Is There Another Way Of Doing This?

In the Micro Mark catalog or on line there is an uncoupling stick (for lack of a better term) that you insert between the coupler faces, twist, and you are uncoupled. Also KaDee makes an electric uncoupler as in HO.

Dick

I can tell you there are several ways......many track manufacturers sell an "uncoupler track" section. To operate just position the "thumbtack of a railcar  or other style of coupler over the "magnet button" that is embedded in the uncoupler track. Push the button on the uncoupler "box" and ....viola!  The magnet in the track pulls the knuckle coupler open.

          Much better yet is the electro-coupler on the back of most TMCC and MTH/DCS engines or tenders. With these you can uncouple ANYWHERE on a track. One step further is some industrious folks put electro-couplers on a few boxcars - or whatever- and can uncouple to their hearts content.

Get a small blade screwdriver, slip it between the knuckles and give it a slight twist. That's what I do.

Uncoupling "tools" aren't much more than that. I've seen people use slightly sharpened plastic coffee stirrers from McDonalds as the blade is just about the right size -- just needs a little tapering.

It's simple and cheap, and you don't have false uncoupling issues.

For that odd three-rail lobster claw, the screwdriver is perfect for reaching those tabs on the side of the coupler, too.

Dick's "uncoupling stick" sounds like the way I'd rather go, but thanks for the other suggestions, yup, yup! 

bad order

Bad Order. You're a 2 railer with Kadee couplers  right? You can buy magnets that fit between the rail.To uncouple you spot each end of the cars on the magnet and take the slack. Both couplers open and then pull away.

HEY MATT!

I have many "micro"-screwdrivers...I'll just use one of them! 

Thank Y'all,

Bad Order

Doesn't have to be a micro; just a blade about 3/16" or less should fit. I think it's a #1 size. Can't remember, but it's the small one I keep in my tool box.

WOW!

Now Gregg has an idea...permanent magnets placed between the rails!  I'll look for 'em right now!

'Bye...

BAD ORDER HAL

Yeah Hal, try one or 2 and decide if you like them .  As Matt mentioned you sometimes get false uncoupling . I liked them.

HEY GREGG,

Try one or two what?  Do you mean buy 1 or 2 magnetic uncouplers, or try suggestions 1 or 2?

I believe I have the Kaye-Dee couplers on my Atlas equipment.

Cheers,

Bad Order Hal  (Or Harold, or Harry)

BOH, +1 for the micro flat blade screwdriver method for uncoupling cars.   The magnets work great for those industries which are difficult to reach, but if you like operation the micro screwdriver or even a modified stirring stick works great!

Well you don't really have the Kadee coupler on those Atlas cars...you have Atlas' interpretation of the Kadee design, and most of us have found them to be sort of unreliable. However for your short trains there suitable, but may not respond to the Kadee magnetic method. The screwdriver method works fine as others have suggested.

Bob

Over the years AtlasO has had at least 5 variations of their scale knuckle couplers.  The latest iteration features an Atlas design shank (same nasty oversized  pocket with hidden mounting screws and snap on lid) combined with a knock off of the old Kadee's 805 head.  Unfortunately they didn't get the spring tension right (too stiff).  I have 5 hoppers equipped with them and they don't smoothly couple with cars equipped with Kadee 805's - or with one another!

The AtlasO coupler saga is a comedy of errors that could have been avoided if they just went with Kadees from the start.

Ed Rappe

Magnets Hal, Magnet uncouplers   You have to try at least one.

Gentlemen, from what I've heard from you about the unreliability of Atlas (Kadee?) couplers working with track magnets, I believe I'll eschew that idea and go with the screwdriver or simply continue lifting one coupler out of the other.

I won't be doing this very often anyway!

Thanks, all!

BAD ORDER

Agreed.

I am very disappointed to read this. I thought Atlas finally made a RTR model that I could take out of the box and run on my railroad. I was so annoyed with the poor performance of their first version of a Kadee coupler (not counting the '70s versions) that I decided I will not allow their couplers on my railroad. This newest version looked a lot like a Kadee so I figured it worked just as well. I guess that was not a good assumption to make. I find it very frustrating when two cars will not couple up when I know they should. I've never had two cars equipped with Kadee couplers not couple up unless I did something wrong.

My one and only complaint with Kadee couplers is that once in a while a car will oscillate back and forth while moving in a train. I read on the blog for the New Castle Industrial Railroad that the modeler called this a "caterpillar-like effect". He inserts 4mm lengths of 0.093 diameter styrene into the coupler spring to eliminate the caterpillar-like effect of the Kadee's.

Anybody else doing anything like this?

The new Kadee 700-series O scale couplers solve the caterpillar-like effect by having a little boss that protrudes into a slot cast into their draft gear box.  This prevents the coupler "slack action" effect that is present on the 800-series coupler but the new couplers still have a centering spring design that is pretty similar to the 800-series couplers.  Plus the 700-series couplers look great too with the "invisible" internal knuckle spring.

Scott K.

Austin, TX

HEY FRIENDS,

Actually, the only time I ever uncouple cars is when I add a new one to my consist, and I won't be doing that much longer, as I now have 8 cars, which is getting to near the maximum I want on my simple 124-foot short-line local. Ten cars will be tops!

As for locomotives, when I switch beween my Road Engine and my Switcher, I just lift 'em off the track and put 'em on an insulated spur, so that problem's solved too!  

Sorry I made a big deal out of nothing and caused you all to go to bat for me.....

BAD ORDER HAROLD

Just a tip for the Atlas couplers [newer ones in metal] if you replace the centering spring and the knuckle spring with the much lighter Kaydee springs they work much better[not 100% but pretty good.[years of using Kaydees have left me with a large inventory of these springs, but I am sure you can buy them from Kaydee] Obiviously the best fix is to install new Kaydees either the older 805s relatively inexpensive at the meets or the newest versions,more prototypical especially the longer shanks.