Has any one ever tried this...

[Jacktal]

Sorry for the "confusion"...my bad...well,by uncoupling themselves I meant without the intervention of a gigantic hand dropping from the sky.It is just as obvious to me as to most people that coupling/uncoupling cars is done manually and I suppose that it'll stay like this for yet a while unless technology comes up with remote uncoupling systems of some sort.But then I'd guess that human intervention would still be required for inspections,maintenance,etc.

[Gandy Dancer]

I like to see trains couple/uncouple by themselves in prototype operations ... It is either the 0-5-0 wich isn't too prototypical

???!??? what?  You must be watching a different prototype than I am used to.   Prototype un/coupling is 0-5-0, at least in the USA.  A brakeman has to manually connect the brake hoses after coupling, and a brakeman has to pull the lift bar to open the knuckle and uncouple. 

So my vote is "crazy" just from the prototype perspective.

[loathar]

IIRC, someones come out with a DCC box car that does this.

[rayw46]

My bad, I forgot that some of you have large layouts with fairly inaccessible areas.  I have a small switching layout where not switchstand or uncoupling location is more than 18" from the front of the layout.  If you have active areas for uncoupling more than 24" from the front of the layout I can well understand the need for magnetic uncoupling.  I'd have it too.

Ray

[tomikawaTT]

Prototype cars only couple "by themselves" if both cars have open coupler knuckles.  Otherwise, a yard hand has to open the closed knuckle(s) manually before the cars are pushed together.  Then the air hoses have to be joined and the angle cocks opened - both 'hands in the machinery' operations.  (There have been places where couplers meeting at severe angles had to be 'persuaded' to couple by judicious application of a short-handled sledgehammer.)

As for cars uncoupling "by themselves," if that happens on the road at speed it is called a "break in two," and results in emergency air, a very rapid stop and, often, flat-spotted wheels.  Cars that seem to be uncoupling by themselves going over a hump have their cut levers lifted by some human at the crest, after someone else has either closed all the angle cocks or drained the train air line.  The only thing that uncouples automatically is the glad hand connection on the air hose.

As a long time user of Kadee couplers, I have learned where to place delayed-action permanent magnets, where to use electromagnets and where the 80x scale size yard hand has to uncouple manually.  And, yes, I am trying to operate in a prototypically correct manner.

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - to the prototype's timetable, 24/30)

[ndbprr]

Tony's train exchange sells just such a coupler activated by DCC I believe.  However, the 0-5-0 may be out of proportion but switch crews still uncouple cars manually so it is really the ultimate in prototypical operation.

[MisterBeasley]

Thoughtful placement of uncoupler magnets, including track planning which recognizes their limitations, can give you pretty good results.  Kadees have a "delayed uncoupling" feature which allows you to uncouple a car at one point, but then continue to push it further down the track and "spot" it in front of a loading dock or whatever, and then back the engine away, leaving the car in place.  With this, you can use a single uncoupler magnet at the throat of a yard, and place cars anywhere in the yard without further intervention.

I've got 4 permanent magnets and one electromagnet for uncoupling on my 5x12 foot HO layout, and I do almost all of my uncoupling and car spotting without touching the cars or reaching in with a skewer.

[rayw46]

"I like to see trains couple/uncouple by themselves in prototype operations and would like to see the same with our model trains."

I'm not the smartest person when it comes to prototype railroading, but where do you find prototype rolling stock uncoupling by themselves.  And as far as coupling, sometimes the conductor/brakeman has to open the knuckles on a car to couple, at least I've seem videos of this being done.  So using your hands with a tool such as a skewer seems to me to actually be more prototypical. 

Ray

[alco_fan]

What do you guys think?Useless,feasible or simply crazy?

Not especially useful, but it's been done.

http://rr-cirkits.com/uncoupler.html

Once you could even buy them off the shelf, but they seem to be discontinued

http://www.tonystrains.com/products/ddc.htm

 

[conrail92]

Never seen it done in HO, but I have a MTH NS sd90 mac that has auto couplers on locomotive.

[Jacktal]

Well...it's just an idea that crossed my mind a little while back that I'd like to share.It may be a little "far out" but I feel it may have some potential for someone who likes technical challenges.

I like to see trains couple/uncouple by themselves in prototype operations and would like to see the same with our model trains.Our models do couple by themsleves already but for separation,it's a different story.It is either the 0-5-0 wich isn't too prototypical or magnetic devices installed at specific areas under the trackage,wich means that uncoupling is limited to these areas.

What about a DCC powered switcher that would be fitted with a small solenoid that would unlock the coupler through a decoder's toggled channel?I think that having a loco that can uncouple anywhere at will would be handy but then it may not be worthed the effort.What do you guys think?Useless,feasible or simply crazy?