One conduit run contains two #8 wires for the track bus, one green, one white. Second conduit contains four #12 wires for the uncoupler magnet bus, black, red, blue, brown. The third conduit contains the 6 conductor flat cable for the Digitrax Loconet control. First photo shows conduit under a new section of shelving. Second photo shows all the existing wiring under the old shelves and the new conduit. Rewiring the old sections will be a minor pain. I did get all of the conductors terminated in the j-boxes on the north wall as seen in the first photo - covers on the boxes.

[attachment=19762]

[attachment=19761]

This is on the north wall - a conduit runs from the contol panel in the middle of the room, through the attic, and down the wall to the box with the white blank cover. From there, the track bus and the uncoupler wiring come through the wall into the 2 boxes shown, then the wire goes both directions to feed the north shelving.

[attachment=19760]

Another photo of a typical j-box location:

[attachment=19759]

I did get all of the loconet wiring completed around the entire layout. Thirteen UP5 panels and 4 UR panels with infrared capability. One photo of the front, one of the back. The front of the shelving will eventually get a fascia, but just mounting the panels in the shelves for now.

[attachment=19758]

[attachment=19757]

And finally, I was able to run a short train for a total of 70 feet on the north and east walls!

[attachment=19756]

I must say, the bottom of your layout is about the neatest I have ever seen!

Really looks great, Gary. This is the first thread I check when I come to Big Blue to see if there is more progress.

Thanks Kevin. I'm not so much looking forward to redoing the old sections. I am changing out all the wires that are the wrong color for new wiring scheme so everything is the same over the entire layout - man, can't help but think how asinine that is! After all, that is perfectly good copper wire already there - and as an electrician would say - those electrons don't care what color the insulation is! But, I want it all color coded and perfect, so I will commit the time to it.

Russ, I appreciate the sentiment!


Looking at the last photo, I just can't help but think how much I like the Santa Fe yellowbonnet scheme. That is one good-looking loco! It is an Atlas GP-38 with sound. It runs well too. Great low speed control and sounds good too. The horn is excellent. The engine sound could use a bit more base rumble, but that deficiency is common with the small speakers.

When I was a wee lad and my parents took me on road trips to points east, the santa fe scheme was probably my second least favorite (southern pacific being my least favorite). It really had nothing to do with the scheme; it had to do with that santa fe territory was HUGE and I longed to see something different. When I saw the blue and yellow warbonnet, it meant we hadn't gotten very far. I would always get more excited to see the BN green or the MKT, and then the chessie system and norfolk southern. It meant we were finally someplace new. Now I look at BNSF and cry for the old santa fe warbonnet, as in my memory that blue and yellow is now one of my favorite historical paint schemes.

Thanks for sharing that Kevin. Cool story from your childhood... gauging distance by the locos you saw!

It was only a couple years ago that I saw yellowbonnets everyday when passing the Mykawa yard over here, but now I am lucky to see even one every few months. About two years ago, there was a GP30 assigned to yard duty. I did get a few pictures, but wish I would have taken more.

Gary, under your layout is so neat. Mine will be a carbon copy (not). Don't ever expect to see pictures of it.
Charlie

And thanks for the kind comments. The replies I get here definitely keep me motivated. It would be real easy to just throw the wiring in, a spider's nest of copper everywhere...