Micro Trains told me how to remove the little copper hoses on N scale couplers, but said "the car will not work after the hose is removed". They just ment that the auto decoupling feature would not work, right?
The people at Micro Trains (erstwhile Kadee Micro Trains) do not like the fact that there are many of us who do not like the magnetic feature of Kadee couplers and that we do not particularly care for the way they look. Kadee has promulgated this silly magnetic uncoupling thing for about 45 years and doesn't believe in allowing their products to be used in any other mode.
Rubbish!
Get a pair of stout, flush-cutting pliers and snip the little babies off right below the bottom of the coupler. I have been doing this for too many years to count and can tell you that nothing will happen to the operation of the coupler. The people at Micro Trains are telling you that they won't work in order to protect themselvves against imaginary demons. Once you cut off the magnetic trip pin (which, by the way is steel, not copper) you will no longer have a magnetically operated coupler; this much is true. However, it will in no way affect the other properties of the device. You will need to go to the market and get a package of 4" bamboo skewers to use as an uncoupling tool, or come up with something similar on your own. If you cannot find the small skewers I have them for sale real cheap.
"> Micro Trains told me how to remove the little copper hoses on N scale "> couplers, but said "the car will not work after the hose is removed". They "> just ment that the auto decoupling feature would not work, right?
Right. The Micro Trains couplers are just N scale clones of Kaydee's H0 couplers. The H0 McHenrys are the same. There are two schools of thought: cut off the "iron" (magnetic) "hoses" and use wooden skewers to uncouple or keep them and use (electro-)magnetic uncouplers. The 'hoses' are attached to the movable part of the coupler and are magnetically sensitive and are pulled to one side by the under/through track magnets -- this opens the couplers to cause uncoupling. The 'hoses' need to be as close to the rail tops as possible, without being below the rail tops (where the foul on switches, bridge guard rails, and grade crossings).
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\/ Robert Heller ||InterNet: snipped-for-privacy@cs.umass.edu
ok, thanks. Actually, you do not have to cut them off. If you are careful and support the coupler on a needle nose pliers, then you can pull the bloody things out with another needle nose.
Well to the extent that the pin can be cut flush with the bottom of the coupler and it will still couple.
The Micro Train couplers are made by Kadee but they are not smaller versions of Kadee couplers in the #5 class. The Micro Trains couplers are 2 pieces when installed on a car whereas Kadee #5's are one piece when installed. Their HOn3 couplers are similar to N scale kadee couplers. JIM
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