My latest question for the masses involves magnetic uncouples and effective use on an HO layout.
A month or two ago, I saw a side article in MRR about a guy who had placed magnets under his track by recessing space in his roadbed. This is all fine and well and I can understand this. Being a child of .027 electromagnet uncouplers, I guess where I need some practical guidance is how this works exactly. From what I surmise, the magnetic force is enough to force both couplers open and perhaps spread the cars apart just a bit to enable one to pull the remaining train away from the spot of uncoupling. Is this all there really is to it? Or am I missing something. Before I dig holes in the foam in the middle of the table under where my not easily accessed sidings will go, I’d just like to know if I have the whole picture.
You can’t see the snow piling up from the basement layout room [;)]
I believe you are talking about the Kadee uncoupling magnets. That’s pretty much the way they’re designed to operate with their couplers. The magnetic force actually pulls the uncoupling pins away from center, causing the knuckle of the coupler to open. They also market an electro magnet uncoupler that will prevent unwanted uncoupling.
I use the permanent magnets in front of sidings, and I’ve got one electromagnet on the main line. I’m very happy with the way they work.
They also have what Kadee calls a “delayed” uncoupling feature. If you stop a pair of cars over the magnet and back off the slack, both couplers will shift to the outside in such a way that the knuckles no longer line up. Then, if you push the cars together again, they will not couple, but will instead remain with the couplers offset as long as you keep pressure on the coupling point. So, you can now push the cars down the siding and spot them where you want them. Once they’re spotted, you can pull back again and leave the uncoupled cars down the siding, some distance from the uncoupling magnet.
You’ll find that model railroaders are divided on the value of these uncouplers. Some guys and gals like the hands-off, magnetic uncoupling, while others prefer to use a bamboo skewer or some other hand-held device to uncouple cars. Each method has its plusses and minuses, so in the end it’s up to you.