What a clever, elegant and simple system. You seem to have achieved a holy grail of minimal alteration, at minimal expense, with efficient operation. The fact you can use a single set of magnets to service an entire set of sidings is genius. Thanks for giving such a great idea to the masses.
¡Hola Gormo! Greetings from Almería. I’ve been rekindling my childhood love of railways and model building. I won’t bore everyone with my amazement of new technology within the last 35 years or so but, one area which has forever frustrated young and old enthusiasts is uncoupling techniques. After watching your two video presentations, I am confident that my uncoupling concerns are now sorted. Thanks for such well explained and detailed videos. Cheers, Gary. PS: your scratch building videos have gone down well here as well!
G`day Gary, I`m glad you enjoyed the videos and that they have eased your concerns over uncoupling. Tension locks are annoying at times and it`s good if they become a bit more user friendly, especially if children are using them. Happy modelling in Almeria Cheers Gormo
Works bloody awesome! However, you can just have a couple of banks of magnets at different places enabling you to leave wagons in different places. Great job though!
G`day Medway, This is very much an ongoing project and the video above is now two years old. I am currently working on this project once more and the ideas are quite different to this particular video above. I have found a way to mechanically delay uncoupling and have added a two link chain to activate the process. My latest video ruclips.net/video/QTZyEtPy2n4/видео.html explores the chain operation however that will be followed up with delayed uncoupling incorporated......stay tuned. Cheers Gormo
Hi Gormo - Yes I watched the 2 link coupling video and will look out for the next installment. As I am in the early stages of the layout build and have not laid any track yet I can work out which will work best for me. If I go the circular magnet route I could put them in place before ballasting . I would assume that if I did not cover them too much I could put some ballast over the top to disguise them. I am working through your videos to see what good ideas I can pinch !!!! - Cheers Kev
I think your system is great and can be used with Bachman & Hornby couplings, without having the expense of having to buy Kadee couplings for every piece of rolling stock, which would cost quite a lot if you wanted to do a large collection, compared to a packet of staples, you only need to buy enough magnets for the track and any locos you need to fit them to. I am going with your method, if it works, like you have shown, then that's good enough for me. I love all your instructive videos and I have learned a lot by your simple methods. I like the manual point changing method, but haven't the skill to make all the levers like you did, so I think I will take the simple method of using cable and tube. I'm about your age and I'm afraid converting to DCC and all the cost to make everything electrical is out of my budget and I prefer to keep things simple and effective.
G`day Geoff, Thanks for your reply. I am also on a budget and can`t justify spending large amounts on my hobby. Therefore one has to improvise, work with what we`ve got and generally make the best of it regardless. Now to some folks, this may sound like the hard way, and indeed in some cases it is, however the satisfaction that is gained from the experience is worth every minute of time put into it. For me, it brings me closer to the hobby and I feel like I`m trailing in the footsteps of the early pioneers in this hobby who made pretty much everything on their railways. We are blessed these days with a wonderful variety of products in the hobby, and the detail in the rolling stock has improved remarkably over the years, however that attention to detail and running has come at quite a cost. I have committed to an analogue system and because of cost, that`s where I`ll stay. My friend Gary exhibits his layouts and always uses a wire in tube method. His logic is ,keep it simple and reliable, especially under exhibition conditions, where if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. As far as I know, none of his points have ever had a problem under any conditions. Cheers Gormo
Thanks Geoff, I like getting into the spirit of modelling, which to me is adapting or creating something from nothing....from scratch. There are all sorts of gimmicks and gadgets available to us today to make our railways run and look prototypical........if you can afford all that gear.????........I can`t and I can`t justify the expense to the little lady, so I stay with analogue and I build what I can. My friend Gary exhibits his layouts on a regular basis and he prefers to use wire in tube because he doesn`t want to be faced with electrical failures during an exhibition.His latest layout uses a manual traverser which is simple and reliable. Reliability is imperative under those conditions and he has never had a failure to my knowledge. Simple is best. My system has had three minor adjustments and a replaced screw, in it`s life ......no big deal considering the use it gets.? The system was built for a fraction of the cost of a fully electronic equivalent and there`s nothing like manually throwing a point .......you might as well be in the signal box....LOL Cheers Gormo
Very cleaver Gormo! That second magnet on the loco coupling was a great piece of inspiration, what might be called lateral thinking in some circles. As you say not as versatile as Kadees but not far behind!......................John
Thanks John, It really is a game changer for tension locks albeit more limited than KD`s. I was just using it a while ago and it gives you much more scope for placing the wagons where you want them. The uncoupling area becomes merely a point where you uncouple rather than the drop off point for the rolling stock. Cheers Gormo
Thanks Gary.....it`s probably a bit late now that I`ve blurted it out to the world, but it will be interesting to see if somebody takes it up. I`m sure somebody has started making tension locks using Brian Kirby`s idea. The magnetic delayed uncoupling is a further development from yours truly, which I think really puts the icing on the cake.....even if I do say so myself.!!! Cheers Gormo
Regarding the "pulsing", it's due to the way magnetic fields are shaped. It's hard to describe without a diagram but imagine an oval loosely drawn around each magnet, circling from top to bottom. If the magnets are too close together, where those ovals overlap you will get things like fields cancelling each other out or amplifying one another, which leads to strange performance. If the magnets are set apart a ways their fields don't overlap, and you will have a fairly continuous magnetic field of equal strength.
Thanks for the info Gunslinger, I must admit I did not consider that aspect of magnet placement. I will have to reconsider and due some testing I think in order to find the sweet spot for the magnets. Thanks for that Cheers Gormo
Hi. This is quite clever. The only thing is i cant do that with my trains as my layout is N gauge if i could do that i deffo would. What can you suggest? For us N gauge ooperaters??. Many Thanks. ... Jim.
Very nice idea Gormo. I saw someone else a while ago using paperclips, which always looked too big, using staples is a much better idea. Can I ask, when you collected the two wagons and pulled them back why did they not uncouple whe going over the magnets? (Hope that made sense)...Simon
G`day Simon, The tension lock hooks have a little part on the end that turns back under the coupling bar on the opposite wagon when a wagon is being pulled. Once it`s under the bar it is prevented from lifting up. It will only lift when the wagons are compressed against each other which in effect removes the hook from under the bar. The link has an image which may make more sense than I do. www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/Bazeley/Pics/TensionLockCoupler.gif Cheers Gormo
Awesome video and very inspiring 👍🏻have you tried two or more joined together and placing under the track so the combined magnets are stronger but being further away , have the same effect with being almost invisible ?
G`day Troy, No I haven`t ......I didn`t want to lift any track so best I can do is down between sleepers. Under the track would allow more choice of magnet size but would require experimentation to find what works best. Cheers Gormo
Hi Gormo Probably a dumb question but are the coupling hooks that you use made of plastic (ie. non-magnetic)? You also changed the staple size from No10 to what size? I was also thinking of using paper clips instead of staples as they probably are more durable.
G`day Ray, The coupling hooks are the small Bachmann type. They are made from brass and some also appear to be some other non magnetic alloy. The staples have gone up to a 26 / 6 .....pretty much a standard size for most staplers. Paper clips will work but they are considerably heavier looking. Cheers Gormo
What a clever, elegant and simple system. You seem to have achieved a holy grail of minimal alteration, at minimal expense, with efficient operation. The fact you can use a single set of magnets to service an entire set of sidings is genius. Thanks for giving such a great idea to the masses.
You're very welcome!
¡Hola Gormo! Greetings from Almería. I’ve been rekindling my childhood love of railways and model building. I won’t bore everyone with my amazement of new technology within the last 35 years or so but, one area which has forever frustrated young and old enthusiasts is uncoupling techniques. After watching your two video presentations, I am confident that my uncoupling concerns are now sorted. Thanks for such well explained and detailed videos. Cheers, Gary. PS: your scratch building videos have gone down well here as well!
G`day Gary,
I`m glad you enjoyed the videos and that they have eased your concerns over uncoupling.
Tension locks are annoying at times and it`s good if they become a bit more user friendly, especially if children are using them.
Happy modelling in Almeria
Cheers
Gormo
I like this. Takes staples to a new dimension. Thanks
Thanks Martin,
Glad you enjoyed the video
Cheers Gormo
Works bloody awesome! However, you can just have a couple of banks of magnets at different places enabling you to leave wagons in different places. Great job though!
Just come across your 2 videos and by the looks of things this may have solved the issue of how I was going to uncouple tension hooks. Thanks
G`day Medway,
This is very much an ongoing project and the video above is now two years old.
I am currently working on this project once more and the ideas are quite different to this particular video above.
I have found a way to mechanically delay uncoupling and have added a two link chain to activate the process.
My latest video ruclips.net/video/QTZyEtPy2n4/видео.html explores the chain operation however that will be followed up with delayed uncoupling incorporated......stay tuned.
Cheers
Gormo
Hi Gormo - Yes I watched the 2 link coupling video and will look out for the next installment. As I am in the early stages of the layout build and have not laid any track yet I can work out which will work best for me. If I go the circular magnet route I could put them in place before ballasting . I would assume that if I did not cover them too much I could put some ballast over the top to disguise them. I am working through your videos to see what good ideas I can pinch !!!! - Cheers Kev
Great work and analysis, Gormo. I think that it's the best result that you can reach with a mechanical system.
Thanks Michele,
It`s fun to use it which makes it worthwhile.
Cheers Gormo
I think your system is great and can be used with Bachman & Hornby couplings, without having the expense of having to buy Kadee couplings for every piece of rolling stock, which would cost quite a lot if you wanted to do a large collection, compared to a packet of staples, you only need to buy enough magnets for the track and any locos you need to fit them to. I am going with your method, if it works, like you have shown, then that's good enough for me. I love all your instructive videos and I have learned a lot by your simple methods. I like the manual point changing method, but haven't the skill to make all the levers like you did, so I think I will take the simple method of using cable and tube. I'm about your age and I'm afraid converting to DCC and all the cost to make everything electrical is out of my budget and I prefer to keep things simple and effective.
G`day Geoff,
Thanks for your reply.
I am also on a budget and can`t justify spending large amounts on my hobby. Therefore one has to improvise, work with what we`ve got and generally make the best of it regardless.
Now to some folks, this may sound like the hard way, and indeed in some cases it is, however the satisfaction that is gained from the experience is worth every minute of time put into it.
For me, it brings me closer to the hobby and I feel like I`m trailing in the footsteps of the early pioneers in this hobby who made pretty much everything on their railways.
We are blessed these days with a wonderful variety of products in the hobby, and the detail in the rolling stock has improved remarkably over the years, however that attention to detail and running has come at quite a cost. I have committed to an analogue system and because of cost, that`s where I`ll stay.
My friend Gary exhibits his layouts and always uses a wire in tube method. His logic is ,keep it simple and reliable, especially under exhibition conditions, where if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. As far as I know, none of his points have ever had a problem under any conditions.
Cheers
Gormo
Thanks Geoff,
I like getting into the spirit of modelling, which to me is adapting or creating something from nothing....from scratch.
There are all sorts of gimmicks and gadgets available to us today to make our railways run and look prototypical........if you can afford all that gear.????........I can`t and I can`t justify the expense to the little lady, so I stay with analogue and I build what I can.
My friend Gary exhibits his layouts on a regular basis and he prefers to use wire in tube because he doesn`t want to be faced with electrical failures during an exhibition.His latest layout uses a manual traverser which is simple and reliable. Reliability is imperative under those conditions and he has never had a failure to my knowledge. Simple is best.
My system has had three minor adjustments and a replaced screw, in it`s life ......no big deal considering the use it gets.?
The system was built for a fraction of the cost of a fully electronic equivalent and there`s nothing like manually throwing a point .......you might as well be in the signal box....LOL
Cheers
Gormo
Very cleaver Gormo! That second magnet on the loco coupling was a great piece of inspiration, what might be called lateral thinking in some circles. As you say not as versatile as Kadees but not far behind!......................John
Thanks John,
It really is a game changer for tension locks albeit more limited than KD`s. I was just using it a while ago and it gives you much more scope for placing the wagons where you want them. The uncoupling area becomes merely a point where you uncouple rather than the drop off point for the rolling stock.
Cheers Gormo
Better get a patent on that method Gormo. Excellent results indeed.
Cheers, Gary.
Thanks Gary.....it`s probably a bit late now that I`ve blurted it out to the world, but it will be interesting to see if somebody takes it up. I`m sure somebody has started making tension locks using Brian Kirby`s idea. The magnetic delayed uncoupling is a further development from yours truly, which I think really puts the icing on the cake.....even if I do say so myself.!!!
Cheers Gormo
Just watched the part 1.....glad I watched this .....I'll have to try and get busy ...instead of watching RUclips vids lol....regards fred
Regarding the "pulsing", it's due to the way magnetic fields are shaped. It's hard to describe without a diagram but imagine an oval loosely drawn around each magnet, circling from top to bottom. If the magnets are too close together, where those ovals overlap you will get things like fields cancelling each other out or amplifying one another, which leads to strange performance. If the magnets are set apart a ways their fields don't overlap, and you will have a fairly continuous magnetic field of equal strength.
Thanks for the info Gunslinger,
I must admit I did not consider that aspect of magnet placement. I will have to reconsider and due some testing I think in order to find the sweet spot for the magnets.
Thanks for that
Cheers
Gormo
Genius mate 🤗
Hi. This is quite clever. The only thing is i cant do that with my trains as my layout is N gauge if i could do that i deffo would. What can you suggest? For us N gauge ooperaters??. Many Thanks. ... Jim.
Very nice idea Gormo. I saw someone else a while ago using paperclips, which always looked too big, using staples is a much better idea. Can I ask, when you collected the two wagons and pulled them back why did they not uncouple whe going over the magnets? (Hope that made sense)...Simon
G`day Simon,
The tension lock hooks have a little part on the end that turns back under the coupling bar on the opposite wagon when a wagon is being pulled. Once it`s under the bar it is prevented from lifting up. It will only lift when the wagons are compressed against each other which in effect removes the hook from under the bar.
The link has an image which may make more sense than I do.
www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/Bazeley/Pics/TensionLockCoupler.gif
Cheers Gormo
Awesome video and very inspiring 👍🏻have you tried two or more joined together and placing under the track so the combined magnets are stronger but being further away , have the same effect with being almost invisible ?
G`day Troy,
No I haven`t ......I didn`t want to lift any track so best I can do is down between sleepers.
Under the track would allow more choice of magnet size but would require experimentation to find what works best.
Cheers
Gormo
Hi Gormo
Probably a dumb question but are the coupling hooks that you use made of plastic (ie. non-magnetic)?
You also changed the staple size from No10 to what size?
I was also thinking of using paper clips instead of staples as they probably are more durable.
G`day Ray,
The coupling hooks are the small Bachmann type. They are made from brass and some also appear to be some other non magnetic alloy.
The staples have gone up to a 26 / 6 .....pretty much a standard size for most staplers.
Paper clips will work but they are considerably heavier looking.
Cheers Gormo