i am planning a new 8 by 3 foot layout for prewar steam.i have many engines and rolling stock.all about 5 years old, a mixture of peco faeish and dapol so no nems i want plenty of shunting and run around of engines. i have had reasonable success on my present layout which is modern uk diesel using DG couplings and gaugemaster electromagnets.but still far from perfect ,they do not like smaller radias curves and tend to uncouple when stopping then restarting. they are of course very fiddley to build and of course you have to butcher the items.  so i would like to hear from any of you who have started using the new dapol easy shunt system. which of course has to fit the expensive magnets whilst building  the layout.i is a shame that dapol do not market ready made nem pockets instead of selling only kits of bits.   also do they after uncoupling enable you to shunt the item without recoupling.  any help or advice would be greatfully received as it will be a major one way butchering job to convert many engines and long and short items of rolling stock.  i do not want to make a mistake of going down the wrong path
  thanks in  advance for any help
yours   carpy

I only returned to N gauge because Dapol and Farish promised automatic uncoupling. We have yet to see this from Farish but at least they do use NEM sockets now (but you have to check each model - it's not universal).

The Dapol system works well for me with no uncoupling or derailments at random, tight curves and short radius cross over points, but every time operation when I'm over the magnet. The magnets are a bit long if you have 10 ft wheelbase wagons, my magnets are cut in half because of this. Delayed uncoupling I find a bit hit and miss.

The only problem so far with the Dapol system is a Farish 37 that has the couplers angled upwards; otherwise very good.

I have not yet tried to modify a standard wagon to accept Dapols retrofit NEM sockets but others here say it's not to hard. I'm not sure how that would work on, say, the front bogie of a steam loco.

Quote from: carpy on September 26, 2015, 09:56:48 AM
a shame that dapol do not market ready made nem pockets instead of selling only kits of bits.   

It's hardly a kit? It's an outer and an inner - that's it These are separate presumably so you can glue the outer in place without the risk of gumming up the inner, then you just clip the inner part inside. The only other parts are some shims to get the outer pocket to the right height

As for operation I've only experimented so far on a spare piece of track, and using 3mm neodymium magnets instead of the massive Dapol ones, but they couple and uncouple with surprising reliability


Paul

From limited experience the Dapol couplings are inconsistent at uncoupling on anything except straight track, and usually need either the angle or the height of the pin correcting...

My personal preference is the B&B which works on exactly the same principle as the DGs. It is a bit bigger and more noticeable on stock, but I found it to be a bit more robust and much easier to assemble.

Quote from: carpy on September 26, 2015, 09:56:48 AMand tend to uncouple when stopping then restarting.

That is most likely a symptom of the coupling being out of balance so that it bounces with the shock of stopping & starting, probably a bit too much weight in the 'tail' of the coupling...

For me it is a no brainer.

With a wrist that is often strapped up and the inability to see right angles properly (let alone cut or bend one) the Dapol coupling is doable.  Anything involving bending wire loops accurately just isn't.

Others with hands that work will have different experiences.

Les

I found the Dapols very frustrating, as the springs were pinging out everywhere even after securing them with a spot of varnish. They are a very tight fit in the Farish coupler pockets, and I had trouble with them randomly uncoupling too. I sacked them off and went back to Rapidos, life's too short!

Only ever lost one spring from an Easi-shunt once while fitting a coupling, apart from that, I've fitted about 50 and they've never come out during general use/stock getting out/putting away.

I find the system convenient. It isn't perfect and not always super realistic but you'll find a way round their idiosyncrasies. I occasionally get (lightweight) carriages uncoupling when passing over a magnet which is placed immediately before a curve but I'm going to add some weight to the offending carriages to see if it adds a bit of tension to the couplings.

You'll always be able to buy easi shunts easily, the kit is a piece of cake to fit and nothing to worry about, plus you can just bang a normal NEM rapido in the slot if you want to return a wagon/carriage back to normal if you're selling it or re-jigging a rake.

My vote too is for Easi-Shunts.

They are not perfect and I have had similar uncoupling experiences on occasions, but overall they represent the best all round solution available if you want remote/delayed uncoupling. They are easy to fit, generally work reliably with the added bonus that the magnets can be fully concealed and unlike Peco or Seep there is no wiring.

I have pinged a couple of springs but varnishing does help stop this and Dapol have been joined up enough in their thinking to provide spare springs.

Roy

thank you all for your help.  seems as usual there is no perfect solution for n gauge couplings.  it is such a wonderful gauge for a great number  of people. mainly owing to so many properties having smaller rooms that this suits admirably.so once again to all who have taken the trouble to respond to a newish railway modeller.  i will in future place a comment on how and which system i use. it will be quite a long time as i hopefully get my health back after a long battle one after another with mobility and energy sapping illnesses before i can begin to build the basic layout.once again thanks

yours  carpy

I´ve tried B&B, MBM and various othe encarnacions but have settled on the Dapol EasiShunts and have been very pleased with the outcome.  I am Digitrac DCC and use Railroad & Co´s Train Controller and can now do automatic unattended shunting, one happy bunny.