Fixed rake couplings

[coachmann]

Does any RMweb member use the lost-wax brass rigid coupling between coaches, the sort that contains a mock screw coupling and vac pipes. Some are suitable rfor non-corridorstock with high position vac pipes.

 

I have seen these on models in the past but didnt take much notice at the time. I think they were manafactured by Bill Bedford. Are they suitable for 3ft radius curves and are they still around?

 

Cheers,

Larry G.

 

 

[Barry Ten]

Brassmasters do them. I have a pair but have not done any experimentation yet. Mine would need to operate on 30" curves. I'd be curious to hear how others have got on with them before committing to more.

 

http://www.brassmasters.co.uk/coach_couplings.htm

[coachmann]

Thanks very much for the link Barry. I also recall a type that had stand up vacuum and steam heating pipes for certain non-corridor coaches.

 

Some Roco and Hornby (Roco type) arrived this morning so even more experimentation is on the cards...

 

Larry

[Mikkel]

Larry, I remember those, and yes I think they were by Bill Bedford.

 

They don't seem to be on his site any more though, just checked.

[Galtee More]

Does any RMweb member use the lost-wax brass rigid coupling between coaches, the sort that contains a mock screw coupling and vac pipes. Some are suitable rfor non-corridorstock with high position vac pipes.

 

I have seen these on models in the past but didnt take much notice at the time. I think they were manafactured by Bill Bedford. Are they suitable for 3ft radius curves and are they still around?

 

Cheers,

Larry G.

 

 

 

The couplings made by Brassmasters are not the same as those previously available from Bill Bedford. The Brassmasters' couplings are not just cleaned, painted and fixed; the vacuum pipes have to be snipped off the sprue and then fixed in the required position.

 

The 'Bill Bedford' type are manufactured by Barrie Stevenson (formerly Stevenson Carriages) and I find them to be excellent - they do the job, look the part and are reasonably priced. The following types are available:

 

1. High (suburban type) vacuum pipe/screw-link coupling.

2. Low (corridor stock) vacuum pipe/screw link coupling.

3. Low (corridor stock) vacuum pipe/buckeye coupling.

4. Low (corridor stock) air pipe/buckeye coupling.

 

In each case, the coupling is cosmetic, but looks the part, and is, in fact, a bar coupling. The coupling is intended to be fitted by a screw or bolt (supply your own !) at one end. The other end is a peg which fits into a hole (again, supply your own - hole, that is !) behind the buffer beam on the next coach. Not only do they look better, are quicker and easier to us, but they're cheaper than the competition too !

 

They are available from the new owner of Stevenson Carriages (Barrie, himself, is still manufacturing)

 

 

Stevenson Carriages

17 Brookfield Park

Mill Lane

OLD TUPTON

Chesterfield

Derbyshire

 

I have no contact with either Barrie Stevenson or Stevenson Carriages, other than as a very satisfied customer - I use these couplings myself.

 

I hope the above information helps.

 

 

 

[Penlan]

I have been using a version of Bill Bedfords since the 1960's - home made, but these are only on the corridor coaches.

 

I think for non-corridor, I would still use a representation of the couplings, but also use jim-s-w's idea of the vac and steam pipes coupled together with micro magnets.

 

I would have thought small radius curves < 36" would need sprung buffers also, to keep the distance between coaches looking good.

 

My non-corridors have standard screw links as once coupled, they rarely come of the layout - but if I was building more non-corridor's, I would use the method mentioned above. Those coaches/NPCS that are uncoupled during operating sessions have a version of the 'AJ' couplings fitted.

 

This was covered on RMweb in Jan 2009, but I attach my photo's again of the Corridor couplings.......

 

Penlan

[coachmann]

Thanks Galtee More for the news that the BillB couplings are now with Barrie Stevenson. Barrie and I have conversed in the past on LNWR/WCJS coaches. I am pretty sure the couplings that you described are the ones i saw some years ago.

 

I must say I like Penlan's home-made cupling too. It looks splendidly simple and I can see how the 'loop' that the hook goes into allows sideplay on curves. I'm not keen on re-fitting all my coaches with sprung buffers, although it would be carried out if found necessary. A sprung coupling springs to mind.

 

Food for thought plus some experimentation over the next few nights. One thing for certain, I not keen on retaining Bachmann couplings now the coaches have been weathered to make them realistic!

 

Larry

[Galtee More]

Thanks Galtee More for the news that the BillB couplings are now with Barrie Stevenson. Barrie and I have conversed in the past on LNWR/WCJS coaches. I am pretty sure the couplings that you described are the ones i saw some years ago.

 

I must say I like Penlan's home-made cupling too. It looks splendidly simple and I can see how the 'loop' that the hook goes into allows sideplay on curves. I'm not keen on re-fitting all my coaches with sprung buffers, although it would be carried out if found necessary. A sprung coupling springs to mind.

 

Food for thought plus some experimentation over the next few nights. One thing for certain, I not keen on retaining Bachmann couplings now the coaches have been weathered to make them realistic!

 

Larry

 

 

 

I had some of the Bill Bedford couplings some years ago now, from Colin Ashby's stand (the original Colin) at a show. When I needed some more, fairly recently, they were not to be found anywhere, of course. After spotting some on Brassmasters website and, thinking they were the the same, ordered some, only to find that they were different ! I searched everywhere and then our club Chairman turned up one night with a rake of MR suburbans, all fitted with the couplings I was after. He told me where he'd acquired them and the rest is history.

 

Yes, Penlan's idea looks good. I'm quite taken with sprung buffers but, of course, they're generally not needed on Gresley's, BR Ml 1s, Bulleid's, etc.

 

Please let us know the results of your experimentation.

[coachmann]

Thanks for your PM Galtee More. Will contact you later.

[Guest stuartp]

Bill still does an etched version (or he did last time I looked). Fold up bracket and hook with a hole to swivel on a captive bolt at one end, fold up bracket and hook with a peg which hooks behind the buffer beam at the other end , flat etched screw coupling between the two, supply your own wire to make the pipes. I've got a set but I've not used them yet.

[jwealleans]

He does indeed and I use them on the coaches I build for Thurston. I generally make a hole behind the buffer beam at one end and extend the pin upwards so they deal with baseboard joints and uneven track better. It also keeps them centred. There is wire in the packs for the pipes although I've found that when you're making upright vac pipes it's not always enough.

 

 

[Guest stuartp]

There is wire in the packs for the pipes

 

I beg Mr Bedford's pardon . Mine have been sitting in ther drawer so long I expect I've pinched the wire for something else !

[coachmann]

Experiments completed yesterday where I knocked up a solid bar with vac pipes. Worked with compatable coaches but there would be restrictions on mixing corridor and non corridor stock and suburbans with high vac pipes and those with low vac pipes. Rejected in the end.

 

Also fitted three suburbans with screw couplings and wire across the buffers. Again this wasn't 100% pushing and pulling stock over 32" radius reverse curves when coaches tilted or rerailed. Rejected last night.

 

Re-fitted Bachmann couplings this morning. Tests 100% success.

 

Gresley coaches with Hornby chassis will retain Hornby-Roco couplings as these worked fine over the reverse curve test track. LNER coaches with cast bogies will have to have Bachmanns though, so this again introduces some restrictions on what can be coupled to what. On the other hand, if I really want to couple a Bachmann coupling fitted coach within a rake, I can easily slip a Bachmann in an adjacent coaches' NEM socket.

 

Larry G.

[gwrrob]

A welcome bump for this topic following a request in my layouts gallery.I used one on my b set. Eileen's now stock this range.

 

https://www.eileensemporium.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=322&Itemid=9

[coachmann]

I remember seeing thse on coaches that came in for painting some years ago. But at £12.00 per coach, I'm afraid re-equiping all my coaches is now out of the question.

[Jol Wilkinson]

I remember seeing thse on coaches that came in for painting some years ago. But at £12.00 per coach, I'm afraid re-equiping all my coaches is now out of the question.

 

Larry,

 

I think that the price is per pair, although the EE website isn't clear on that. Likewise, I think the Brassmasters cast ones are £5 per pair. At least they all should be, based on my experience of LRM's cast brass pricing.

 

The one difficulty I have found with LNWR carriages is that there is very little room between the back of the bufferbeam and the outer end of the bogie. I don't drill a hole in the floor for the pin end, but make a loop from a piece of brass strip that is soldered behind the bufferbeam. Likewise, I sometimes have to make up a new mounting for the other end from a piece of brass sheet that bolts to the floor and drops down between the bogie and buffer beam. For that reason I now tend to make a simple pin and loop arrangement on corridor carriages, as it isn't that visible below the gangway.This may not be a problem with other railway companies carriages.

 

Jol

[brossard]

After watching one of Tony Wright's Right Track DVDs I was quite taken by his method of fixed rake coupling. Here's a pic of a rake I did recently:

 

 

The ends which couple to the loco have Kadee, the rest have a hook and bar. Vacuum/steam pipes are soft copper wire.

 

John

[Jol Wilkinson]

After watching one of Tony Wright's Right Track DVDs I was quite taken by his method of fixed rake coupling. Here's a pic of a rake I did recently:

 

 

The ends which couple to the loco have Kadee, the rest have a hook and bar. Vacuum/steam pipes are soft copper wire.

 

John

 

John,

 

one of the things I was thinking of doing with the hook and bar arrangement is to have a loop as part of the bar so that the pin pushes against it when propelling stock. This is something we do on the layout quite a bit, it being a terminus.Where the gangways ends up as the pushing connection, we have found that they can cause a sideways effort, especially through reverse curves or crossovers, with consequent derailment. This is in P4 so may be less of a problem with OO/EM flanges.

 

Part of the problem may be that I haven't yet found a realistic LNWR gangway that has soft enough springing, but the search goes on. My non corridor coaches, with spring buffers and AJ couplings don't suffer that problem.

 

Of course tension lock, Kaydee and the HD coupling also provide the pushing effort, as do the BB or Brassmasters coupling units. For consistency I will probably change over to those (or my own version thereof) for gangwayed stock.

 

Jol

[brossard]

Jol, with working gangways (mine are just folded paper with no real attempt to make them "realistic"), propelling isn't a problem (or hasn't been up to now). For non gangwayed coaches I solder a bar across the loop so that the hook pushes on that. One lesson learned is that the wire for the hook and bar should be flush with the buffer beam, not proud as you see in the picture. The wire can foul the bogies. Four of the coaches pictured have rigid buffers, the Hornby coach has sprung ones. Sprung buffers would permit closer coupling.

 

I have been looking at the BB and Brassmaster products with interest.

 

I don't like Kadee for coach rakes because there is enormous fore and aft slop, making close coupling impossible.

 

John

[Martin_R]

I have tried a slightly different approach but rather than duplicate here have a look at:

 

Close Coupling - Using magnets in ‘Modifying & Detailing RTR stock’

 

Martin.