Has anyone actually used this thing they have at Tony’s. I’ve read a couple debates here about it’s merits, but no one mentioned that they actually used it.
I read the MR review, but I was wondering if anyone actually had one of the loco’s with the system and has been using it. Is it really pretty much foolproof, as long as it is on a straight piece of track? Does it couple to a car, as well as it uncouples?
Thanks
Jim
I think you will find that the automagic couplers may eventually go the way of the dodo bird. Unless great refinements are made so that you dont have to cut up the front pilot and make your switcher look like a miniature refugee from a Lionel layout, I think it will die off.
Bamboo skewer, 2 cent solution to a hi-tech fantasy.
The biggest problem (as pointed out by the review), you can only uncouple from the engine. So it is pretty useless to sort cars in a yard unless you do one car at a time which is highly unrealistic.
Thanks for your thoughts guys, but I just don’t take this stuff as seriously as you.
Don’t take me wrong … I’m amazed at what you guys do. I was just watching the photos scroll at FCSME … unbelievable stuff. And I can appreciate your zeal for realism.
For me, its alot simpler. We’re just doing a little 2’ X 12’ switching thing, for my kids to take a frieght car from an interchange track, through a “TimeSaver” type maze, and drop it at one of the industrial spurs.
Sure, one kid is building a Walthers engine shed for his little engine yard, and the other boy is building a coal tipple for his little mine head, but it won’t be that big of a deal.
I’m more interested in the boys involvement with the carpentry, electrical, troubleshooting, etc aspects of the hobby. DCC electronics, programming, and decoder installation/modifications. And I thought that putting together one of these uncoupling loco’s and playing with it might be fun for us. That’s all.
Who knows, maybe us playing around like this might draw us into the super prototypical fun.
Jim
Jim,I believe as the DCC automatic coupler now stands its unworkable in most casual of cases where there is more then one car to be uncoupled…Now, I also believe it would not work on a time saver switching layout due to the fact that one still need to uncouple cars…