I received an email today from a reader (thank you!) who asked about how I couple and uncouple wagons on Bydemill – my 7mm Great Western Railway layout. Here’s what I do:
My goods wagons all use three-link chain couplings, while locomotives and passenger-rated stock use screw couplings (similar, but with two links joined by a screw that can be tightened on the prototype).
This means I need a special tool – both for coupling and uncoupling. The prototype uses a “shunting pole” so I made my own:
I grabbed some phosophor bronze wire and bent the end into a piggly-wiggly shape, following photos found online of the business end of a real shunting pole.
I soldered the wire into a brass tube to give the pole some strength and minimize flexing, then attached the tube to a side of a penlight using electrical tape.
While a simple hook would work – and my friend Brian Dickey uses this approach on his layout, Roweham – this more complex hook allows one to reach under coach diaphragms when needed. It can also be used in a more upright fashion.
Here, I’ve snagged the last link on the left wagon with the pole, and am about to drape the link over the hook of the wagon on the right:
In the photo below, the link is on the hook. I’ll rotate the tool slightly to free the piggly-wiggly end from the link:
Uncoupling is done in the reverse manner: Catching the link in the too, lifting it out of the hook, and rotating to release the tool.
The flashlight provides the crew with better lighting when working between taller vehicles, such as enclosed vans or passenger cars.
Like everything in this hobby, using the tool takes some practice – but most people get the hang of it within a few coupling/uncoupling attempts. And once they know how to do it, the knowledge seems to stick.
Using the links is prototypical, and absolutely practical on a 7mm scale layout with good access to all tracks. It provides a very different operating experience than that of a layout – such as my S scale Niagara St. Catharines & Toronto Railway – which uses Kadee knuckle couplers.
The Model Railway Show 