Hi Folks
There are a few threads about couplings, all seem to involve various degrees of expense and fiddleabillity, why can't we just have a small tension lock coupling?
Hopefully attached is a comparison of the 00 and N versions of the 64xx by bachmann & farish.
Opening the last pack of bits from Maplin I noticed the staple was about the right size, just thinking of a easy loop thingy and way of attaching it.
Radius 1 in 00 is 371mm, we have 225mm so we have less angular displacement so how difficult can it be?
I declare the discussion open.
Cheers
Alan
There are already some artisan coupling designs available that are tension-lock style
http://www.n-tram-shop.de/FineScale-Kupplungen (http://www.n-tram-shop.de/FineScale-Kupplungen)
(http://www.n-tram-shop.de/WebRoot/Store26/Shops/17779503/572C/5442/17AB/8FB8/A3D0/C0A8/2ABA/F3FC/N-tram-9091-C_72.jpg)
Isn't the Mike Bryant coupling a form of tension-lock?
Personally I find the Rapido coupling works fine, although granted it's not the prettiest thing. I'm glad it was adopted by just about all N manufacturers pretty early on and I can couple anything to anything, unlike the mess with OO/HO couplings. There were a few early 60s models by Lima which used a version of the HOe style coupling but that didn't last long once it was obvious the Rapido was becoming the standard.
The problem with the standard N gauge rapido is hands off coupling and uncoupling. The only comprehensive system that allows hands off un-coupling is Dapol's easi-shunts. They are not perfect because delayed uncoupling is hit and miss and their magnets are too long. Complaints about the costs for converting everything are probably justified but then an exclusive product will always be more expensive because there is no competition to force the price down.
I would also prefer the Dapol effort to be smaller but it is marginally better than the standard and at least you can experiment with different lengths to get the closest gap that track and rolling stock are happy with. If only the NEM sockets were fitted to everything and were consistent then we would be in the position to choose Dapol's coupling or some of the others that are available. (Are the manufacturers reading ?)
As for a tension lock style - well having jumped through hoops to get a reliable and easy system that suited Bachmann, Hornby, Lima and other OO/HO styles, all I can say is no thank you !
There are posts on the forum about Peco metal lift arms fitted to their Elsie couplings (an unsprung version of the Rapido).
I have some but haven't experimented with them.
I believe there is a video here somewhere of them working very well.
FWIW the LoneStar OOO models had a tension hook style coupling, albeit a very large and clunky one which makes the Rapido look almost svelte.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4473/37039504203_7855726c87_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Yr49ar)
Looking at my drawer full of various types of couplings and variants thereof, this cartoon comes to mind:
(https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/standards.png)
https://xkcd.com/927/
That's what I remember from 4 years old!
When I returned to n/000 5-odd years ago i was shocked at how chunky the rapidos were.
If anyone has one of these, how does the hook rotate, and how is it held to the rest of the coupling?
There must be a way.............................................
Cheers
Alan
Quote from: Bealman on December 30, 2017, 07:00:08 AM
There are posts on the forum about Peco metal lift arms fitted to their Elsie couplings (an unsprung version of the Rapido).
I have some but haven't experimented with them.
I believe there is a video here somewhere of them working very well.
I guess slightly off topic but to make the point that it is perfectly possible to make Rapido couplings perfectly practical as "hands-off" uncouplers (though not to make them less intrusive). Peco "Elsie" types can be fitted with the lift arms or home made variants, sprung types can be modified to make them pivoting types or simply used without the springs. Many use electromagnets, others (including I) use sliding or hinged permanent magnets. You can see this in action on any of my "Lofthole" videos. Pete Latham and Steve Farmer use electromagnets.
For fixed-rake couplings it is easy although slightly fiddly to cut the heads off Rapido types, drill small holes in the shank and make a "staple" out of thin wire. This is next to invisible.
All the above are pretty much zero cost.
Cheers Jon :)
I cart a lot of stock to exhibitions, all Rapido fitted, and it takes me between one and two hours to load the trains onto the layout at the start of each show.
All of the artisan couplings I've seen have the advantage of being smaller and neater than the Rapido. HOWEVER that comes at the expense of robustness. In general they need to be packed away much more carefully for transit than stock fitted with Rapidos. Presently at the end of a show trains are taken off quickly and put back in the boxes in the right order with each wagon the right way round to ensure a fighting chance of that train running properly next time. If stock needed to be put in more carefully that would add to the time, and extra protection for the couplings would add to the bulk. I don't want to still be at a show 90 mins after it ends, especially as I'm currently usually away in about 30 mins.
I AM, however, moving to rakes with a Dapol easy-shunt pair where the train needs splitting, and Rapidos elsewhere, The vast majority of my trains have no couplers at the ends to avoid them coupling to the one in front in the fiddle yard.
All the very best
Les
I guess slightly off topic but to make the point that it is perfectly possible to make Rapido couplings perfectly practical as "hands-off" uncouplers (though not to make them less intrusive). Peco "Elsie" types can be fitted with the lift arms or home made variants, sprung types can be modified to make them pivoting types or simply used without the springs. Many use electromagnets, others (including I) use sliding or hinged permanent magnets. You can see this in action on any of my "Lofthole" videos. Pete Latham and Steve Farmer use electromagnets.
For fixed-rake couplings it is easy although slightly fiddly to cut the heads off Rapido types, drill small holes in the shank and make a "staple" out of thin wire. This is next to invisible.
All the above are pretty much zero cost.
Cheers Jon :)
[/quote]
I very much enjoyed your Lofthole vids. Do you have a vid on how you did the couplings please? I'm pretty new to this so a little nudge in the right direction would help. TIA
Thanks TrevL
No video I'm afraid, but there are some good (IMHO!) photos on the Lofthole thread, reply 42. http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=14792.30 (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=14792.30)
Cheers Jon :)
Thank you Jon, very helpful.
Oh yes, awesome layout by the way. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Here I am, new to the hobby, 8 years later, have spent weeks researching couplings so I can make sure I have the best chance of reliable coupling and auto uncoupling in a ready to run fashion, without modifying anything.
Are there wagon brands that come ready to run with Dapol easi shunts or similar?
To answer a couple of points;
I cut the Dapol magnets in half. They can tend to splinter so care is needed.
With fixed rakes I use a combination of medium/short or short/short couplings to achieve as close coupling as possible. I then use Dapol Easi-shunt couplings at each end, again a mixture of medium or short.
I'm not aware of anyone supplying Easi-shunts already fitted but it's an easy unplug/plug in process.
If anyone thinks using these couplings is a slow, painful process, I volunteer at the Ashford International Model Railway Education Centre (AIMREC) https://aimrec.co.uk/ refers. On the Gresley Beat our longest train is around 82 wagons long – all coupled correctly with three link or screw couplings. We think very hard before varying the rakes!
Quote from: GrahamB on April 07, 2026, 08:26:17 AMI cut the Dapol magnets in half. They can tend to splinter so care is needed.
@GrahamB That's my intention. Can I ask what you used, please? Cutting disc? Razor saw?
Quote from: Newportnobby on April 07, 2026, 09:26:32 AMQuote from: GrahamB on April 07, 2026, 08:26:17 AMI cut the Dapol magnets in half. They can tend to splinter so care is needed.
@GrahamB That's my intention. Can I ask what you used, please? Cutting disc? Razor saw?
Razor saw. VERY slow and gentle cuts.
Quote from: ismangil on April 07, 2026, 08:02:00 AMHere I am, new to the hobby, 8 years later, have spent weeks researching couplings so I can make sure I have the best chance of reliable coupling and auto uncoupling in a ready to run fashion, without modifying anything.
Are there wagon brands that come ready to run with Dapol easi shunts or similar?
No - one could only reasonably expect Dapol wagons to come fitted with them, but the Rapido is standard, so you'll be hard pressed to find anything supplied with anything else. Dapol used to include a pair of Easi-shunts with locos, but never rolling stock.
As NJE says, for British N the Rapido coupling is still standard from the factory. At least with NEM pockets on more recent models it's easy to replace the Rapido with Easy-Shunt or some other design with an NEM shank.
Fleischmann European stock may be factory fitted with their Profi couplings (in which case they will come with NEM Rapido couplings in the box). Profis work quite well but personally I think they're more ugly than Rapidos :( Other European N brands still fit Rapidos.
US N scale wagons are much more likely to have knuckle couplings factory fitted as those are the preferred design. Even then there are slight inconsistencies with the different brands of knuckle.
If by "auto-uncoupling" you mean hands-free, then it's a choice of magnetically operated designs (with either permanent magnets or electromagnets to operate them) or the traditional uncoupling ramp which acts on the pin underneath Rapido and Profi couplings. Some types have a "pre-uncoupling" capability where you use the magnet or ramp at the head of the siding to uncouple first then then continue to push the stock back into the siding without it re-connecting.
There are some clever DCC operated couplings from 3rd parties which you can fit to DCC locos if the decoder has a suitable function output. Expensive and fiddly though. I think there are now one or two locos with DCC couplings factory-fitted.
Arnold used to fit "Simplex" mechanisms to some of their locos back in the 70s and 80s which used a spring and cam to lift the loco's Rapido coupling when you reversed a little then drove away. Clever but I find the constant "click click" of the spring on the cam annoying so remove it on my locos.
My solution? To be honest I don't bother with much shunting, but when needed I just use a dentist's probe under the coupling. :) All my stock has Rapidos so I can mix and match brands and ages of 100s of models right back to the late 1960s.
Quote from: GrahamB on April 07, 2026, 09:57:47 AMQuote from: Newportnobby on April 07, 2026, 09:26:32 AMQuote from: GrahamB on April 07, 2026, 08:26:17 AMI cut the Dapol magnets in half. They can tend to splinter so care is needed.
@GrahamB That's my intention. Can I ask what you used, please? Cutting disc? Razor saw?
Razor saw. VERY slow and gentle cuts.
Next time I build a layout I must use that approach. I have generally broken them in half, holding the magnet with 2 broader pliers . Not had a serious splintering problem; and then generally only one "face". So that face is glued to the baseboard. They are placed at strategic places in good sidings, to enable shunting. In platforms a loco length from the buffers to uncouple the incoming train loco and also near the head for allow the station pilot to push coaches to another platform and then uncouple. My main issue with the Easishunt occurs with slow motion shunts and platform starts, any even slight unevenes in a loco's movement sometimes causes stock to bunch up and if passing over the magnet at the time, uncoupling follows. Ideally I would prefer electrically operated magnets. But it would be expensive. Even on Cromarty which is a fairly simple terminus/fiddle yard layout, I have 17 half magnets, 2 in each of 3 platforms and also 2 in each of the 2 sidings in the goods yard the rest being in the fiddle yard roads to ease uncoupling of the "incoming" loco.
Quote from: Portpatrick on April 07, 2026, 03:49:20 PMIdeally I would prefer electrically operated magnets.
Most electromagnets are not strong enough. In the US some folks build things so that small strong permanent magnets are mechanically lifted up to track level when they are operating.
Quote from: Portpatrick on April 07, 2026, 03:49:20 PMIdeally I would prefer electrically operated magnets.
Quote from: EtchedPixels on April 07, 2026, 04:58:57 PMMost electromagnets are not strong enough. In the US some folks build things so that small strong permanent magnets are mechanically lifted up to track level when they are operating.
Most Electromagnets are strong enough for couplings designed to work with them such as B&Bs, DGs, Sprat & Winkle... (and you can up the magnetism by increasing the Amps if not...)
The reason Dapol EasyShunt and other similar knuckle couplings don't work well with electromagnets is the orientation of the poles. In an Electromagnet, North and South are at the ends of the core which traditionally we'd mount vertically. The knuckle couplers mostly require the North-south axis orientated across the track...
Quote from: Newportnobby on April 07, 2026, 09:26:32 AMQuote from: GrahamB on April 07, 2026, 08:26:17 AMI cut the Dapol magnets in half. They can tend to splinter so care is needed.
@GrahamB That's my intention. Can I ask what you used, please? Cutting disc? Razor saw?
I score them with a tile cutter then snap them in half.
Geoff
Hello folks
I don't know if this is of interest to anyone or if it has been said before, but Kato make a knuckle coupler that couples with Micro-Trains couplers (and similar) and I presume almost certainly to Dapol Easi-Shunts as well. The part number is Kato 11-702 (black) or 11-707 (grey) and it comes as a pack of 20 (for 10 wagons). These couplers fit directly into the Rapido coupler boxes and can be used when rolling stock is not fitted with NEM pockets. These do not come with the magnetic trip pin so are a lot cheaper (UK RRP £4 per pack) than the magnetic Easi-Shunts. Here is a comparison from above of these couplers fitted to Farish mineral wagons versus the same wagons fitted with Rapidos. The buffers are about half the distance apart with the Kato couplers.
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/159/4229-110426074953.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=159181)
Webbo
Ok so consensus seems just to make sure I get wagons with NEM pockets, if I don't want to retrofit pockets to old wagons.
No,
If you want knuckle couplers, you can use Easi-Shunts into NEM pockets, OR you can use Katos into the Rapido pockets of older wagons. There may be other options too.
But the point of using knuckles was for auto uncoupling, so the Kato ones (or the Dapol "NEMCOUP" dummy knuckles) aren't really suitable.
If you want plug and play compatibility with Easi-Shunts then yes, you need NEM pockets on wagons.