magnetic reed switch for train indication

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

My brother and I were talking yesterday and he’d like to dust off the old 2 by 4 N scale layout we have . because the track plan is similar to dave frary cactus gulch, there are several area where the train goes into hiding.

we got to talk about a way to indicate train position, thinking of detector blocks and optical sensors but these methods are all complicated and/or expensive. Then i remembered reading about magnetic reed switches. After some talk, we figured maybe adding a small Rare earth magnet in cars ( or engine) would be perfect to trip the reeds ON and send current to an panel light. whenver a magnet equipped car would roll over a switch , it would activate it and make the light turn on.

Now as usual, most foolproof plan have flaws and im wondering if it really could be that easy

can anyone recommend also a place for buying said switches ( jameco seems to be the cheapest) and rare earth magnet (K & J magnetic has a wide selection) ? , any advice on magnet size? ( layout is N scale)

2

I purchased some of the magnetic reed switches from one of the hobby stores. I have seen them in several different stores for about $10 for 4. The magnets come with them, more of a strip magnet I would say, but any magnetic field strong enough would trigger them. The thing to keep in mind is the power that they can handle. I don’t have the package handy but you might have to use them to trigger a relay if the lights use alot of power.