Subject:
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Re: The philosophy of manual uncoupling
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Fri, 3 May 2002 23:43:08 GMT
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Viewed:
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1202 times
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In lugnet.trains, Rick Clark writes:
> Hello all,
>
> If you guys are like me, you are a bit frustrated with the practice of
> uncoupling train cars by grabbing one car in each hand and pulling them
> apart. Model railroaders call that the HOG [1] switcher. It is certainly
> unprototypical.
>
> While it is possible to build an electric LEGO train uncoupler, or to
> install magnetically controlled model railroading couplers, each of
> these methods has drawbacks.
>
> Enter the Manual Decoupler. For years, model railroaders have used a
> manual uncoupling tool as a low-tech way of breaking up a consist. In
> his book "The HO Model Railroading Handbook," Robert Schleicher
> describes what he calls a "Hands-Near Approach." This means that
> whenever possible, you position yourself near the train you are
> controlling, throw the switches manually, and uncouple the cars
> manually. In addition to being convenient, this method replicates the
> prototypical practice of manually throwing switches, and manually
> uncoupling cars.
>
> So how do you manually uncouple LEGO cars? The way I do it is with a
> simple uncoupler that I designed. Basically, it is a two pronged fork
> that is inserted between the cars and then twisted to separate them.
>
> I've been using this for over a year, and have found it to be very
> satisfying. Give it a try, and let me know what you think.
Thanks Rick - the best ideas are always this simple.
Automatic (remote) uncoupling can be effected by a trackside mechanism or an
on-loco mechanism. There have been one or two AFOL-created designs for the
trackside mechanism however I've never seen an 'on-loco' system used in Lego.
Basically, a remote triggering device is required to activate a plunger (or
similar) to push the locomotive and adjacent car apart. The plunger would
then have to return to it's original position to allow further magnetic
couplings to take place.
One way of doing this is to use a 4.5v battery tender triggered by one of
the old triangular posts, with a separate on-loco motor independent from the
rail power. The drive system for the plunger will of course have to be
separated from the drive to move the locomotive.
OR...how about using the RCX or Code Pilot with touch/light sensors ?
Has anyone tried this or am I barking mad?
Jon Reynolds
> Additional construction details are available at:
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=164507
>
> Rick C.
>
> [1] "HOG" = "Hand of God." Also know as an 0-5-0.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: The philosophy of manual uncoupling
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| (...) Jonathan, I tried this system a few years ago (1999-2000). I don't know if I ever posted pics but I tried two systems. One used a moter to push a 1x16 brick out the back of the engine. I used gear racks to move the plunger. I also tried this (...) (23 years ago, 4-May-02, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | The philosophy of manual uncoupling
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| Hello all, If you guys are like me, you are a bit frustrated with the practice of uncoupling train cars by grabbing one car in each hand and pulling them apart. Model railroaders call that the HOG [1] switcher. It is certainly unprototypical. While (...) (23 years ago, 3-May-02, to lugnet.trains)
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