Based on a recommendation from a previous thread i purchased the 1/8" diameter by 3/8" long cylindrical magnets to experiment with their use as uncouplers. I plan on installing between the ties, with the top level with the tie top and just inside the rails. I think I may have to install in rows of three on each side, but am willing to experiment. Does anyone have experience with these? Any tips on their use and installation?
By the way, my main problem with using under track magnets is that they’re too strong and tend to yank my caboose forward causing it to uncouple. I’m hoping these will concentrate the magnetic field on the sides of the couplers where needed.
I bought them also but I haven’t tried them, Someone said to put them 3 in a row on the outside of each of the rails in between the ties, mine are the strong earth magnets??? Might want to experiment with a scrap piece of wood and a 2 foot piece of track and road bed. Try to put your couplers at the center magnet for the best results is what the post said. Let us know the results if you try this, Thanks, Jim.
I don’t remember where I saw the article for them first but I ordered them and installed them on my old layout. I placed one each, level with the ties and adjacent to the inside edge of the rails. They work very well but take some adjusting for maximum effect. Once installed and tweaked properly I put a drop of instant glue on them and they operated flawlessly until I just tore up the layout. I never heard anything about the 3 magnets but I would think they would have a greater magnetic field and therefore work better and be less finicky. I’ll try that on the next layout to see. They beat having the large Kadee permanent magnets between the rails or the magnet under the track. I liked them because a lot of the locations I needed them for were on curves which made the Kadee magnets unusable. You might want to trade out your steel axle wheelsets on your caboose with some from Kadee or InterMountain. That would cure the problem of the caboose being drawn into the magnetic field. Roger Huber Deer Creek Locomotive Works
I am using those same magnets on part of my layout, primarily on industrial tracks. I still use the KaDee bar magnets in my classification yard since they make the exact uncoupling point less finicky.
I only use a single pair at each uncoupling location and this requires some accurate operation to get the cars to uncouple since there is little room for error with one magnet on each side. If you are using a smooth running locomotive this is not too much of an issue.
I mark the magnet location with a weed or some other “landmark”. Using carpenter’s yellow glue, i set the top of the magnet inside the rails just far enough below rail height to clear the wheel flanges. I have not tried multiple magnets but that is a thought.
I have a few locations where I am using a single set of these magnets and they work great, even with a small target area. The problem I have with the Kadee flat plate magnet uncouplers is that it actually pulls a freight car truck with steel axles over the magnet. This is annoying in some situations when I don’t want the car positioned there. Unless you move it a couple of inches away from the magnet it will pull it right back. I wish I had tried these small cylindrical ones first; I never would have used the Kadee ones.
I use two magnets, one on each side. tight up against the corner of the tie and the rail. top of the magnet just low enough to clear the wheel flanges.
if you can, drill all the way through when installing them. that makes it easier to adjust the height by pushing back up from below when necessary. a dab of yellow glue holds them in place well.
I’ve been playing with these and after reading this and playing I have a few observations ,first I’m using the cylinder 1/8 x 3/8 grade n52 neodymium (ndfeb) from K&J magnetics ,very strong Lil’ rascals .
Installing as Charlie states is easy and effective on straiter track but on some radius (wide) there needs to be some trial and error or both couplers well be drawn to the outside mags < i think this can be adjusted with careful drilling or by increasing the pull on the inside ether by setting mag higher or closer or increasing the # of mags on the inside . OH and brand of couplers and there proper adjustment is VERY apparent here , but as Charlie and others point out these are a good option to look in to … Jw
PS; oh gosh forgot to mention the polarity of the mags need to be equill if useing more then one on each side , they will cancel each other out if not the same ,dont ask how I know[:$]
That’s the nugget of info I was waiting for… I remember the polarity thing was important, but forgot which way they are supposed to be oriented. So, to summarize:
For multiple pairs of magnets, the ones on each side of the track should all have the same polarity pointing up, i.e. they should tend to repel each other (“repulsive force” is parallel to the rails). The magnets on the other side of the track should have the opposite polarity pointing up, so the attractive force is parallel to the ties.
In other words, all the magnets on one side of the track have positive polarity pointing up, and all the ones on the opposite side of the track have negative polarity pointing up. It doesn’t matter which is which as long as all the magnets on each side are oriented the same way.
Hmm ; not sure on that Stokesda , what I used ,and I’m testing , was one of the magnets as a holder of sorts to install the mags in there holes so ALL in the group had the same polarity pointing up , but I will play around and see if it would be better to have each side opposed ,you never know…Jerry
Great information. Thank you all. By the way the magnets I ordered are the D26 N42. Apparently not quite as strong as the N52’s. I’ll be testing shortly.
If the under track ones pull your caboose, so will these. Solution there is to replace the wheelsets with some that have non-magnetic axles.
I’ve experimented with little tiny button magnets, once I got them placed properly they seemed to work pretty well. The operating area was so short there never was a problem with random uncoupling, however that also meant that when you WANTED the cars to uncouple, the spot had to be very precise.
Especially if this is on a through route, electromagnets are probbaly the best bet. Unless you actuate the magnet, there is zero chance of accidently uncoupling.
I’ve pretty much given up on magnets, and since my layouts are always narrow shelf type layouts, all tracks are within easy reach of a bamboo skewer to be used as an uncoupling tool. For a buck you can get a lifetime supply, I file the point slightly flat which seems to make them much easier to use in Kadee couplers. If you break one, or someone walks off with one, no big loss. I have not yet been able to make myself cut off the ‘air hoses’ on the Kadees though, even though there’s pretty much zero chance I will go back to using magnets.
I’ve been using those magnets for a long time now, and don’t have any problems with them. The only thing is that you need to be pretty precise in spotting the cars - a tie-width away can lose the strength to pull the trip pins over.
I tuck mine next to (not under) the tie, and just inside the rail. They are pretty strong, but should give you no problems. I would not put three in a row on each side - that’s a pretty heavy magnetic field, and might totally yank your caboose down. Also, even with one, it’s pretty strong - I have a Kadee disconnect logging truck with their little with their “caboose” shack on it, and it’ll yank that puppy on its nose. At most I would recommend no more that two on each side of the track.
If the link to my site works, go there, and click on “Layout” in the left-hand frame. Scroll down the right frame and read the “Uncoupling” paragraph. There’s a picture there that should be self-explanatory…
Hmmm… perhaps you are right. I got that idea from researching the Totally Hidden Uncoupler, which uses the magnets mounted on a metal plate, so it kind of makes sense that they have to be oriented N-S across the tracks. But if they are just individual magnets with no metal/magnetic connection between them, all they need to do is attract the nearest trip pin towards themselves. In that case, it may not matter if they are the same or opposite polarity across the tracks.
Experimentation would be necessary to see if it matters[^o)]… quick, Robin - to the Train Cave! [:D]
I was playing around with some earlier today and discovered that if I clustered 16 of them together in a group on a piece of metal I’m not strong enough to pull all 16 off the metal at once.
yes, and if you are truly fascinated by strong magnets, it is just a matter of time until you pinch your finger tips real bad. then you will have to scratch your head with your foot. don’t ask how i know this.