Fitting Kadees to Bachmann Class 46 (32-701)

[ISW]

I've fitted Kadees to all manner of locos, wagons, and coaches but never come across this problem. The Bachmann Class 46 (model 32-701) has the NEM socket set too high. I've only ever seen or heard of Bachmann  NEM pockets being too low .

 

To overcome this, Bachmann supply the Class 46 with 'underset' tension lock couplings: (sorry the photo is out of focus)

 

On the loco itself, the NEM pocket is a slot in the bufferbeam of the bogie, and this rather limits the potential for any 'adjustments' on the loco :

 

What I really need, therefore, is an 'underset' Kadee #18, which doesn't seem to exist .

 

The only solution I've thought of is to cut the underset tension lock (keeping NEM plug and the 'step-down'), cut a Kadee #18 to remove the NEM plug (keeping the kadee coupling), and then glue the 2 bits together . It's a bit heath-robinson , and probably very fiddly, so I'd appreciate any better ideas.

 

Maybe someone out there has done this before ...

 

 

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Same problem applies to their first version of the Class 40. I did much as you propose, but pivoted a Kadee head on a slimmed down coupler tail.

 

Had this not worked well, I would have 'melted in' a no 5 (I actually now have an old screwdriver blade reshaped as the tool to modify the pocket, and lightly glue the Kadee shank into the modified void.) These come out dead right for gauge height in overheight Bachmann coupler pockets (that require the stepped down couplers). I have used this regularly on the mk1 coaches and selected earlier wagons that have this problem.

[Dunsignalling]

Here's my old 46, Kadee'd years ago. The couplers are #26, in Kadee draft boxes, not NEM ones so I must have surgically removed the pockets to fit them.

 

I don't recall it causing any real problems with clearance and would probably be easier nowadays as the modern equivalent #146 can have the box reduced without affecting operation.

 

John

[ISW]

2 hours ago, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

Same problem applies to their first version of the Class 40. I did much as you propose, but pivoted a Kadee head on a slimmed down coupler tail.

 

Had this not worked well, I would have 'melted in' a no 5 (I actually now have an old screwdriver blade reshaped as the tool to modify the pocket, and lightly glue the Kadee shank into the modified void.) These come out dead right for gauge height in overheight Bachmann coupler pockets (that require the stepped down couplers). I have used this regularly on the mk1 coaches and selected earlier wagons that have this problem.

 

34 (C),

 

Do you have a photo of your Class 40 coupler modification ? It'd help me to better understand .

 

I had a look at my stash of kadee #5 and, being centreset, they would still be too high in the 32-701s NEM pockets. However, the idea of 'melting them in' (I guess using a little heat) sounds useful and I'll keep that thought for future reference.

 

1 hour ago, Dunsignalling said:

Here's my old 46, Kadee'd years ago. The couplers are #26, in Kadee draft boxes, not NEM ones so I must have surgically removed the pockets to fit them.

 

I don't recall it causing any real problems with clearance and would probably be easier nowadays as the modern equivalent #146 can have the box reduced without affecting operation.

 

John

 

John,

You must have cut out the NEM pocket, glued in some bracing and glued / screwed the kadee draft box to the bracing. As you can see from the photo below, there is just an empty void  behind the bufferbeam. I have done this before, and cut short the #232 draft box to make it fit, but don't fancy trying it on this loco as the existing bufferbeam opening is still too high, unless I buy some kadee #22 or #142.

[Dunsignalling]

Mine was done a good few years ago, and I no longer have the notes I kept at the time in case I ever needed to do another one.

 

Looking at the model, I may have cut off the buffer beams, fitted the couplings, then reattached them as complete units; possibly retaining the top of the pocket to mount the draft box to. However, Bachmann have retooled their Peak bogies at least once since mine was made and the NEM pockets may have moved.

 

John

 

 

 

 

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

14 hours ago, ISW said:

...Do you have a photo of your Class 40 coupler modification ? It'd help me to better understand.

Sorry but no, don't have a digi camera... (Too many other expensive hobbies already!)

[ISW]

11 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

Mine was done a good few years ago, and I no longer have the notes I kept at the time in case I ever needed to do another one.

 

Looking at the model, I may have cut off the buffer beams, fitted the couplings, then reattached them as complete units; possibly retaining the top of the pocket to mount the draft box to. However, Bachmann have retooled their Peak bogies at least once since mine was made and the NEM pockets may have moved.

 

John

John,

 

You are much braver than me. I'll dabble with a few cuts in the plastic, but I don't fancy cutting the whole bufferbeam off. Well done on your work though, it look very good.

 

[ISW]

8 minutes ago, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

Sorry but no, don't have a digi camera... (Too many other expensive hobbies already!)

I can relate to that. Model railways is not a cheap hobby, which probably explains why I end up with secondhand stuff requiring 'modification' .

 

[Dunsignalling]

Brave or foolhardy? On closer inspection it seems I wasn't that daft!

 

I think the trick with this will be to forget about using one of the NEM-fit Kadees, remove the pocket and use a #14x series coupler and the #242 draft box that comes with it. The Whisker couplers don't occupy much of the box behind the pivot so quite a lot can be removed to ensure clearance for the pony wheels.

 

Having cut off the NEM pocket, "adjust" the slot in the buffer as necessary by filing then filling using plastic strip until it gives the correct position and aperture dimensions for mounting the draft box. I'm guessing that getting it high enough for a #149 would involve losing the cosmetic coupling hook so the options are #141 or #146, with as much of the box as possible removed from inboard of the pivot. Then just glue the assembled coupler into the repositioned slot.

 

John

[ISW]

4 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

Brave or foolhardy? On closer inspection it seems I wasn't that daft!

 

I think the trick with this will be to forget about using one of the NEM-fit Kadees, remove the pocket and use a #14x series coupler and the #242 draft box that comes with it. The Whisker couplers don't occupy much of the box behind the pivot so quite a lot can be removed to ensure clearance for the pony wheels.

 

Having cut off the NEM pocket, "adjust" the slot in the buffer as necessary by filing then filling using plastic strip until it gives the correct position and aperture dimensions for mounting the draft box. I'm guessing that getting it high enough for a #149 would involve losing the cosmetic coupling hook so the options are #141 or #146, with as much of the box as possible removed from inboard of the pivot. Then just glue the assembled coupler into the repositioned slot.

 

John

John,

 

I can see how that would work, and I have some #242 & #262 (the narrower ones) plus some #15x whisker couplers (centreset so less vertical 'movement' from the existing NEM pocket). Is this all doable without removing the bogies? I mean, just access from the bottom of the loco with the pony wheel removed?

 

I'm thinking of this as a Plan B, with Plan A being the Bachmann NEM tension coupling + Kadee #18 bodge, which I've yet to try ...

 

[Dunsignalling]

2 minutes ago, ISW said:

John,

 

I can see how that would work, and I have some #242 & #262 (the narrower ones) plus some #15x whisker couplers (centreset so less vertical 'movement' from the existing NEM pocket). Is this all doable without removing the bogies? I mean, just access from the bottom of the loco with the pony wheel removed?

 

I'm thinking of this as a Plan B, with Plan A being the Bachmann NEM tension coupling + Kadee #18 bodge, which I've yet to try ...

 

Looking at your photo, it looks perfectly doable with the limited amount of dismantling you suggest. I've been looking a bit more closely at my "old faithful" and now think that's probably how I did it. 

 

Centreset 156 or 158 couplers should need the box at the same height as the #146 I would substitute for the #26 if doing another. 

 

One word of warning, though. The #262 pockets seem to be made from some sort of "glue-proof" engineering plastic, so you'd need to build a housing for it to be bolted into. That might well create clearance issues, so I'd advise you to "stick" with the #242 (sorry for the pun).

 

John

[ISW]

After a bit of dithering I've executed Plan A and butchered / bodged the existing Bachmann NEM tension lock coupling into submission / marriage with a Kadee #18. The result looks like this:

 

When installed on the Bachmann Class 46 (32-701) it's not too shabby:

 

The Bachmann tension lock is glued to the Kadee #18 with simple super glue. However, this is reinforced using a proprietor product called 'supa Fix', shown below, although I gather that common baking soda is also a good reinforcer.

 

I know the coupler could be little further back (in line with the bufferface) but I found that propelling coaches with Kadee whisker couplings caused 'buffer lock' on my curves of ~550mm. The extra millimetre or so stops this happening.

 

[9C85]

On 27/09/2019 at 21:08, ISW said:

After a bit of dithering I've executed Plan A and butchered / bodged the existing Bachmann NEM tension lock coupling into submission / marriage with a Kadee #18. The result looks like this:

 

When installed on the Bachmann Class 46 (32-701) it's not too shabby:

 

The Bachmann tension lock is glued to the Kadee #18 with simple super glue. However, this is reinforced using a proprietor product called 'supa Fix', shown below, although I gather that common baking soda is also a good reinforcer.

 

I know the coupler could be little further back (in line with the bufferface) but I found that propelling coaches with Kadee whisker couplings caused 'buffer lock' on my curves of ~550mm. The extra millimetre or so stops this happening.

 

I have got a feeling that I will need to be doing this very modification next week.

I have just got a Bachmann Class 45 off ebay and need to fit it with Kadees for my layout. 

I had thought of trying to make the 'NEM tail' section using a 3D printer, and having a hole/slot in the vertical section for a screw to attach the Kadee coupler head . The slot would allow for fine tuning of the coupler height - but I know that would be a fiddly job.

My original thoughts, however, were the solution you have come up with. I will look into the use of baking soda with superglue- it seems that every time I look on rmweb for advice on a project, I end up buying a load of something that will take a lifetime to use up - 1 litre of floor polish and 20 make-up applicators being the latest examples.

[ISW]

6 minutes ago, 9C85 said:

I will look into the use of baking soda with superglue- it seems that every time I look on rmweb for advice on a project, I end up buying a load of something that will take a lifetime to use up

Don't worry, baking soda comes in nice small tins. It'll still last for quite a while though.

 

Ian

[9C85]

I just Googled Supafix as I noticed on your picture that it was made a few miles up the road from me (Tinsley).

It appears that the business ( in Sheffield at least) is permanently closed. Shame. 

Tesco for me tomorrow then.

 

[ISW]

26 minutes ago, 9C85 said:

I just Googled Supafix as I noticed on your picture that it was made a few miles up the road from me (Tinsley).

It appears that the business ( in Sheffield at least) is permanently closed. Shame. 

Tesco for me tomorrow then.

 

Tinsley is also very near me.

 

You should be able to get the Supafix in one of the local Boyes shops. That's where I originally bought mine and I've seen it on sale since.

 

Ian

[9C85]

 

I received the loco today and, to my surprise and delight, it seems to work 'out of the box' with Kadees fitted.  I can propel my Newspapers stock from over the hidden magnet at the entrance to the sidings and drop them where required. 

It did have an issue with the track mounted magnet on the hidden storage yard headshunt  (behind the retaining wall in the picture) but I think that was more due to the Kadee on that end of the loco being a bit stiff).

Time will tell but hopefully no surgery is required. 

[ISW]

28 minutes ago, 9C85 said:

I received the loco today and, to my surprise and delight, it seems to work 'out of the box' with Kadees fitted.

Do you mean it came with 'joggled' Kadees fitted, or that it was one of the later models that take 'standard' Kadees?

 

Nice looking model. It's one I didn't consider for my layout as I couldn't recall ever seeing one, let alone it being appropriate for Burton-on-Trent in the early 1970s.  Then, when scanning my old slides I come across this one in Sheffield circa 1981!

 

Ian

[9C85]

28 minutes ago, ISW said:

Do you mean it came with 'joggled' Kadees fitted, or that it was one of the later models that take 'standard' Kadees?

 

Nice looking model. It's one I didn't consider for my layout as I couldn't recall ever seeing one, let alone it being appropriate for Burton-on-Trent in the early 1970s.  Then, when scanning my old slides I come across this one in Sheffield circa 1981!

 

Ian

Hello Ian,

It must be one of the later models, as I have just fitted Kadee Nos 19 and 18 (the only ones I had lying around) and they work no problem. 

I am contemplating making the loco allover blue, but for now I am just going to enjoy running it.

I think I will ask Santa to fit it with DCC sound though.

[ISW]

1 hour ago, 9C85 said:

It must be one of the later models, as I have just fitted Kadee Nos 19 and 18 (the only ones I had lying around) and they work no problem. 

That was fortunate, to say the least. I've had to 'make' joggled' Kadee twice so far.

 

1 hour ago, 9C85 said:

I think I will ask Santa to fit it with DCC sound though.

Is the plan to leave the loco, screwdrivers, soldering iron, and fitting instructions at the foot of the chimney? 

 

Ian

 

[Roy Langridge]

2 hours ago, 9C85 said:

Hello Ian,

It must be one of the later models, as I have just fitted Kadee Nos 19 and 18 (the only ones I had lying around) and they work no problem. 

I am contemplating making the loco allover blue, but for now I am just going to enjoy running it.

I think I will ask Santa to fit it with DCC sound though.

It is one of the very early re-tooled models, hence the seam on the nose being missing.
 

Roy