Operators,help placing uncouplers

[Tileguy]

OK, the yard is actually operational but not complete.Its time for me to figure out where i should put uncouplers.My operations experiance at this point is extremely limited to non existent so i need help from operators,those who have been there so to speak.I appreciate any and all advice forthcoming

 

[MasonJar]

A friend of mine has cut all the "glad-hands" off his Kadees. (He has also superdetailed everything with coupler release levers, etc.... but that's another story). He uncouples everything by hand using a tool from Micro-mark. For sidings he cannot reach, he manually sets the couplers to "delayed uncoupling", and then backs the train in to drop the car.

His arguments are:
1. In his era (late 1950s, early 60s) uncoupling was done by hand (related question - is it automatic these days??)
2. @#$&* permanent magnetic uncouplers uncouple things at the least convenient time.

Our local club has agreed at least with point #2, and will shortly remove all magnetic uncouplers from the club layout.

Andrew

 

[Agatheron]

Are there such things as electromagnetic uncouplers? I've heard of people using them, but it sounds to me that they're more home-grown operations for the most part...

I'm assuming that the theory behind magnetic uncouplers is that they only do their magic if the coupled cars in question are given enough slack from forward movement to actually be allowed to uncouple. However, I would imagine that slow-moving trains or ones that are too light could come uncoupled accidentally if run over an uncoupling magnet?

 

[MasonJar]

Kadee does make an electromagnetic uncoupler that can be turned on and off at the appropriate time.

Yes, the uncouplers only work when given enough slack. This can occur on purpose, but can also happen when you are pushing (not pulling) a train across a magnet, or when you've parked something is just the wrong spot.

Andrew

 

[Agatheron]

I've noticed that when prototype trains are pushing, before they reverse direction and start pulling, they slow down, but give the cars a good jerk to make sure everything is well connected. Does doing this help prevent accidental uncouplings?

 

[billk]

Here's a good description on how they work straight from the horse's mouth:

Kadee site