Thinking of getting Kadee Magnet uncoupler for my layout. Has anyone used these and are they worth installing. Also, how do they exactly work? I was hoping to use them in one hard to reach area of my layout for a particular industry.
John
I’m starting to install some of them. They work pretty well when everything is set up correctly, but they are very fussy about alignment.
Hold a car in your hand and look straight at the end of the car. Move the little “brake hose” (called the trip pin by Kadee) over to the left with a gentle push. You will notice that the knuckle opens up. Release your pressure and the little spring on the side pushes the knuckle closed again. What the magnet does is pull each of the coupler knuckles off to its own side like this, allowing the couplers to separate.
The magnets are designed so that the force is small. If there is any pressure on the coupler, like when pulling a train across the magnet ramp, then the magnet is not strong enough to overcome that pressure, so the knuckles don’t open and the cars stay together. If you stop the train with a coupler over the ramp, they will separate.
They also have what they call a “delayed coupling” feature. If you push (rather than pull) a pair of cars on to the ramp and stop them, the couplers will separate. When you pull one car back a bit, the couplers will move further to the side, far enough that when you push back again, they will not engage normally. Instead, they will end up mis-aligned in such a way that when you puhem beyond the ramp, they will stay uncoupled. This allows you to puhe car down the track and “spot” it at a siding. When you pull back again, the car will stay where you put it.
And now for the fussy parts. First, get a Kadee coupler gauge. The couplers need to be centered, and be at the right height. The trip pins need to be at the right height, too. The uncoupler ramps need to be centered, and at the right height as well. (The gauge also checks this.) The last thing is something I’ve found from experimentation - you need a straight section of track at least as long as the longest car you plan to uncouple on either side of the uncoupling ramp. They don’t work on curves, or near curves.
By the way the Key word here is Kadee!! If you use anything else you will be sadly dissapointed!! It aint worh it.
Thaks for the info! I plan on using two of them on a straight section. I just have to double check the issue of the length of the track on either side. That may be a bit tricky. One other question…it appears on the kadee website that the mount for the magnet is on the surface of the track, not below. Is this correct?
Thanks again!
john
I think they make both above-track and below-track magnets. I’m using the above-track ones. They are only a few bucks for a pair, so it’s worth getting some just to play with, even if you decide not to use them after all. I think you’ll like them, though.
And Joey is right. Kadee is the way to go.
I use both the below track and between the track. I find the below track are so powerful they will uncouple a moving train if it hesitates at all while the couplers are over it. You can decrease the power by eliminating the intensifier plate. I do this on uncouplers which are on the mainline but use the plate for spurs. I use the between-the-track model in places where my track is attached directly to the plywood with no roadbed. I use code 83 so I cut out the ties so that the uncoupler does not sit above rail height. If I don’t do that, the coupler pins will catch on it. I also use the between the track model in cases where I find I need an uncoupler after I have already ballasted the track. It’s a lot easier than ripping up a whole section of track just to insert an uncoupler.
I’ve been experimenting with between-the-rails magnets, so I glue them down with rubber cement. That keeps them in place, but allows me to pull them up if I’m unhappy with placement, height, etc. So far, though, I haven’t been happy yet. Height is proving tricker than I thought it would be.
You can’t, incidentally, just lay them down on the track without some kind of glue. They will immediately jump up and hang themselves on to whatever piece of metal you run over them, or jump sideways to your wheels.
Thank you MisterBeasley that is very good information. I might just have to try some of those. I just hate the thought of replacing the existing couplers though…