Price: $49.95 for single uncoupler, $69.95 for double uncoupler
Manufacturer:
System Five-O
18165 Manorwood West
Clinton Township,
MI 48038
www.dccuncoupling.com
Description: HO scale boxcars equipped with one or two DCC-operated automatic uncoupling mechanisms
Comments: Ever wished you could drop any car any place on your layout with the push of a button on your digital command control (DCC) throttle? With System Five-O’s DCC uncoupling cars, you can. System Five-O offers a number of HO scale 40- and 50-foot Athearn boxcars equipped with one or two DCC-operated couplers. Or, you can send the firm your Athearn cars for installation as well.
The uncoupling mechanism is mounted to the car floor with double-sided tape and consists of a solenoid that pulls a thread attached to the knuckle of the coupler. The car picks up power from the track through metal wheelsets and has its own DCC decoder. Once the car’s address is selected, pressing the F3 button opens (and closes) the coupler. If the car is equipped with two operating couplers, F4 activates the opposite end.
I tested our sample car by pairing it with a switch engine to move cars one or two at a time around a large, hard-to-reach industry. I programmed the car’s address to match the locomotive so I didn’t have to toggle back and forth between the two just to operate the couplers. The uncoupling car worked very well, especially for dropping cars inside the plant buildings.
