OK I know you can get special couplings for the stock magnetic etc., and uncoupling devices to lay on the track or under it.
BUT.....At a show I saw (OO) a tool pen like with brass rod attachment being used to uncouple coaches, What if any is used for 'N' gauge Home made or shop bought.
Anyone in the know?
How about using a cocktail stick?
Really cheap and you get hundreds for a £1 in the pound shop :thumbsup:
cheers John.
With the rapido type coupler in N gauge, I've found it tricky to uncouple with such a pick or tool because you tend to pick up the whole loco/wagon etc.
The design and sizing of OO style hook couplers makes them fairly easy to uncouple with a hook on a stick type tool.
A few years ago I saw some N gauge stock coupled with proper chain links, and the uncoupling and coupling was performed using what looked like a dental pick/scraper type tool !
Jon
Quote from: scotsoft on January 12, 2015, 04:32:54 PM
How about using a cocktail stick?
Really cheap and you get hundreds for a £1 in the pound shop :thumbsup:
cheers John.
They come in handy for modelling purposes too.
Quote from: port perran on January 12, 2015, 04:36:57 PM
Quote from: scotsoft on January 12, 2015, 04:32:54 PM
How about using a cocktail stick?
Really cheap and you get hundreds for a £1 in the pound shop :thumbsup:
cheers John.
They come in handy for modelling purposes too.
I find they're great for sticking into cherries :-X
I always remember the huge black 'shovel' type thing I used to uncouple my Tri-ang stuff with :-[
I wonder if some kind of "magnet on a stick" would work if the Rapido couplings were fitted with Seep coupling adapters?
I have seen a thin wooden plate placed on a rail at it's mid point, with one end under the couplings, and then a finger applied at the opposite end of the plate, on the outside the track rather like a see saw with the rail being the fulcrum. the plate end under the coupling rises and takes the couplings with it. If that makes sense........
Quote from: ScottyStitch on January 12, 2015, 05:42:19 PM
I have seen a thin wooden plate placed on a rail at it's mid point, with one end under the couplings, and then a finger applied at the opposite end of the plate, on the outside the track rather like a see saw with the rail being the fulcrum. the plate end under the coupling rises and takes the couplings with it. If that makes sense........
Yes it does make sense - I might try that. As an aside, I find that the Peco couplings are much easier to uncouple than the Dapol ones and a bit easier than the Farish ones.
Quote from: ScottyStitch on January 12, 2015, 05:42:19 PM
I have seen a thin wooden plate placed on a rail at it's mid point, with one end under the couplings, and then a finger applied at the opposite end of the plate, on the outside the track rather like a see saw with the rail being the fulcrum. the plate end under the coupling rises and takes the couplings with it. If that makes sense........
In that case you might as well use the Peco SL-330 Decoupler, cheap and elegant.
Quote from: keithfre on January 12, 2015, 06:01:07 PM
Quote from: ScottyStitch on January 12, 2015, 05:42:19 PM
I have seen a thin wooden plate placed on a rail at it's mid point, with one end under the couplings, and then a finger applied at the opposite end of the plate, on the outside the track rather like a see saw with the rail being the fulcrum. the plate end under the coupling rises and takes the couplings with it. If that makes sense........
In that case you might as well use the Peco SL-330 Decoupler, cheap and elegant.
I think maybe the advantage of the plank type I had seen was that it could be used anywhere on the layout. Am I right in thinking the 330 is attached to the track?....I've never seen one in action......
Quote from: keithfre on January 12, 2015, 06:01:07 PM
Quote from: ScottyStitch on January 12, 2015, 05:42:19 PM
I have seen a thin wooden plate placed on a rail at it's mid point, with one end under the couplings, and then a finger applied at the opposite end of the plate, on the outside the track rather like a see saw with the rail being the fulcrum. the plate end under the coupling rises and takes the couplings with it. If that makes sense........
In that case you might as well use the Peco SL-330 Decoupler, cheap and elegant.
But ScottyStitches idea is
FREE pretty much. Very attractive to us of Scottish descent!
Quote from: ScottyStitch on January 12, 2015, 06:16:40 PM
Am I right in thinking the 330 is attached to the track?....I've never seen one in action......
A quick google found this:
http://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=30782 (http://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=30782)
Not really my kind of thing this, but a neat idea I have seen for a HoG uncoupling device is a brass rod with a bent end and a bit of flat brass soldered on, the rod being attached to a small cylindrical pocket torch - the idea being that the beam of the torch helps you see the coupling and apply force where needed!
Cheers Jon :)
Quote from: PostModN66 on January 12, 2015, 07:24:05 PM
Not really my kind of thing this, but a neat idea I have seen for a HoG uncoupling device is a brass rod with a bent end and a bit of flat brass soldered on, the rod being attached to a small cylindrical pocket torch - the idea being that the beam of the torch helps you see the coupling and apply force where needed!
Cheers Jon :)
I used to use something like that for my EM gauge layout and it worked really well. But - as someone else has posted - N gauge is so light that you're just as likely to lift the wagon or coach off the track as uncouple them...
:beers:
I use a slightly modified dental pick tool, with the end bent at a shallower angle (about 45') - like this (took the photo ages ago to use in my layout thread but never got round to posting it):
(http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad118/EPinniger/Model%20photos/Railway/N%20gauge/Misc/Uncouplingtool.jpg) (http://s927.photobucket.com/user/EPinniger/media/Model%20photos/Railway/N%20gauge/Misc/Uncouplingtool.jpg.html)
The angle of the tool makes it easy (in theory!) to hold it under couplings and use the 90' angled tip to push one of them up. I've found uncoupling is a lot easier if you push up the coupling on the vehicle(s) that are to be detached from the train - otherwise you're attempting to push/pull the loco out of the way, usually resulting in the rolling stock derailing. This is especially true with short wheelbase, 4-wheeled stock which are prone to getting lifted up along with the coupling!
I think I'll give that a try some time (layout not yet in operation). Those wagons are so light though - do you put a finger on the wagon to stop it lifting while you uncouple it?
Quote from: PostModN66 on January 12, 2015, 07:24:05 PM
Not really my kind of thing this, but a neat idea I have seen for a HoG uncoupling device is a brass rod with a bent end and a bit of flat brass soldered on, the rod being attached to a small cylindrical pocket torch - the idea being that the beam of the torch helps you see the coupling and apply force where needed!
Cheers Jon :)
Now that would cater for the problem of the coupling zone being darker than dark!
I've pretty much decided that I want to uncouple by hand, generally, and I have wondered if I could make a 'place over the top' type frame with strategically placed magnets to include those couplings designed to work with magnets. I'm not much fussed by the time taken to uncouple (consciously or unconsciously...), as in the real world it takes a little bit of time and effort.
I think a well thought through HoG system would be perfect. Can we carry on here until we have one???
The weight of the wagon, as noted above, is an obstacle - although most of my wagons are not yet weighted to get them to the NMRA standards. ( it's on my list though...)
Donald
Hmmm - I guess if you put two oppositely oriented small Rare Earth Magnets on a kind of forked stick, you could insert it from the top, each fork going to a different side, and it should uncouple Dapol Easi-Fits (and Microtrains) quite nicely.
Harder to see how a Rapido-based version would work as you need the force to be downwards.
cheers Jon :)
Quote from: mr magnolia on January 13, 2015, 06:21:58 PM
The weight of the wagon, as noted above, is an obstacle - although most of my wagons are not yet weighted to get them to the NMRA standards. ( it's on my list though...)
Donald
Donald - can you give more info please on the NMRA wagon weight standard - not heard of that? And - where do the weights go.
Quote from: PostModN66 on January 13, 2015, 06:27:08 PM
Hmmm - I guess if you put two oppositely oriented small Rare Earth Magnets on a kind of forked stick, you could insert it from the top, each fork going to a different side, and it should uncouple Dapol Easi-Fits (and Microtrains) quite nicely.
I did find this and was not able to fathom it.....Now I know. (OO Gauge though)
(http://www.modelrailforum.com/images/Kadee/DSCF2384-500.jpg)
The problem I found with the rapidos on my coaches - when trying to lift one by the cocktail stick (aka a mini-screwdriver) method was that it also minutely lifted the other, thus diminishing the overall relative lift.
The only way to release the two was to depress one coupling whilst lifting the other, a feat usually beyond the dexterity of this mortal and ending in a major reportable incident to the elfinsafety authorities :(
Sadly it all had to be returned to its maker before I could invent a magnetic method of pulling one side down at the same time as lifting the other :(
Quote from: austinbob on January 13, 2015, 06:27:30 PM
Quote from: mr magnolia on January 13, 2015, 06:21:58 PM
The weight of the wagon, as noted above, is an obstacle - although most of my wagons are not yet weighted to get them to the NMRA standards. ( it's on my list though...)
Donald
Donald - can you give more info please on the NMRA wagon weight standard - not heard of that? And - where do the weights go.
quote]
Hi, try this link and scroll down to 'car weights'
Its not a science, more of an art, I think. And where the weight goes is another art!
Easier if you have a wagon load, as you can add weight inside the wagon.
The N Gauge society suggest gluing strip weights under their wagon kit floors for the same purposes. Its certainly true that weighted wagons are much more 'realistic' in traffic but don't over do it!
Donald
http://www.nmra.org/index-nmra-standards-and-recommended-practices (http://www.nmra.org/index-nmra-standards-and-recommended-practices)