When I was using Kadee’s, I found that a small flat-head screwdriver worked well. Now I am using Sergent couplers on many of my locomotives and rolling stock and have found that uncoupling cars is almost as easy as on the prototype, since the Sergents use a magnetic rod to lift a steel ball inside the coupler to unlock the knuckle- similar to ‘lifting the pin’ on the real thing. Plus they look just like the real thing. However, if you need to do remote uncoupling, Kadees are still your best bet, as you need to be able to reach ( and see) the couplers with the Sergents. Also, the Sergents will, on occasion, give you prototypical ‘balkiness’ when coupling or uncoupling!
Currently, I use the Rix uncoupling tool. I have also used bamboo skewers with good results.
Nick
A “DCC version” of uncoupling has already been hatched, although it could be a rather pricey proposition. It consists of a solenoid type coil, and a decoder. Certainly not my cup of tea. I have used the Kadee magnets successfully for a long time. KISS; remember?
Rich
a lot of guys have reported problems with the kadee magnets. i find them to be quite reliable if the coupler trip pins are properly adjusted.
i only use the magnets for classification tracks in the yard and on single ended industrial sidings or spur tracks. otherwise, it is the good old rix tool or a pointed stick.
forget gluing them to the cross ties. i cut all the ties out between the rails and build up a base using styrene strips so the magnet is just at rail height, not much more.
i recently started using scotch brand mounting tape to stick them down and so far-so good. time will tell about that method. i am hoping it will hold up as well as it has for sticking weights inside freight cars.
if you have a mixture of coupler makes, you will occasionally have a problem because the centering spring tension is not equal and both couplers will pull to one side. that is why i use kadee couplers only. the bulk of my equipment was already so equipped and i just stay with the originals.
grizlump
I agree Bob…The KD magnet works just fine when properly installed and with properly adjusted/mounted couplers.
On my past HO ISLs I use a small flat tip screw driver and in certain areas a magnet to uncouple cars…
When one wishes not to use a magnet they loose a nice feature of the KD coupler…
The delayed uncoupling feature.
Not true, actually. I can get delayed uncoupling with my Sergents simply by shifting one out of alignment enough that they won’t recouple when you push the car back. If you change the alignment on the car that you’re not leaving, the one you are will remain in good alignment for when you want to couple.
As the other gentlemen mentioned, a lot of layouts are designed around Kadees and how they operate, so there may be spots that are trickier to deal with than others. As I’m working on a new layout, it’s easy to remove these design obsticles.
Those Sergents are super nice couplers and idea for ISLs where everything is in easy reach…Had I not change primary scales from HO to N I had plans to use Sergents and my trusty MRC CM20 (for easy walk around) on my next ISL…[tup]
I don’t know why you addressed this posting specifically to Horribly Oversize-Scale; perhaps you think that we in Noble-Scale do not experience the same–or perhaps even worse–frustrations. We may be smaller than ya’all but uncoupling is a problem in every scale.
Unfortunately that 0-5-0 switcher probably gets the most work no matter what scale you are modeling–and for me it is the one used most often. But, as MidnightRailroader says, it is detrimental to the equipment and, sooner-or-later I am sure, a frequently handled car will begin to show deterioration of its paint quality.
These DCC controlled systems do look ideal but, unfortunately, they are going to add to the expense of a car. They could be ideal for locomotives but when you are talking about a freight car fleet of umpteen hundred and seventy seven cars that expense could–and at least for me would–become prohibitive.
They work but I’m a little bit of a clumsy oaf and I have troubles using these disengage sticks inserted down between cars. Ed Ravenscroft had pins that came up and secured the trucks allowing him to park a train on a grade; I have often wondered if there might not be some way to build one of these sticks into the roadbed that could be designed to lift up and disengage the couplers from underneath.
It looks like magnetic uncoupling is going to continue to be the most effective way to go in regards to the time-honored Kadee–or in my case Micro-Trains–coupler system. Rix’s magnetic wand looks good but, then again, it requires something be inserted between the cars. Again, there might be a way that this uncoupling system could be made to work from underneath. One of the most aggrevating things about permanently mounted uncoupling magnets is that–in the event of a breakaway–you have to back your whole g.d. train across that magnet leaving not one but many uncoupled points . . . . . either that or se
Model Railroader ran a new products item in their December 7, 2006 edition called the Geek stick.
I ordered four and have used them very successfully on my N scale layouts. Not sure if they are still in business.
Link is: http://www.trains.com/mrr/default.aspx?c=a&id=949
Scroll down for the picture.
Hi from Downunder,
I have also used Kadee magnets quite successfully on my switching layouts although the setup of both the magnets and the couplers is critical to good operation. Once the heights are suitably adjusted I have found they work very well.
I also use some rolling stock with DCC uncouplers which are very useful. They are built in the US by Glenn Loucks and featured in Model Railroader about a year ago. I have two boxcars, one with operating couplers both ends and the other with a single operating coupler. I also have a modified B unit which allows me to drop off rakes of passenger cars. I use the double coupler boxcar as a buffer car between the loco and the other freight cars and this allows me to switch any number of freight cars around my switching layout and then finally disconnect the loco. As they are operated by decoders the cars can be uncoupled anywhere on the layout simply by using the DCC controller. I have the car address the same as my sounded NW switcher so the car uncouples in conjunction with coupler release sound. I have used these cars many times at exhibitions over the last 2 years and they have worked faultlessly. They are reasonably priced and add flexibility to your switching scenarios. I have included a link to his website - it’s worth a look.
Not the cheapest solution but pretty interesting.
For over thirty years, I’ve used simple round toothpicks to uncouple in the same manner that some use skewers… stained black, sitting in a 1/8 inch styrene tube in the “ground” nearby locations such as sidings, etc., they look like any other utility pole without attachments, and are always handy to make a quick uncouple… giv em a try…you’ll probably like them…
L&M Railway, Ltd.
I use the kadee magnetic bar,inserted between the ties at a given spot for uncoupling. With a dremel drum tool attachment a few swipes will let you drop the bar into the trench of the ties.
When I have several installed at the right locations I cut the white plastic coffee stirrers from Mcdonalds to about 3 or 4 inches and insert them next to my hidden uncoupler. Then from anywhere on the layout I can see where to stop my train and uncouple with ease.
I have used this for some time and it works well.
steigie
Hi 1Trac,
People have been trying to devise a relyable method of un coupling cars eversince the model railroad world began. I’ve tried every commercial has been produced with mixed results. I’ve tried developing my on contrivance and have used such things as a pickle fork with one tine removed, a coffee stirrer, and a ball point pen cartrige. The most reliable seems to be the easiest and the cheapest, (free). I now use a plain old round toothpick from any good restaurant. I attach it to the side of my handheld controller with a rubber band and it’s always at the ready.
I use a combination of devices to uncouple cars, including under-the-track magnets, the aforementioned Rix tool and the Kadee spring pic that was originally designed to aid in replacing coupler springs. It works remarkably well on type F double shelf couplers, including the oft-maligned McHenry’s. As many others have pointed out, you need to install your couplers carefully, at the proper height and adjust the trip pins uniformly. John Timm
Another way to use the bamboo skewers that I use is to reach between the cars with the tip and pull the trip pin of the left side car toward the rail,simulating the action of the magnets. It takes a little practice but once you get the hang of it, it works great.
Wow! Guess what the Rix tool likes? Cabooses with metal handrails and ladders! They jump to the magnets and won’t let go! That’s why I use the skewers especially for switching! I come in with just enough power to move the loco to get slack, insert the skewer, twist it as I hit the reverse button, and pull out. Remember, the big guys use a man on the ground to pull the cut lever! So the skewer is your man on the ground! Practice makes perfect just keep trying. John
Yeah, the Sergent wand is like that too, though Roundhouse doesn’t have the best methods on mounting the end rails on the 36’ coach kits.
Skewers are great, as long as you A, remember it’s in your pocket, and B) Other people at a club don;t also use them to pick their teeth, scratch their back, etc. I have an Accumate yellow pick, and someday I’m looking at making a felt pocket on the back of my UT4r to put the switch picks in when I;m not using htem. If I have to 0-5-0 (Somebody really should make a model of one BTW) a car, I try to grab as much of it by the Truck as I can, if it’s a short car that I can pinch the sides of the truck on. Don’t know why, other han I’ll have to re-rail it anyway. But it does keep some of the body oils away from a car.
Add my name to the list of people who dislike the undertrack uncouplers. Naptown has some at the Passenger Terminal., and inevitably they work best when the train is trying to leave. We did have some way in the back of the station too, I think those were taken out because you couldn’t reach a broken train of two cars back there
I’ve operated on about a half-dozen different model railroads which have “serious” operating sessions, ranging in size from double-car garages to very much larger. All used simple skewers for uncoupling cars. Authentic Kadee couplers and all-metal wheels were the norm. Magnetic uncouplers were notable only in their absence. Except for operator error, operations were 99.9% flawless.
There are lessons to be learned here.
Mark