Does anyone have any experience of the  Brian Kirby uncoupling system, in particular the etch frets for coupling hooks marketed by P.H. Design?

I would welcome any feedback on the flitting and operation of these frets.

Many thanks.

John.

Hullo, John, and welcome.

I haven't used the frets, but here

http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=6277&forum_id=11&page=1

are my experiments with the system, plus other observations. Once painted black the staples are far less obtrusive, from the normal viewing position they are virtually invisible. A collateral benefit to the neodymium magnets is that they were capable of preventing by GWR 'B' set from rolling down the miniscule slope during a 'run-round'!

Doug

Hello Doug,

Many thanks for the link, coincidentally one I had come across during my research into the Brian Kirby coupling system.

The main reason for my enquiry was due to my experience with the recently purchased coupling hook frets.   Unfortunately whilst the concept is good, the planning and testing has been a little off track.

The fret appears to be considerably thinner than the hooks removed from my stock thus allowing too much side play which in turn effects their effectiveness.

All my stock has one hook removed so I only need one magnet at each uncoupling location, but sadly the frets don't seem man enough for the job.  So I guess it it back to the drawing board and continue with the experiments until I find a satisfactory solution.

One think I did discover very early on, like you, is the magenta are so strong the stop stock rolling down any slight incline due to uneven floors at exhibition venues, which is a huge benefit.

I will,sleep,everyone posted concerning my progress.

John.

Although completely off topic, I noticed in one of the monthly magazines that Spratt & Winkle couplers are now being sold ready made - just need to be attached to the rolling stock.

Bob

John, why are you bothering with etched frets?  Using discarded paper staples, as originally devised by Brian Kirby, is easy and virtually free.  I have converted a number of wagons and locos.  It only takes five minutes per loco or wagon.

Terry

Terry,

I tried using discarded staples, of various sizes, but had very mixed results.

I did however have reasonable success using soft florist's wire bent as per the.instructional video on You Tube.  I found that by putting a small loop in the lower end it gave the magnets a larger area to 'grab'.

The problem I have is the many different type of tension lock couplings in use on my layouts, from Lima, Mainline, Bachmann and Hornby.   In some cases there are several versions of couplings from the same manufacturer.

I have changed all the couplings I can to the same type but still have a problem that is why I saw replacement hooks as a possible solution.   I have since experimented using small washers, about 8 or 10 BA, I think, which seem to reduce the lateral movement considerably.  

Much more testing and experimentation is required before I can say I have cracked the problem.  I will keep you posted and include some photos, as soon as I can get to grips with posting photos on this forum.

John.

John, you need to change all of your couplings to Bachmann.  Hornby are no good because the metal hook can be attracted to the magnet.  A wider magnet would negate the problem of sideways movement.  Brian Kirby originally recommended square magnets retrieved from kitchen cupboard latches.  Have you seen his original article on the web?

Terry

Terry,

Alas I cannot change my couplings to the Bachmann type since much of my stock is either kit built or not capable of being converted to accept sockets.    

In any even I don't like the Bachmann couplings because they cause derailments when stock is being propelled!  Many members of my local model railway club have discarded them for the same reason and standardised on the 'Mainline' type which are plastic and don't magnetise.

I have seen the Brian Kirby video and have tried his method, with mixed results due, I think, to the differing lengths of the coupling hooks, which is another reason why I saw the frets as a possible solution to the problem.

My experimentation continues and I will post the results on here, as and when, I have them.

John.