Mr.Lone Wolf,sir; you posted a pic. on the long hose tread, of a uncoupling tool. Could you explane,how it works,
Thanks
The uncoupling tool works by simply hooking the tool (at the last 90 degree bend) onto the air hose of the car or loco on the left and pulling it toward you so the coupler swings away from the other coupler. You must have a small amount of slack to make it work. It takes a minute or two to get the hang of it but once you do it is really easy and you can do it anywhere you can reach. Of course it works better on straight track. Sometimes you might have to hold the car if it rolls too freely.
I’ve seen other people use BBQ skewers to uncouple but I don’t want to get sauce on my models. I can just hear it now, “Hey nice weathering, what is it?” “It’s sweet and sour sauce” lol
j…
P.S. I believe the instructions for making the original tool were published in MR several years ago. Perhaps in the 1990s. The maker who I believe was Lionel Strain decorated them with the color scheme and logo of his and his friend’s layouts, The Allegheny and Lackawanna Southern, and The V&O. Also pictured was Western Maryland, and CP Rail.
Lionel Strang, Model Railroader, October 1998.
I built one of these myself. If I may make a suggestion, I recommend dipping the end of the wire in yellow or white paint. It makes it much easier to see it between the cars when you’re grabbing for the hose.
Paul A. Cutler III
Got it, I’ll hav to give er a try
Thank you kind Sir.
Somebody showed me one, and perhaps it too came from an article in the model press, that combined the bent wire with a small LED type flashlight to illuminate the area.
Dave Nelson
Thank you. For some reason I cut out one picture to save but not the whole article.
You are very welcome! [8D]
You are very welcome! [8D]
Thanks to both of you for stimulating me to try something that I have been meaning to try. I just built one of the uncoupler tools and it really works well. Now what do I do with an opened package of skewers?
Joe
Shrimp on the barbee? Satay chicken?
Actually skewers do work and some guys prefer them (particularly those who snip off the Kadee pin), so having some for visiting operators might be appreciated.
Do you have velcro around your fascia – for attaching throttles, clipboards, etc? Some guys wrap the velcro around pencils and skewers so they too can be scattered around the entire layout. Keeps 'em off the surface of the layout.
Dave Nelson
In playing with the uncoupling tool I found a potential glitch. It works well with Kadees every time but when there is a clone mated with a Kadee the tool doesn’t always uncouple. With shelf couplers (Kadee and clones) the results are mixed. Darn it- it worked so well initially. I guess I’ll have to save the skewers.
Joe
All I know is that I like them better than magnets or picking up the car to separate it.
I like the Velcro idea for pens and uncoupling tools. I don’t know if I would trust it for throttles. One thing I have noticed with Velcro is that the sticky isn’t always stronger than the Velcro and it will pull off first unless you staple it down, especially when the weather is hot.
If my layout has one rule, it is nothing is allowed on the layout except the layout. No tools, drinks, or anything else, except for temporary when doing construction but then removed immediately.
j…
I know some modelers who clip off their trip pins entirely. When they want to uncouple, they put the point of a skewer (or pencil) between the knuckles of the couplers and twirl. Each knuckle is pushed in the opposite direction, and voila. Doesn’t work so well on passenger cars with diaphragms, though.
I have cut off a few. Most I just put a slight bend up, with a needle nose, so they don’t hang up anywhere.
The tool looks nice, and I’ve tried different home made bent wire tools myself, over the years, but I have good results, each time, using the skewer. I used a pencil for the longest time, then seen a package of the skewers in a kitchen drawer, and tried them.
Some places I drop a car, I can’t always get in there to see if a wire tool is positioned between the pins correctly.
Mike.