Manually uncoupling horn-hook couplers?

It'll be a while before I can get TwinGirl's rolling stock upgraded to knuckle couplers.

So... What's the best way to manually uncouple horn hooks?

 

Take a small screw driver and drop it in between the two couplers and twist it.

You mean to tell me there is someone out there still horsing around with horn hook couplers?

It takes forever to get them switched over....I ought to know.

 

Yep. I had to retrofit her new GP9M to be able to pull her rolling stock. It's almost all 30 years old, rescued from my parents' attic.

Would a bamboo skewer work just as well? That's what we use on my N scale stuff... would be nice if she could use the same procedure on both scales...

 

Horney-Hook Couplers

Even when the now old horney-hook couplers were in vogue they never uncoupled reliably and hand uncoupling was necessary.
When you swithc to knuckle couplers DON'T!! use the Kadee wanabee couplers. Save a lot of grief and poor operation and use ONLY real Kadee couplers properly installed.
A few years ago I bought the Walthers GN Empire Builder train which is 15 cars long. The cars came with plastic knuckle couplers. It was impossible to keep the train coupled. I replaced the couplers with Kadee 5's and the uncoupling problem went away.

 

I'm with Mr. SP on this one.

The bamboo skewer will work...just not as well.

I love old finds like a train in an attic. Have fun with her.

 

Kadee #5 couplers are the old standard and work perfectly - the new Kadee #158 whisker couplers are all that plus twice as simple to assemble and install.
Of course depending on your particular old rolling stock, you're probably going to run into the need to use your "modeler's ingenuity" as Kadee puts it, to be able to have your couplers at the right height.
Probably not telling you anything you don't already know, but they have 3 different coupler heights (over-, center- and under-set) plus 3 shank lengths. Check out their website for everything you ever wanted to know about coupler conversions. :tb-cool:

 

I just bought a "Bowser" kit covered hopper car and it came with the "horn/hook" couplers. The kit did provide a spacer ring for Kadee #5 couplers. I used the spacer ring and Kadee #5s and threw away the horn/hook stuff. I can't believe that kits are still shipping with them.

 

I have a small storage bin of horn hooks. When I get our layout far enough along for the scrapyard the horn hooks will get painted various rusty browns. Some will be cut into smaller pieces for a different scenic effect so I'll get better use out of them than as trash can filler. Those trucks with the coupler mounts and their wheelsets are destined for other piles.

 

When the X2F coupler was properly adjusted and at the correct height it worked quite well.

Back then we had cheap X2F wannabes that was more trouble then their worth.


I found the small flat tip screwdriver was the best way to uncouple the X2F.

 

That would make a good model-railroad "in joke" ... rusted up horn-hook couplers in a scrap pile...