I am currently rebuilding a layout from round and round to shelf format in N gauge.

I am using sections of an old bookcase (turned shelf) as the base - not the ideal material but so far so good....

I thought people might be interested to see some pics of the most recent part of the project - making Peco Uncouplers (Sort of) Remote Control.

I began by removing the small 45 degree overhang at the rear of the ramp with a scalpel, this gives the ramp much more range of movement.  I also cut a sliver off of the barrel section to give a better fit between the rails.

I drilled small holes opposite one another in the plastic of the rail bed and fitted the ramp pretty much as per the instructions.

Modifications are, removal of sleepers along the ramps length and one from behind the pivoting section. Insertion of a panel pin horizontally through the rail bed (as it turned out the gaps were already right where I needed them to be!) 

A neodymium magnet was glued to the underside of the ramp, this would be attracted to the panel pin and ensure that the ramp lowered back into position after lifting.

The raising mechanism consists of brass rods and small lift off hinges, to make a sliding arm - controlled through a hole in the baseboard.

The rods meet up with the head of a round map pin.  The shaft having been removed and replaced by a short length of brass rod.  This rod goes up through the baseboard via a small hole and pushes the ramp "up."

A hole large enough for the map pin head to fit into was drilled to the right depth of recess, and when the arm is retracted the pin simply drops down. To prevent the pin dropping to the floor, a small section of sleeve from electrical wire was slipped onto protruding end of brass rod.

Hey Presto!

It's not without its faults, it seems to only work with coaches - smaller wagons simply lift with the ramp.

Also, for greater reliability - I have removed the peg from all loco uncoupling hooks, this means that they don't get raised along with the coach uncoupling hooks, when this happened they tended to "lock."

I'm very pleased with it and looking forward to tidying it up. :-)

Images below show the uncouplers themselves, and the rods under the baseboard.