Interesting.. Hornby and Bachmann need to adopt a proper coupling for their models and agree on it. Nothing worse than brilliant models let down by a coupling from another century!!
I think the best you will get from them for now is NEM pockets, which allow them to use their own preferred coupling while maintaining compatibility with old stock & each other's products.
Saw these last night on DaveClass47's channel and was immediately interested. Thanks for the demonstration of fitting them Richard. Ordered some already. Cheers
Presumably because of the magnet's 'poles', you will need to orient them specifically for a train formation? Otherwise you could end up with couplers that repel each other. I guess this also applies, even if the vehicles are not in a formation, otherwise you'll find them repelling each other unless oriented correctly, North to South. Something to think about!
Great use of an old idea. I remember magnetic couplings that my Lego trains had back in the 70s. Although those had clever swivelling magnets so they always ran North to South!!!
Hi Richard Great video and a good looking product. I'm wondering how well these would work on my helix, might have to try them out, although I'm not sure all my hst coaches have nem pockets!? Cheers Paul 👍
I have a HST with mixed NEM and tension lock MK3 coaches. Would I be able to join the tension lock hunt couplings with the NEM ones or would it not work due to height difference issues, ect. Thanks
To mark Hornby's centenary year wld be great if they cld include the nee magnetic couples in every release from this year. Wld be a way to revolutionize British Model Railway coupling system! As long as they can handle full rakes with jerks occurring at speeds...
Shame you cant have the curtain things that joint the coaches join up with some sort of material and one end fixed to a coach and the other magnetic so you can still separate them.
Great for fixed rakes BUT 2 disadvantages. 1. The wagon/coach rake can only be one way round. 2. You can’t shunt wagons or coaches as there is no method of decoupling other than the “ hand of God” !!
Impressive. My HSTs will love some of those. Did you manage to try a tight corner, something like 3rd radius? Looked fine running through the curve in the station. Cheers
Hi Richard, they go around second radius fine, don't be tempted by the Ultra close ones when they arrive as they're designed for end to end layouts. Cheers Richard
Excellent Video Richard. Would these also work in the Hornby Mk2 coaches? I have a rake from the Blue Pullman train set and the additional coach pack they released a few years ago. All the best, Dave
Afternoon Richard congratulations on you're new full time job with Hornby Magazine I look forward to seeing what else is in the pipeline for the expanding Hornby Magazine content on TH-cam. Have you guys got any install/ update videos on staff projects like the j72 in the works? Would be great to see the writing in the magazine come to life in a video as you've just demonstrated with this coupling system. Looks like a great coupling system. How well does it cope on gradients? All the best Gary
Hi Gary, thanks for the message! The couplings have been tested by Hunts Couplings with a rake of I believe 14 coaches up a helix. In regards to the other videos, watch this space. ;)
Certainly interesting these couplings. How do they behave when the locomotive is pushing ? Any derailments like with conventional couplings ? I have a Hornby Lord Rodney and BR Blue Class 87035 en put Bachmann couplings on because they have slightly shorter hooks and hence a bit closer. I personally think cadee couplings are very good but less realistic for European and British rolling stock. The Fleischmann Profi couplings are best (to my opinion) and you can also PUSH even longer rakes of wagons and coaches without fear of derailments ! Love my LN (or LR) with Zimo sound (sugarcube speaker in smokebox under the chimney, not the tender) and 87035 with Legomanbiffo sound, jobs very well done by Hornby.
Hi our main intention on designing and manufacturing these was to offer reliability in push operations and with inclines & helix's, they act as a straight bar with good strength but with ease of uncoupling
I'd love to add this to my intercity 225, unfortunately my mk4 carriages are from the early 90s and have a large D couple. The best way I can see to upgrade would be to upgrade the bogie, these bodies come on the latest versions of the MK4 2018 onward unfortunately you can't buy the bogies as spare parts yet
Hello, do you know if it's possible to use these couplings on the Hornby Railroad 0-6-0 locomotives? And which coupling would you reccomend for Hornby Mk1s on third radius curves?
Woah I will definitely be picking up some of these for my VTEC HST. Will these work for the class 91’s + Mk4 set and the Pendolino? It would be so cool if it did aha
Excellent idea if you have rakes of wagons or coaches that does not need to be split apart for a yes or a no (e. g. merry-go-round hopper trains). I pick this reference in cas I need some. Anyway, the only drawback I see is that due to magnetic polarity issue, they are unidirectional. I think, but maybe it is a bad idea, that it could be possible to avoir this by using a two-magnets head, side-by-side with A on the left of the coupler and B on the right. With smaller magnets used, it seems to me that this might be feasible, but that's just my idea, and it can be silly. But as it is, it is a must-have if you do not need shunting. For DMUs or EMUs with classical tension-lock couplers for instance, (e. g. Bachmann's classes 101, 105, 108 and 117), this is a must-have in my opinion.
That is a great thing Richard so I went on my 3d printer and now am half way on making my own so thanks Richard what's this I've heard about your layout coming down??
Which way round do you have the cover? I’ve got some Hornby HST coaches with the thicker end over the coupler and others with the thinner end over, or does this not really matter?
Thank you. Just as an FYI - Hornby Magazine is produced by Key Publishing and not Hornby Model Railways, so non of the 'brands' seen in this videos are 'ours'
I might not have been the first modeller to come up with this concept some years back using a cut in half Bachmann dummy brake pipe coupling bar and magnets. Wish i had registered a patent now.....
Strength test I would like to see is a long heavy train on a gradient. Or just apply some scales to measure the breakaway force. Also need care that each coach goes the right way around due to magnet polarity. May be okay if you limit yourself to fixed formations but I not not want more limits. I would still prefer the much more proven and widely available Kadee coupling system than another non standard coupling system. Need actual NEM pockets (ie NEM standard height) to help with the coupling chaos of model British trains.
This is brilliant, I have a full Shakespeare Express made up of 11 coaches and the coaches are all connected with the NEM Pipe couplings which makes it so tidious to split them but this is going to help so much Thanks
Interesting things - well worth getting a set to test out. Odd that you only got one set of Power Car couplings for a HST, when clearly you will need two.
seems like a good idea in terms of having good-looking rolling stock for trains you don't switch/shunt much, but do these couplings make the rolling stock directional, like Brio trains seem to be?
You don't show us how to fit the couplings to coaches, which have the moulded D coupling. This would be a useful article in Hornby Magazine on how to remove and fit other couplings to older coaches, which do not have NEM or the plug in type of coupling. In the case of wagons, do they do cranked couplings to cater for the different hight of couplings, which can often occur?
Not that impressed, tried some broke away, the magnets will loose strength over time, nothing new its been done before, looked at making something similar as its quite easy to replicate., sticking to Kadees.
Hello, Notwithstanding all of the positive aspects of the magnetic coupling, haven't you overcooked the difficulty of separating units with the existing hook type links? Up until now, (and for how many years previously?), it has been a simple case of sliding a thin blade between the couplings and lifting the hooks. When did this change? Secondly, how will new stock be provided from the different manufacturers? How universal is the arrangement. Thirdly, magnets can differ in strength and lose strength. What is the life expectancy of these magnets as an effective coupling particularly with mixed older stock where the drag may be greater? That's about all for now. Regards, Glenn. :-)
Tension locks haven't changed but they are dedious if your exhibiting or have a late amount of stock or fixed formations. Obviously new stock still comes with tension locks. The Bachmann close couplings which look like pipes or wires but they are a direct NEM to NEM fitting which can be a pain to couple/decouple them if you have a rake of 6 coaches for e.g. It's also as universal as the range the manufacturer produces. As the video shows the HST can be converted and anything with a NEM socket
I suspect given their size and strength that these use Neodymium magnets ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium_magnet ). These last a very long time before losing their magnetism (>100 years).
Earlier answer from the Hornby Magazine here said no as I suspected. Remote uncoupling for realistic operation is something I value but this coupling does not provide.
I need to show these to Sam's Trains. I have a great idea for a video for him. Hornby Tension lock couplers Kadee knuckle couplers These Hunt couplers Bachmann square hook couplers I wanna see what ones are great for HO/OO running. I run the Kadee on my American setup, since it's more accurate.
eeh. Doesn't seem worth it to me. Sure it's easier to uncouple, but in exchange your stock must be aligned correctly to connect. Plus. magnets can become weaker over time, which the tension locks do not. AND it's incompatible with some of the cheaper rolling stock options out there like the basic hornby wagon and 4-wheel coach, as well as the traditional Hornby 0-4-0 chassis.
I always understood that Mk3 HST coaches had NO buffers? If this is still true, then if you are going to the trouble of changing the couplings to improve the looks, why not take off the incorrectly modelled buffers at the same time?
Not having to twist the carriage/rolling stock to take it off the layout is a huge deal to me. I'm sick of having messy uncoupling moments due to those old style hooks.
There's no need to twist them. Years ago Triang made a hand uncoupler that looked like a flat shovel, I've still got mine! This is the modern version, although it would be a simple job to make your own. www.ebay.co.uk/i/193294608633?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=193294608633&targetid=879157198036&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1007082&poi=&campaignid=9437867021&mkgroupid=95526236133&rlsatarget=pla-879157198036&abcId=1140486&merchantid=119024018&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn-bP14Tm5wIVg7TtCh113gZuEAQYAyABEgK2vPD_BwE
Interesting.. Hornby and Bachmann need to adopt a proper coupling for their models and agree on it. Nothing worse than brilliant models let down by a coupling from another century!!
I think the best you will get from them for now is NEM pockets, which allow them to use their own preferred coupling while maintaining compatibility with old stock & each other's products.
Think I’ll stick to the Bachmann pipe couplers for now for my MK1/MK2 rakes
Saw these last night on DaveClass47's channel and was immediately interested. Thanks for the demonstration of fitting them Richard. Ordered some already. Cheers
Presumably because of the magnet's 'poles', you will need to orient them specifically for a train formation? Otherwise you could end up with couplers that repel each other. I guess this also applies, even if the vehicles are not in a formation, otherwise you'll find them repelling each other unless oriented correctly, North to South. Something to think about!
Great use of an old idea. I remember magnetic couplings that my Lego trains had back in the 70s. Although those had clever swivelling magnets so they always ran North to South!!!
Lego trains still got ‘em. They are fantastic.
they now do one an Elite version that does this, company listening to feedback
Brio... have used a magnetic coupling system for years...
Hi Richard
Great video and a good looking product. I'm wondering how well these would work on my helix, might have to try them out, although I'm not sure all my hst coaches have nem pockets!?
Cheers Paul 👍
very good. Please do a demo with wagons and locos so that we can see how they perform.
I have a HST with mixed NEM and tension lock MK3 coaches. Would I be able to join the tension lock hunt couplings with the NEM ones or would it not work due to height difference issues, ect.
Thanks
You can, but you may need to use stepped ones, I'd get in touch with the guys at Hunts Coupling for a 100% answer.
To mark Hornby's centenary year wld be great if they cld include the nee magnetic couples in every release from this year. Wld be a way to revolutionize British Model Railway coupling system! As long as they can handle full rakes with jerks occurring at speeds...
Shame you cant have the curtain things that joint the coaches join up with some sort of material and one end fixed to a coach and the other magnetic so you can still separate them.
theses Coupling are fab. Think i will have to get some
Great for fixed rakes BUT 2 disadvantages. 1. The wagon/coach rake can only be one way round. 2. You can’t shunt wagons or coaches as there is no method of decoupling other than the “ hand of God” !!
Impressive. My HSTs will love some of those. Did you manage to try a tight corner, something like 3rd radius? Looked fine running through the curve in the station. Cheers
Hi Richard, they go around second radius fine, don't be tempted by the Ultra close ones when they arrive as they're designed for end to end layouts.
Cheers
Richard
@@hornbymag Perfect, just what I need for the layout then. Thanks Richard
Oh and by the way, you get all the best gigs don't you :-)
Whathappens when the magnet lose their magnetism. Do you haveto replace the couplings?
Excellent Video Richard. Would these also work in the Hornby Mk2 coaches? I have a rake from the Blue Pullman train set and the additional coach pack they released a few years ago.
All the best, Dave
Yes absolutely, thanks for the comment Dave!
New junctions taking over
Afternoon Richard congratulations on you're new full time job with Hornby Magazine I look forward to seeing what else is in the pipeline for the expanding Hornby Magazine content on TH-cam. Have you guys got any install/ update videos on staff projects like the j72 in the works? Would be great to see the writing in the magazine come to life in a video as you've just demonstrated with this coupling system. Looks like a great coupling system. How well does it cope on gradients? All the best Gary
Hi Gary, thanks for the message!
The couplings have been tested by Hunts Couplings with a rake of I believe 14 coaches up a helix.
In regards to the other videos, watch this space. ;)
Hunt should take a look at lego magnetic couplings which can spin over to present the correct pole to couple up
I have just ordered a set. I like something new to play with.
Thanks for bring this video just went to the online site and got a pack for my ex virgin HST.
I saw it is very easy and comfortable fixing thank to homby.
How about uncoupling without touching the rolling stock?
Certainly look a good product. Might use them in conjunction with my home made coach corridors. Thanks for sharing.
Certainly interesting these couplings. How do they behave when the locomotive is pushing ? Any derailments like with conventional couplings ? I have a Hornby Lord Rodney and BR Blue Class 87035 en put Bachmann couplings on because they have slightly shorter hooks and hence a bit closer. I personally think cadee couplings are very good but less realistic for European and British rolling stock. The Fleischmann Profi couplings are best (to my opinion) and you can also PUSH even longer rakes of wagons and coaches without fear of derailments !
Love my LN (or LR) with Zimo sound (sugarcube speaker in smokebox under the chimney, not the tender) and 87035 with Legomanbiffo sound, jobs very well done by Hornby.
Very informative video Richard . Thanks for uploading . I’ll give these a try .
Cheers Marcus! see you soon pal
How well do these couplings push, for example with mk3s, mk3 dvt and an 87?
Hi our main intention on designing and manufacturing these was to offer reliability in push operations and with inclines & helix's, they act as a straight bar with good strength but with ease of uncoupling
Would these fit a kadee box/pocket?
Link for purchasing please :)
An excellent demonstation, for both, the Hunt Couplings and the Hornby Mk3 coaches.
I'd love to add this to my intercity 225, unfortunately my mk4 carriages are from the early 90s and have a large D couple. The best way I can see to upgrade would be to upgrade the bogie, these bodies come on the latest versions of the MK4 2018 onward unfortunately you can't buy the bogies as spare parts yet
Hello, do you know if it's possible to use these couplings on the Hornby Railroad 0-6-0 locomotives? And which coupling would you reccomend for Hornby Mk1s on third radius curves?
Woah I will definitely be picking up some of these for my VTEC HST. Will these work for the class 91’s + Mk4 set and the Pendolino? It would be so cool if it did aha
They looks a decent product. I'm thinking of using them for my class 68s as the couplings they come with hit the track pins
Excellent idea if you have rakes of wagons or coaches that does not need to be split apart for a yes or a no (e. g. merry-go-round hopper trains). I pick this reference in cas I need some.
Anyway, the only drawback I see is that due to magnetic polarity issue, they are unidirectional. I think, but maybe it is a bad idea, that it could be possible to avoir this by using a two-magnets head, side-by-side with A on the left of the coupler and B on the right. With smaller magnets used, it seems to me that this might be feasible, but that's just my idea, and it can be silly.
But as it is, it is a must-have if you do not need shunting. For DMUs or EMUs with classical tension-lock couplers for instance, (e. g. Bachmann's classes 101, 105, 108 and 117), this is a must-have in my opinion.
That is a great thing Richard so I went on my 3d printer and now am half way on making my own so thanks Richard what's this I've heard about your layout coming down??
No good for my HST, I have the older shorter Hornby MK3s from the 1980s
I love the slow departure on the LNER HST at the start. What decoder are you using to get that?
Finally Lego sets the standard for model railways. They had magnet style couplings since I was a kid lol
Which way round do you have the cover? I’ve got some Hornby HST coaches with the thicker end over the coupler and others with the thinner end over, or does this not really matter?
please can you show of your europheonix running ???? will you be getting cass 37
These really do look good. Thanks for the demo Richard.
I think I will have to get some of these for my GWR HST very soon.
Cheers
Jamie
making it look even better!
Are they only for modern stock or can they be used on rakes of carriages for steam trains?
Richard, what about if the only pockets you have are in your trousers? Martin.
Never seen these before looks great however I do find it odd “hornby magazine” changing their products with other brands
Thank you. Just as an FYI - Hornby Magazine is produced by Key Publishing and not Hornby Model Railways, so non of the 'brands' seen in this videos are 'ours'
@@hornbymag noted.. I didn’t know this I just assumed you was affiliated with the trademarked name either way great vid
Wi, they fit Oxford mk3 coaches?
hi can you get them for N GAUGE yet
Coming Soon!
An interesting and innovative design. I’d never heard of them before but will certainly keep them in mind for the future. Paul
Excellent looking product, yeah real game changer.
Hi mate they really like great I think I will try them on my wcml mk2/3 trains sets clive
Ooooh lets see how you get on!
some window glassing missing and one needs pressed home interesting product though
Needs a flexible corridor connection to complete the illusion.
I might not have been the first modeller to come up with this concept some years back using a cut in half Bachmann dummy brake pipe coupling bar and magnets. Wish i had registered a patent now.....
Its a good idea to be fair.
What is the R number for the couplings. Can you send a link for me about those couplers on hornby website. Thanks hornby.
They are not a Hornby product, google will help you there.
Strength test I would like to see is a long heavy train on a gradient. Or just apply some scales to measure the breakaway force. Also need care that each coach goes the right way around due to magnet polarity. May be okay if you limit yourself to fixed formations but I not not want more limits. I would still prefer the much more proven and widely available Kadee coupling system than another non standard coupling system. Need actual NEM pockets (ie NEM standard height) to help with the coupling chaos of model British trains.
like everything they'll find their place. :)
They look discrete, easy to use and functional. I wonder how they would cope with non-bogie stock such as 4 or 6 wheeled wagons and coaches?
No reason why they wont work - ive loads of wagons with my own version of this product fitted.
This is brilliant, I have a full Shakespeare Express made up of 11 coaches and the coaches are all connected with the NEM Pipe couplings which makes it so tidious to split them but this is going to help so much
Thanks
Great to hear!
This is probably going to be one of biggest selling model railway products in 2020!
The Cats eyes of model railways!?
Hornby Magazine very true!
Are they available for n gauge?
Very good video, facts nicely and clearly explained, easy to understand.
Many thanks!
Interesting things - well worth getting a set to test out. Odd that you only got one set of Power Car
couplings for a HST, when clearly you will need two.
Hello, you get a pair of power car couplings and 8 pairs of coach couplings in a HST pack.
@@huntsheathmodelrailway9309 Yes - that is my point?
seems like a good idea in terms of having good-looking rolling stock for trains you don't switch/shunt much, but do these couplings make the rolling stock directional, like Brio trains seem to be?
to a point yes although if a loco were to run round it wouldn't be an issue, you could also leave the loco as standard.
You don't show us how to fit the couplings to coaches, which have the moulded D coupling. This would be a useful article in Hornby Magazine on how to remove and fit other couplings to older coaches, which do not have NEM or the plug in type of coupling. In the case of wagons, do they do cranked couplings to cater for the different hight of couplings, which can often occur?
Yes they do stepped magnets, links in the description if you'd like to know more. :D
@@hornbymag Thank you. It is certainly a different type and has potential.
They look really good, Richard.
Looks excellent and what I’ve seen the price is right too !
Cheaper than when this video was filmed too!
looks great! but i'm sure i could screw up the a vs b it is a talent of mine.
ha!
Can 2 types of couplings work together.
yes, as long as you match a positive and negative magnet your fine!
My coaches are old mainline, Airfix GMR, Hornby Top link and Dapol coaches mainly GWR centenary coaches or old GWR super Saloon coaches
Not that impressed, tried some broke away, the magnets will loose strength over time, nothing new its been done before, looked at making something similar as its quite easy to replicate., sticking to Kadees.
Hello, Notwithstanding all of the positive aspects of the magnetic coupling, haven't you overcooked the difficulty of separating units with the existing hook type links? Up until now, (and for how many years previously?), it has been a simple case of sliding a thin blade between the couplings and lifting the hooks. When did this change?
Secondly, how will new stock be provided from the different manufacturers? How universal is the arrangement.
Thirdly, magnets can differ in strength and lose strength. What is the life expectancy of these magnets as an effective coupling particularly with mixed older stock where the drag may be greater?
That's about all for now. Regards, Glenn. :-)
Tension locks haven't changed but they are dedious if your exhibiting or have a late amount of stock or fixed formations.
Obviously new stock still comes with tension locks. The Bachmann close couplings which look like pipes or wires but they are a direct NEM to NEM fitting which can be a pain to couple/decouple them if you have a rake of 6 coaches for e.g.
It's also as universal as the range the manufacturer produces. As the video shows the HST can be converted and anything with a NEM socket
do they do them in N gauge ?
Its in the pipeline.
An interesting concept, but can you use auto-decouplers with these?
Sadly not, I asked the same question David, great minds and all that haha
@@hornbymag And fools, erm....?! :P
@@StrathpefferJunction ha!
Looks good but what happens when the magnets start to loose their adhesion.
Replace?
I suspect given their size and strength that these use Neodymium magnets ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium_magnet ). These last a very long time before losing their magnetism (>100 years).
Where do I get any ??
Paul Fellows No shit Sherlock
Have done that you
clown
These look brilliant! Do they work with on track uncoupling?
Earlier answer from the Hornby Magazine here said no as I suspected. Remote uncoupling for realistic operation is something I value but this coupling does not provide.
@@johnd8892 thanks!
Oh these look great! Any plans for N gauge variants of these?
That's a question for the guys behind them, nothings been mentioned yet though.
There are in the pipeline 👌
@@valleybrookiimodelrailway3525 Bet they'll be tiny!
@@hornbymag indeeed fiddly business
Just ordered some for me to try out Thankyou
let us know how you get on!
New copolings nooooooo
ha!
I need to show these to Sam's Trains. I have a great idea for a video for him.
Hornby Tension lock couplers
Kadee knuckle couplers
These Hunt couplers
Bachmann square hook couplers
I wanna see what ones are great for HO/OO running. I run the Kadee on my American setup, since it's more accurate.
The less videos from him the better.
@@Aaron-uf3sl No need to be rude. He enjoys the hobby, and a lot of people enjoy his content.
0:37 oops broken window
watch the video ;)
Hornby Magazine good to see that richard is going to repair it
@@CyberGlitched848 in truth Richard tactfully lets Mike do it hehe 🤭
eeh. Doesn't seem worth it to me. Sure it's easier to uncouple, but in exchange your stock must be aligned correctly to connect. Plus. magnets can become weaker over time, which the tension locks do not. AND it's incompatible with some of the cheaper rolling stock options out there like the basic hornby wagon and 4-wheel coach, as well as the traditional Hornby 0-4-0 chassis.
I always understood that Mk3 HST coaches had NO buffers? If this is still true, then if you are going to the trouble of changing the couplings to improve the looks, why not take off the incorrectly modelled buffers at the same time?
Not having to twist the carriage/rolling stock to take it off the layout is a huge deal to me. I'm sick of having messy uncoupling moments due to those old style hooks.
Yep a real winner!
There's no need to twist them. Years ago Triang made a hand uncoupler that looked like a flat shovel, I've still got mine! This is the modern version, although it would be a simple job to make your own. www.ebay.co.uk/i/193294608633?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=193294608633&targetid=879157198036&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1007082&poi=&campaignid=9437867021&mkgroupid=95526236133&rlsatarget=pla-879157198036&abcId=1140486&merchantid=119024018&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn-bP14Tm5wIVg7TtCh113gZuEAQYAyABEgK2vPD_BwE