One of the problems, I find, in operating a model railway is the difficulty of coupling and uncoupling locos and stock particularly at some distance in from the edge of the baseboard.

Various autocouplings are available but all appear to be fragile and therefore easily knocked out of true. Indeed, several display layout operators have been asked how reliable are they and the consensus reply was "not very".

It seemed to me that if one could come up with a system which would at least couple-up automatically and was easy to disengage, this would be sufficient for my needs.

Hook-and-bar - The hook
I experimented with a simple but sturdy hook-and-bar arrangement using brass rod and tube, acting like a piano hinge and incorporating in the hook a dropped part which with added weight (solder) would return to the horizontal when lifted. The dropped part also provided a lever which could be actuated by either a shunter's pole or by a ramp fitted between the rails and moved up and down by a simple gearbox.

Hook (A) passes through the rod (B) at right angles and is soldered to it. Rod (B) is a close but low-friction fit in the two tubes (C) which are soldered to the mounting plate (D) so as to entrap the hook assembly. The mounting plate is screwed or glued to the underside of the vehicle (not locos).

Figure 2 below shows the hook in side view. It is not difficult to form using two pairs of pliers but the shape is quite critical. The nose must be at correct angle to ensure engagement without 'buffing'. The loop is filled with solder to increase weight and is operated by raising from beneath by a ramp.

The bar
The other half of the coupling is a simple loop of wire (I use l.25mm) fixed to each end of tank locos or just the rear of tender locos. With an end-to-end system, I do not like to run locos tender first (except when light engine) and, by fitting the bar only to the tender, frontal appearance is maintained and one has the excuse to change the loco for one facing the other way at each end of the railway.

The wire is first soldered to a mounting plate, then formed to make a return loop at the correct height and projection, and then soldered to the other edge of the mounting plate. The sketch (figure 3) below should clarify matters.

Obviously, each coupling must be set at the correct height and projection from the buffers, but once set the sturdy wire and construction should ensure that it remains so. This has been my experience and there has been no instance of the wire hook pulling out with loads of up to six coaches. I set the hooks and bars so that they just protrude beyond the buffer heads.

Appearance-wise they are a little obtrusive, but painting them black helps considerably and the joy of easy coupling and uncoupling far outweighs the appearance factor for me. I have installed two Meccano gearboxes operating three ramps, one in the bay platform and two in the goods yard, by means of rods and universal joints. These ramps can be 2ft or more from the edge of the layout (The author will supply details of these if requested. Ed))

Alternatives
I have three coaches with insufficient space between the bogies and buffer beams to take the hook-and-bar couplings described, and for these I use the cribbed idea of screwlink couplings made rigid with superglue in the joints. Not automatic but still easier to use than ordinary couplings.

Another pet hate of mine is the movement between coaches when a train of them sets off - like a loose-coupled goods train - and I sought to cure this and make the coupling and uncoupling of corridor coaches easier. By simply using a rigid flat brass bar pivoting from one vehicle and pegged to the next, this problem is solved. The sketch (figure 4) shows the arrangement and although the normal couplings must be removed before fitting the device, this hardly shows particularly under corridor connections. I usually fasten the brass channels to the coach undersides with small brass woodscrews, but they can also be glued in place behind the buffer beams.

This system would not suit anyone who shunts their coaching stock, but I prefer to maintain set rakes of coaches so it works well for me.