Model Railway Forum

Advice needed please on magnetic couplings. Which are the best ...Hunt Couplings ELITE - N Gauge or the ones produced by GLR. Bespoke Services.
I have a small number of locos, carriages etc. I am new to N gauge modelling and very confused by the couplings I have on my locos etc.
I have attached some photos and perhaps someone could explain to me what they are? I have Googled the subject but still confused .NEM or non-NEM?
I am thinking of putting magnetic couplings on all my rolling-stock. . Is that a good idea or not?

They look like standard UK N gauge couplings although the Western in the last picture is missing the coupling at one end.

Ok, I too model in N gauge and I've been using Hunt Elite couplings which, on the whole are good. There are a few things to look out for though.

Firstly, watch out for the length of coupling if you have any tight curves. I have some R2 curves and their 'Dapol HST set' wasn't suitable because the carriages coupled too close together and derailed themselves on the bend. That was easily fixed because the NEM pocket couplings come in three lengths so I was able to buy and fit some longer ones which work a treat. With the benefit of hindsight I should have bought their starter pack and tried different sizes before wasting my cash on an unnecessary pack of couplings.

Secondly, the plastic they use is quite brittle. I've managed to break the lugs off a couple fitting them into the NEM sockets so treat them gently. They're quite easy to fit really but I was getting a bit over confident!

The photos you have posted aren't clear but those look like the Rapido type couplings, as used by Graham Farish, which have a little spring in them. These aren't quite so easy to replace and what you'll need are the Hunt ELC type couplings. It's probably also worth buying a bag of spare springs before you start because there's a good chance of losing one or two as you remove the old coupling.

On my workbench at the moment are some NEM pocket conversions (kit made by Dapol) which I'm about to try and fit to a couple of Farish Class 57 locos and one end of a Farish Mk2 coach. I'm doing it because I plan to fit Dapol Easi Shunt couplings at the end of the train which need a NEM pocket but if it's successful I might convert all the couplings on my Mk2 coaches to NEM pockets which will enable me to use the slightly longer Hunt NEM magnetic couplings.

I am been busy switching all my rolling stock over to Hunt Magnetic couplings as I was fed up with the unreliability of tension locks when mixing various standards, and the hassle of decoupling on a “tight” layout.

I have to say I have been very impressed by the improvement in running and the ease by which trains can be coupled and uncoupled…..working my way thru the various old rolling stock that I have and drilled out rivets on some old tanker wagons at the weekend, to fit the press fit Hunt type, and also fitted some of the clip type to some Hornby vans.

As the previous poster said, the NEM coupling forks can be brittle if you try to open them out to increase the retention force….. I broke a few, but was still able to fit the coupling in the NEM socket with a tiny drop of non-permanent Glue and Glaze.

One tip is to always fit the couplings with the “marking” on the top side….. I originally fitted the NEM type with this on the bottom so as to hide it ( although you are hard pushed to actually see it, especially when coupled), but subsequently realised the error of my ways when I fitted the fixed types and ultimately read the guidance on their web site ( not entirely obvious btw).

Not a cheap option but the benefits outlined above make it hugely worthwhile in my opinion.

Hope this helps…..

I like the idea of magnetic coupling but don't see a way to remotely uncouple them. Something I always want to do.

Me too, to replace 3 link coupling, but having to physically pulled the rolling stock apart isn’t ideal, and if they are too close together they join up again.