What years did Lionel make the RCS track without the magnet, & when did they start making the one with the magnet?
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pretty sure the one without the magnet is Prewar, and with is Postwar.
The track with the magnet is type UCS, and the non-magnet version is type RCS.
Larry
RCS (no magnet) was made from 1938-42 and 1946-48. This was replaced by the UCS which ran from 1949 on.
Peter
Thankyou, Peter.
Back several years ago while building my layout I would hit every train show looking for the UCS tracks. I removed the magnets (coil) and used them with my tubular track to uncouple. I have about 100 on the layout. Every siding has one, and some of the long sidings have two. All my main lines have them so I can leave a train on the main and enter the engine facility with the locomotive. I would cut the track with the Dremel tool and put a Masonite square under the magnet and glue (Elmers) everything down with my old diving weight on top until everything was dry. The magnets have two wires. One would get soldered to the closest point of ground rail and the other hooked to a momentary contact switch on my control panel. These have been down for 30 years and work perfect today. At one time, the magnet coil only could be purchased from Warrens Trains in Ohio. The magnet coil had no magnet in the center. It did not take me long to figure the magnet was a piece of 1/4 inch metal stock. The rest was history.
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Prewar box couplers, operating cars, and early postwar knuckle couplers were operated by sliding shoes.
In 1949, Lionel added a magnet to the RCS to open couplers by attracting a metal plate. It also triggered mechanisms on operating boxcars and turned 6520 and 3520 Searchlight Cars on and off.
Marty, I'm curious. Why didn't you just use the UCS as is? Appearance?
Have you ever had a problem with the center core moving up and interfering with rollers?
That was the reason. All over the track map on my panel I have push button switches to operate. I was buying some badly rusted tracks with good magnets to use. I have never had one issue with the core moving. I rounded the tops to match the curve of the red/black top.
Thanks, Marty. Interesting. I have a boodle of old UCS tracks. I ought to take one apart and see just how the magnet is set up.
I would note for the benefit of other readers that UCS tracks sometimes suffer from poor electrical conductivity between the center rails on each side of the magnet. A jumper wire is probably the best cure, although clips under the track can also be cleaned & soldered.
Jim Barrett did a backshop on this once.
Robert, the third photo down shows the jumper. Jim did do something on this a while ago. I did my project over 30 years ago.
