Finding Parts On Your Track

Northern Tool and Equipment. I have one of these magnets attached to the bottom of a MPC gondola car. One pass around the layout and it will pick up everything ferrous.

I use a big (3 inch by one inch cross-section neodymium magnet placed on a plastic RMT lowboy flat car that I run around the layout.  The magnet creates so much downforce on the car that it is a noticeable load for just one loco (i use a BEEP), but it snaps up all manner of stuff.  I run it about once a month.  Amazing how much you do find.  

A couple of years ago I unpacked a brand new MTH boxcar to run at our toy train museum. When I packed up the train after the operating session, I noticed that the door on the side facing away from me was missing. I figured the door must have been missing from the factory and set the car aside. Several months later a friend of mine found a boxcar door on the layout. Sure enough, it was mine. It turned out the lower door track had been loose and the door fell out in the first few minutes of operation.

Needless to say the museum has a big container of miscellaneous screws and parts found on the layout. One of our members just built a magnet car to patrol the track. It doesn't help with plastic, brass, or die cast parts, though. 

If you host a club to run trains on your layout, the aftermath clean up of pop cans, pizza boxes, and paper plates is only of the small chores of a good time.

Usually, a couple days after the meet I find brake wheels, screws, chains, passenger truck detail parts, laying in the track ties. Some parts are metal some are plastic.

I collect everything in a bag and see if there is an owner looking for a lost part.

The best finds are usually cell phones, wallets and yes, car keys!