Rix pick works for me.

  The Rix pick works well for me,  but you are right about having to be gentle with it.  I have found that there are different types of couplers on various pieces of rolling stock that I have, and the interactions between each other and the uncoupling tool can be frustrating.  Add to that the fact that some of the models of newer cars have the expanded metal crossover platforms above the coupler, and it can be quite tricky.

  I have settled on using Micro Trains couplers for ALL of my cars, with a second choice of the McHenry couplers.  The McHenry's actually look a bit better, and have pretty much the same action.  The Early Bachmann units are WAY oversized and stiff. The Accumates aren't bad, but have a different knuckle geometry that interacts weirdly with the MT couplers.  There are some crazy featureless things that came on my early Exactrail cars and the PWRS stuff all comes with some dummy couplers.

  The other thing that helps is to push into the string of cars while you insert the pick.  This opens up the little gap between the couplers faces.  The cars that are weighted correctly are also easier to uncouple.  Light cars, like empty flats, gondolas, and well cars, can be a bear!

  Body mounted couplers versus truck mounted will also cut down on the derail factor.  With truck mounted couplers, ANY downward pressure is tending to lift the inside wheelset, then any side motion will kick it over then rail.

 I try to keep my fingers at the top of the handle, insert the pick, NO DOWNWARD PRESSURE, and a gentle twist - usually using the throttle to back away a bit.  It is a thing you need practice to get down, and having as much consistency in the couplers allows you to develop a touch that will work.

Good luck!

Toni

great

i was looking too

N-Scale uncoupling

Guys, with all the nice MT heavyweights coming out I am tempted to build an N-scale layout featuring passenger car switching. How do you guys handle uncoupling with close contact diaphrams?

Gerry Boulerice

Dorval QC

Long live the Central Vermont

10 Years Later

 Anybody have an Update for this Thread?

I am going to try a small N scale switching layout for a couple of months before I make a permeant scale choice.

I'll explain why later and elsewhere as I don't want to derail this thread.

So question is, has anybody in N scale found a good reliable method for uncoupling cars?

Thanks, Jack

At one time ...

I found a very small and super strong ceramic disc magnet and glued it to a chopstick.  It worked pretty well, even from above. I didn't have to touch anything which was good in N Scale, because the Kadee pick thing I had, about 5 times out of ten, I may as well have just lifted the car because they derailed anyways.  Another reason I switched to HO.

I used the Kadee permanent magnetic uncouplers in a few spots where I could run the train backwards and kick the cars, and I also installed one of those Kadee powered electro magnetic things and that worked really good, but as you say, you have to know where you want it. 

I tried some magnets today but they are too big.  Two of those Rapido light switch magnet wands would open HO couplers but are too big for NScale.   I tried the round toothpick end of a Kadee pick on two N Scale cars and it worked ok.  Maybe the big end is just for HO and larger. 

Rix Pick,  Nuff

Rix Pick,  Nuff said...

SKU: 628-0024  https://rixproducts.com/product/rix-pick-uncoupling-tool-n-scale/

It Appears All You Need

Is something pointy and small to slip between the knuckles. I've used RIx Picks and bamboo skewers, and in a pinch, round toothpicks. I do have to put on my 'readers' to uncouple, though. 

What works for you?

When I had my N scale layout I eventually just reverted to the old trick of picking up one end of the car enough to clear the couplers then set it back down. I found all the various tools still often derailed a car so I had to put it back on the track anyway. ....DaveB

What an operations person uses in a video

Searched the internet on uncoupling N scale cars and found some videos.

Uncoupling

Thanks Az for the videos. I'm going to see if the LHS has the Rix Pics on hand or if I can order one.

Dave B to answer your question, most of my experience is also with HO and a little bit of N scale. Small screw driver--kinda sorta worked, round tooth pick works better with N scale unless you glue it onto a longer stick, Skewer--I have used it a lot with HO and a bit with N. Derailed a lot of cars with N scale stuff, maybe because I was a bit heavy handed being used to HO

Tried under track magnet with HO and the between the rails type. A royal case of irritation to be polite about it including when pulling a car or cars out of a siding and having an uncoupling because of a brief pause in train movement due to dirty? track. Couldn't find a fix for the pause so removed magnet.

At one time I operated on an N scale layout back when I lived in MN. The guy used a device with a handle and a pair of magnets that you slid down between 2 cars and it pulled the kadee steel bits apart and you were good to go. Worked pretty decent for N if your hands were real steady and you didn't bump either car knocking them off the track.

Didn't work so well with HO. Tested it a long time back on my own layout and I am thinking that the handle wasn't quite long enough.

If I give this little N scale layout a go I will be trying the skewer and see if practice doesn't help things. I will be doing some sketches of track plan possibilities with HO and N and post it in a separate thread.

This has been encouraging so thankyou for that.

Jack

I used round magnets ..

But reading your post about the layout you operated on gives me an idea, for HO as well.

A thin, old fashioned u shaped magnet, with the opening wide enough to clear the couplers, closed and open, mounted on some kind of handle ought to work. I am going to devise such a device for HO and larger.  Ceramics and epoxy are my friends!

Rix uncoupler

Before you build one, check out the Rix magnetic uncoupler.

Rix Magnetic Uncoupler

That's the one I had used and didn't have to much luck with. To repeat myself, reason now is unclear that was around 20-25 yrs ago.

Jack

Good luck with skewers both in N and HO

We primarily use skewers at the local club which is where I run my HO stuff but at home on the N scale empire, I've found the bamboo skewers work fine. I know that I have a few cars that are a little light so I sometimes have to put a finger on top of those to hold them on the track while twisting the skewer. As usual, there are occasional derailments, but putting the car back on the track isn't any different than the "pick up, uncouple, and put back down" process.

Fix magnetic uncoupler ... not so useful

Got one, tried it, discarded it in the first 10 minutes and never used it again.

The problem? Anything magnetic on the cars gets attracted to it and you can only use it with both hands ... and at that point, I might as well 0-5-0 uncouple since it’s almost the same difference.

It's one of those things that seems like a great idea, but in practice, it generally works very poorly.

Uncoupling passenger cars

I think a lot of people are  missing the point about uncoupling cars WITH DIAPHRAGMS. You're not going to be able to do this with picks in N scale. It's magnets or nothing, I'm afraid. If you don't want the big MT magnets between the rails (or the similar Kato ones) you can get small neodymium magnets and embed them in the roadbed. There are a number of videos and threads on what magnets to use, where to gt them, and how to embed them.

The one thing all of them have in common is you need to be pretty accurate spotting  your couplers over them to be successful. Some kind of marking on the track or trackside will help....   some folks paint the end of a tie yellow, or put a sign of some kind next to the tracks.