coupling with magnets on chains

[gregh]

A couple of recent topics here have dealt with magnetic couplings:

https://gardenrails.org/viewtopic.php?f ... ic#p171450
https://gardenrails.org/viewtopic.php?f ... ng#p171457

and they re-kindled my interest. I had dabbled a few years ago and then lost interest,

Some background. I use chain and hook couplings as they were the cheapest couplings I could devise when I started out building the SaTR. How could I pay many dollars for couplings when I could build a wagon for just a few dollars. The obvious drawback is that there is no automatic coupling up and it can be difficult to get the chain over a hook between wagons. And I needed big dumb-buffers for pushing. But I have lived with them for 25 years.

Recently I have started on a small into G gauge line and the difficulties with reaching to couple and uncouple are worse in the confined space, under shelves etc.

I am using the same locos and wagons inside as on the garden railway and I want them to have compatible couplings. So I started experiments with magnets on chains.

The problem with magnets is that you need a north magnet on one wagon and a south magnet on the one you want to couple to. So that wagons and locos need to face the same direction all the time,

Then I realised that since my magnets-on-chains they can be removed that is not a problem.
Eureka! Took me a long time to twig to that!
I just need two types of magnet-chain. Call them red and blue (or radically North and South). If I have put a red magnet on one wagon, I just choose a blue one for the next wagon.
I epoxied copper loops to the 6mm dia, x 3mm thick cylindrical magnets and they seem OK.

video here.

https://youtu.be/iqwPN-jSJaI

[ge_rik]

I like the way they 'click' together. I pity there isn't some way of uncoupling more elegantly.

Rik