Neodymium magnets for Magnetraction

Check Out Dale's Manquen's site to see what he's done with this.

http://www.trainfacts.com/trainfacts/?p=248

http://www.trainfacts.com/trainfacts/?cat=3

Give it a try, can't hurt.  One thing I'd consider, if the magnetic force is too strong, the added friction, especially around corners, may actually be more of a determent than a help.

It will also pick up any crap in the area and probably get it wedged into the gear train or someplace worse.

Good point Chuck, I've seen issues with Magnatraction, this could only be worse.

That's why it's a good idea to push a car with a magnet mounted underneath it across the rails ahead of your engine once in a while.

I saw a video of the nearly microscopic T scale 1:450 that showed trains wheels magnetized to stay on the rails.   Allows the track to be turned upside down and the trains stay on.   Pretty cool.  

I've tried that with my T-Gauge train. It works. 

That's why it's a good idea to push a car with a magnet mounted underneath it across the rails ahead of your engine once in a while.

That's one of the best suggestions I've seen/heard in a long time.  Stuff falls of the trains including clips, springs, screws, nuts and we sometimes tool parts when we're working on the layout.  The smaller it is, the harder it is to find.

I have some 1x2x.5 magnets that will pick up about 100 pounds, if I could keep them from gripping too firmly, I'll bet that would pick up everything in sight!