Heh, I do have 3 of the MTH Schnabels, and only run them in a dedicated train with idler flats. My intent with the 800/801 was to simply run them unloaded, as if headed to a job, as in 'Meet the Schnabels'. The last idea I had with the load arm articulation involved using a bar magnet inside the load arm joint suspended over another magnet placed just out of its reach inside the carbody below. That way the arms could rock side to side relative to the carbody, but always return to center where the greatest magnetic attraction would be.
There are also magnetized steel balls available from suppliers like Amazing Magnets:
Neodymium spherical magnets, though these may be a tad strong in the most practical (i.e. scale) size...
They also carry Chrome steel, nickel-plated steel, and stainless steel balls that might work better with a disc magnet below, or even in conjunction with small ball bearings inserted in the socket portion.
---PCJ
