I am having problems getting my trains to couple or uncouple. I am using Atlas Classic and Kato locomotives. My rolling stock is Micro Trains, Atlas, and Kato. My track is Kato Unitrack. None of my cars un-couple over the magnet and sometimes they refuse to couple unless I run the locomotive fast and slam the cars together. What should I do? I am running a shelf switching layout.
Micro-Trains couplers are the best and will couple with just the gentlest of nudges. for uncoupling the trip pins must be adjusted with the trip pin gauge. Accumate couplers that come with Atlas and other loco's and cars are somewhat larger and take more force to couple. I have pushed cars around my layout with accumate couplers that never engage. They will uncouple if the trip pin is in proper adjustment. The magnets must also be in the proper position. I don't use magnets and prefer to use Rix Pics to uncouple.
I agree with this. IMHO, using a pick is more realistic as you are not restricted to uncoupling in a fixed location each time. My two cents, which doesn't answer your question. A combination of adjusting magnets and trip pins should make it work.
I've found the best thing is consistency. If some cars have MT, some Accumate, and some Kato, coupling and uncoupling will be, let's call it "challenging". Acumates aren't too bad uncoupling, though they have that self-removing trip pin on some models. Kato's seem to be the worst as far as playing well with others. So, try uncoupling MT from MT, Accumate from Accumate for a while and see if they uncouple from each other. Also, if the uncoupling magnets are not close enough to the track, they won't work well. The tops of the magnets need to be nearly at rail head height.
BTW, Fotheringill had some method of using rare earth magnets for uncoupling, IIRC. You might do a search.
I use Micro Trains (MT) automatic coupling / uncoupling on my (unfinished) layout, and it works reliably for switching. I agree that best performance is achieved by standardizing on a single brand of coupler; and strongly suggest MT. It is important to properly adjust everything initially. Start with a test section of straight track with under-track magnet, and test/adjust each car/engine. Bright temporary lighting (adjustable desk lamp?) and a magnifier can be helpful here to diagnose issues with particular items of equipment. Adjust the following as needed: 1) The MT under-track permanent magnets (#988 00 171) work fine if mounted directly under the ties. No need to have them “at rail height”. Under-track uncoupling magnets should be side-to-side centered under the track, but mounted so they can later be further adjusted from under the layout, if needed. For proper operation, note that each coupler pin ***must*** be attracted to the opposite rail. If both are pulled to the same side, uncoupling will not occur. I also mount my main line uncouplers on hinged trap door arrangements, per the MT magnet instruction sheet, in order to reduce the chance of accidental uncoupling. (I haven’t had to use the trap doors yet, but they are insurance). 2) Adjust coupler mount, and coupler pin heights per MT gauges (#988 00 031 coupler height gauge, and #988 00 034 coupler trip pin height gauge). Note that a “burred” coupler pin at just the wrong height can sometimes catch on a low engine pilot, causing unreliable uncoupling. 3) Most recent MT coupler types have the poorly-implemented RDA (Reverse Draft Angle) modification, which unintentionally widened the coupler knuckle tips. See image below. This often causes the coupler knuckle tips to catch when magnetic uncoupling is attempted. Here is my suggested fix: a) Ensure that the RDA couplers are burnished (rubbed with a smooth metal tool) with graphite on the working surfaces (internal and external) per MT's instructions. If already assembled, at least squirt some graphite into the coupler box and flick them open a couple of times to distribute. b) More importantly, narrow and round off the flat tip of the MT RDA coupler knuckles, and burnish. (Try not to remove the reverse angle when doing this). The portion to be removed is marked in orange in the image below. The coupler assembly is best removed from the car/engine when you are doing this. c) 4) A minor issue I have seen occasionally occurs if track gauge is too wide relative to wheel gauge. This results in excessive side-to-side position variation of the trucks (and thus of the car end they are attached to). In turn, this results in the possibility of trucks of 2 adjacent uncoupled cars being offset sufficiently much in the wrong direction so as to inhibit coupling. Mark H.
Great suggestions, Mark (if you're still there after all these years). As my coupler problems are mostly cases where they resist separation by the Kato track magnet (even after applying a bit of compression), your a, b, and c comments above are especially interesting. However, by now the picture you linked to (c) is no longer available and I'm guessing it would be really helpful to see the areas on the coupler to be burnished/trimmed. Is there any chance you could re-post it or make it available to thread readers in another way?
