The slider shoe uncoupler blues...

Conversion to TMCC - for the engines, The Electric RR's AC/DC Commander, which is $140 and out of stock . Another option is finding an LCRU kit for powered Lionel GP9s. For the passenger cars, either the MINI COMMANDER II (2 COUPLER CONTROL) KIT at an eye-watering $115, or try to find LCRX kits, install the electronics and sell the couplers on fleabay. Can sometimes be found as low as $30.

Note that that modern Lionel and MTH run both wires of the coil coupler back to the electronics, but Lionel used the frame for ground/outer rail/common, and you can improve things by soldering a wire directly to the frame of the coil coupler, or possibly rewire it it.

I converted a set of Lionel F3s to TMCC first with an LCRU, and later with an AC/DC Commander, but once I tried an engine with speed control it was all over.

I suppose some clever individual could make something using various Bluetooth Low Energy products and some add on circuit AND write an app that works on iPhone and/or Android.

Something I did in the past was hook the horn relay up to the coil couplers in some postwar switcher, but I would get too many accidental uncouplings; maybe it was caused by the crappy grounding.

For the heavyweights use Lionel part no. 6TC-21  for the slider shoe plate assembly. Part 622-134 for the F3.

All readily available from parts dealers.

@illinoiscentral posted:

Conversion to TMCC - for the engines ...

Unfortunately this approach is definitely not "budget friendly".  And, what do you do with the cars?

I like @CSXJOE's suggestion.  That's what I would do.

Mike

An obvious question, why not just replace them? The shoe/plate/rivet are available from any Lionel parts source and not difficult to replace. They tend to get snagged on track switches.

Yeah, all the options and ideas I was finding were pricey or going through the delightful dismantling and soldering the shoes back on - only to risk getting tripped up on switches.  I suppose I kind of knew this was a sorta' "fools errand" but I thought I would ask anyway. I appreciate ye

How often do I really need to uncouple a heavyweight passenger consist anyways

Was there one troublesome switch that caused the problem?

@CSXJOE posted:

Was there one troublesome switch that caused the problem?

Naw,  But many of the shoes had already been sanded/shaved to avoid clipping over switches by me and my grandfather many years ago.

So many of these long years wrapped in boxes and newsprint choo-choos had been stored with dirty build-up on their wheels and contacts and in the process of cleaning with warm soapy water and short bristled paint brushes they lost corners or the back lips of the shoe gave up - setting the shoe loose. many of the old wires were dry-rotted off too.

Sliding shoes work best with postwar Lionel tubular switches, crossings and accessories. Other brands can damage or snag the sliding shoes.

There is a flat bronze spring that sits on top of the rivet that provides the downward pressure on the sliding shoe. On those with the wire soldered into the the rivet there is a two contact spring. Make sure those springs are adjusted so the push the shoe straight down. If out of adjustment they can force one end of the shoe farther down that it is design for. This can cause the shoes to snag.

Since I don't use UCS or do remote uncoupling, I just remove any troublesome shoes and epoxy the coupler shut.  Easy-peasy. 

Mitch

One slide shoe problem spot I have is the Lionel 1122 moving track section. I don’t know the technical name for it, but it is the part that diverts or continues the cars. I had one that claimed three slide shoes. All three blowouts occurred with the car moving into the continuous routing end and not the continuous or divergent routing end. The plastic shoe riveted to the fiber board would catch and snap the fiber board in half, and like a shear pin probably better it broke than something else.

The third shoe kill was a call to action commencing with a few solo truck runs (spare truck) which demonstrated the shoe stopping the truck cold. I then took to some precision grinding with a Dremel cut wheel, nicked off the protruding corner (rounding it), chambered the edge, and sanded to debur.

Tested post 1122 modification and the solo truck passed the trouble spot with ease.

There is an RCS which all cars pass over going into this 1122 ,so I will be paying attention to that as well as the advice on the shoe/spring action seating correctly.

The photo shows car direction and shoe alignment along with the modification area.