If I were designing a magnetic coupling like this, I would make it so that (facing the piece of rolling stock from the side you're putting the coupling in) the magnetic north pole is to the left, and magnetic south is to the right. That way when you hook them together you'll always have north to south on both sides. Perhaps that's what they have done, and if so they must have devised some creative assembly methods to ensure they always go in right.
Lego trains used to have exactly this issue back in the day, with every chassis have a blue on one end and red on the other. They solved that by making the barrel able to rotate, so they self aligned, and made all the plastic black. I imagine that here for their small stuff they have a spherical magnet in a housing, though you could do it with a cylindrical one too, but that would need care in assembly, whereas the spheres can just be chucked in.
That is how the current (elite) hunt couplings work, a pair in each coupling to ensure bidirectionality. The trick is having that pair built into one block. Years ago they were just single magnet and polarity limited though.
Thanks, Sam! This is a great dive into the West Hill Wagon Works, and thanks for giving Chloe her shot in front of the camera. You both look so excited about digging into this realm. Thanks to Chris and Chris for sharing their efforts. I wish them complete success in their endeavors!
We used magnets to hold the catenary masts and gantries in place on a club layout (Heworth Sidings) some years ago. The masts were etched brass. By polarising the magnets appropriately, the gantries can be fitted only one way round so that the wire carriers alternate correctly. When packing away, they are simply placed in the correct order in a biscuit tin where they are held securely until next needed.
I really like these 'out and about' videos, nice to see Chloe getting involved as well. I never knew the West Hill wagon works did so much, I'll be having a look at their waeite later,. Thanks for visiting them and sharing this with us, more of the same please!
Yes. Seems a sweet girl with a genuine interest, and not a hint of the didain with which the hobby is greeted by some ladies ( and also some gentlemen).
I swear by these couplings and use them on my n gauge stock. I can also confirm that they will replace free of charge any couplings that break. (I have only ever had one break) , and for that I was sent a complete packet. So well done, Westhill Wagon Works. 👍👍
Totally agree with everything you've said here Sam. I visited a few months ago and got to view the sample of the Deltic engine (weighs a ton). The staff are more than helpful and happy to give advice on anything. Would highly recommend anyone visit
I’ve just placed a small order for US delivery. Love the initiative and the products. Really happy to support this kind of business. Look forward to seeing the stuff 😊👍👍
Well, I just placed my order with them, to be shipped to Canada, thanks to your vid. I reckon this’ll be a proper boost to their sales - and they deserve it. Nice one, Sam.
Pretty funny that my last comment (on the video about Hornbys economic turmoil) said that the future may be smaller manufacturers relying on 3D printing technologies.... These folk have a bucket full of ingeniosity and impressive 3D modelling skills.
Plus Hornby probably has a lot of board members, managers, etc that dont actually add much but need paying high salaries. Whereas these small companies can be creative, focus on what matters, they know the market better and they dont have to pay like 100 people.
I think so too - they have a tiny, agile team. They make everything themselves with the same team, so no chinese factory, no tooling costs, low overheads... massive amount of products at low prices... it's the future! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
it's like the fashion industry moving back to manufacturing in the UK... Shorter lead times and they can restock more quickly. Same here - and quicker product development time as you can basically print overnight and then test and assess the next day rather than 6 weeks later.
This is an especially great episode Sam, because it brings one joy to see small manufacturers succeeding and making stuff domestically rather than offshoring.
Have to say a great company and so helpful. Ordered some couplings to replace the stupid bar coupling on my rake of Dapol Toplights but ordered the wrong size. No issue with returning and exchanging for what I needed. They even called me to double check before posting… now that is Customer Service, even if it was my mistake in the first place!
Great vid Sam! They're a great company and I've used some of their products before - very high quality! A proper inspiration of a company - from couplings to an entire shop!
The couplings here are brilliant. Shortly after Dapol released the JHA wagons in N gauge, West Hill produced some bespoke magnetic couplings for them. I would go so far as to say the wagons would be nearly useless without them as the “permanent” inner couplings supplied would result in hundreds of broken NEM pockets… Glad the company are doing well, thanks for the video.
I'm very impressed by how much better they are now! They do seem to be going from strength to strength which is awesome to see! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
I just bought a load of detailing parts from West Hill Wagon Works for a conversion project I'm working on. They're excellent! Really superb quality, and really well priced!
Caught them at the Bristol show in May and was super impressed by their range having known them from their humble beginnings. Needless to say, many pennies were spent on several visits to their stand.
We really enjoyed this. 1) We have used Hunt couplings for a while now, we did have issues with them not being strong enough in the begining pulling longer loads. 2) We use the couplings mainly for multiple units where they are excellent for preventing derailments when the driving car is pushing. The NEM couplings always tend to mount each other and jam when being pushed. 2a) The close couplings I found when carriages are pushed they catch each other on bends tighter than radius 4. 3) The packs that come unpainted while the detail is excellent, are you really saving money. If you have an airbrush, plenty of time and this is all you do, then everything is free with no cost. However, if you do not have an air brush and time is not readily available then in my opinion you are not. You really need an air brush for really fine detail, otherwise it looks tripe as a lot of the detail is lost with a paint brush. You price in the cost of a decent air brush, the time spent to learn how to use it, your time priced at around £30.00 ph then those unpainted parts begin to look expensive. For example you can get 10 gaugemaster painted barrels for £4.04. You can get 10 scenecraft wooden barrels for £7.96. All set up and ready to go. 4) The track pin aid is great, however, more and more people are using screws now for their track. I have been asked so many times where I have got my screws from. Screws are so much easier for moving track and adjusting track. 5) Some of the aids for helping with track are so simple but well thought out. The soldering grips and the use of magnets as none intrusive grips, all great stuff. Again, thanks for making this video, a great watch. Cheers.
Don't know if the angle was to help printing, but the mountain bikes doing wheelies on the sprue was great. Loved this video, Sam and Chloe! Well done both of you :)
Thanks for reviewing, very interested in the catenary. Always been put off modelling AC electrics by the hassle of fixed catenary so this is a great idea. Cheers.
Really enjoyed this, a great addition to your usual videos. I had a brief look a Westhil a while back, but nice to see how much they've expanded their product range since and great for TT ethusiasts.
Excellent video of a brilliant brand. Those 'Mates' are genius. I am very pleased with the Hunt couplings I bought for OO9 - the trains actually stay together now!
Sam, you and Chloe have done a cracking job on this video, good interview and really informative. One of your best I think, production wise!! Cheers, Lee
Thanks Sam . A lot of these products I never knew about particularly the track mates . Great idea . I have some of their couplings for the class 68 to Accurascale Mk5s snd they are superb . Was suffering derailments until I put on Hunt couplings .
Prior to this video, I thought I'd visit them one day. Now I want to go immediately! Also Sam, it's good to see you out & about, applying your skills to other aspects of the hobby. Will you be doing more of this sort of thing?
I bought the track pin mate and fish plate mate in 'N' ....... Worth the weight in gold, these are what the hobby has been missing for years. Also have some yard levers, very nice.
Quite an enjoyable video. Glad to see you are getting out and about. It makes a change from your being stuck in that loft! Hornby must be gnashing their teeth. Thanks for uploading.
Video suggestion: could you possibly review the bachmann 009 Skarloey engines and rolling stock? (Such as Skarloey, Rheneas, rusty, Peter Sam, slate wagons, blue red coaches, brake vans and more)
Sam a good video, it is worth a visit I went last week, staff most helpful, you should do a follow up sometime looking behind the scenes and looking at the 3D printers, lasers and the design tools
Wonderful, and thank heavens we do have a shop quite nearby as well. Yeah, magnetic couplings are quite something. Märklin's/Trix's solution is to have two micro neodymium magnets in the coupler, each 2 mm diameter, passing current, and positioned with opposing poles beside each other. Turning the wagon around then doesn't matter; not in magnetic pole, not in polarity. We have tried these solutions but tests still showed chances of uncoupling under certain circumstances. However, we do keep an eye on latest developments. Cheerio.
Thanks Linda - they really are aren't they! I like the idea of using the magnets to pass current - I once did that and it works so well! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
6:10 And that was the reason LEGO color-coded their first magnetic couplings: Red always went with Blue. Later the magnet was able to rotate around a horizontal axis and allowed self-orientating couplers. Today that is still the case, even if the magnet is now sealed and you can't see its current orientation.
Would definitely love to buy some of those magnetic couplings for the rolling stock I use more often! I would be so much work but so worth the effort to easily couple and un-couple a nice long rake of coaches or line of trucks
I converted a couple of my fixed rakes over to Hunt Couplings in their early days & was impressed with them then. Sadly my layout had to be taken down so haven't done more since, but when it's backup & running I think they will be one of my go to suppliers. I really like the idea of the OHLE, so little risk to the layout & pops straight back up.
Oh Sam, you are going to cost me a fortune. I enjoyed your video and seeing some of the items being demonstrated I went on to their website. All I can say is wow, some really neat stuff and my bank account has already taken a hit!
I'm very much a fan of Hunt Couplings for ease of use. Fragility- particularly on the screw connector types- does seem to be a bit of a problem sometimes, probably just owing to the massive variety of screw thread and thickness that have been used to screw on couplings over the years, from Bachmann to Mainline etc. The rivet socket replacement type are an absolute wonder- although trying to get those rivets *out* in the first place can be a bit of a nightmare- I do not recommend using a hand operated pin vise type drill to do it like I did, since it's pretty painful on the wrists the next day! With a bit of drilling and some strong glue, the screw or rivet type can also be attached to most coaches with a molded D-type tension lock coupling as well, once you've snipped the old coupling parts off. I've not as yet worked out a reliable way of fitting these couplings to old wagon stock with molded couplings though- Hunt do make a set of NEM pockets designed to screw to a wagon base, but the trouble is on most of the underside of those wagons, there isn't really anywhere suitable to attach them- there's not enough of a solid flat surface in the right place to glue the pocket, and the metal weight fitted in the chassis extends far enough along the length to preclude successfully drilling a screw hole, so that's still a work in progress!
While I do prefer to use the realistic screw and 3 link couplings on my British models, I do appreciate these magnetic couplings and maybe this is what I'll go with when I get older and my hands aren't as steady. I do want to try their lamps with LEDs though! That'll be cool to add for my stram engines, especially when I chip them all!
I didn't realise they only started in 2020 as I've been buying the odd items from them for a few years now. I think their enterprise proves that it is possible to produce high quality items at very reasonable prices without needing to ship the stuff half way round the world. Wouldn't it be nice if they started producing rolling stock!
That fishplate puller/attacher is an absolute godsend, I don't have one but I need one badly! Do you think you'll replace some of your couplings with hunt magnetic couplings? I'd certainly like to! Great video as always sam, and lovely to see something a bit different:)
Excellent shop and products. Now that you are outed on your barrel fetish will you be doing a," Just Barrels," video? (LOL). Way to go Chloe! Great video, Jersey Bill
I just got my first model steam engine! The bachman American prairie, specifically the Canadian National variety. Perhaps you could buy one and review it
Lego were doing simple magnetic couplings on their Locomotives and rolling stock in the early 1970's that were simple and reliable! A pain to disengage when uncoupling though I seem remember but do'able! 🙂🙂🙂
These magnets are similar to those on the thomas Take Along toys, where that you could couple trains both ways with single magnets. I think they polarized different sides of the same magnet on those. Modern Lego train couplers are magnetic, but I believe they use two magnets in each coupler. I do hope the Hunt magnetic couplings catch on like the Kadee knuckle couplers have in America, Australia, and other places where knuckle couplers are used on real trains. they're slim and discret compared to the NEM couplers. I would like some of those magnetic corner tools, but it would probably cost a lot to ship West Hill's ones to America. West hill should definitely partner with model shops around the world to make and sell their products internationally.
