RMweb Premium M.I.B Posted January 25, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25, 2011 Sorry for the lack of terminology, but I am swayed towards using the tiny brass hooks which latch onto a wire strung across buffers. T'was "easy" when I was a lad - Hornby, Airfix, Mainline and Lima all had compatible couplings, but now add in Bachman and Dapol sizes too....... and my recent kit builds which have another type of tension lock. I see the point of them as regards ditching the chunky RTR couplings, but are they up to the strain of 25 following wagons, or an 8 coach express? Straight wire is easy to source, but who sells the hooks and roughly what price? (I have 20 engines, 100+ wagons and 40 coaches to fit out) How do you fit them? Does each wagon have a wire bar and a hook at each end (ie "bi-sexual") or do you end up with "male" at one end and "female" at the other? Many thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I have stayed with the miniature tension lock, and routinely run trains up to 60 wagons with no problems. Standardised on one maker's pattern (the choice fell on Bachmann) as they may look largely alike, but are not; just sufficiently to cause a lack of reliability (random uncouples, tangles, overrides when pushing). The old wire across the bufferheads, upward sprung wire hook coupling? Always made these from nickel silver 'handrail' wire, not a brass hook in sight. Make them single or double ended as your operational necessity dictates. On plastic RTR, where it is not possible to solder the wire to the bufferheads, simply for strength I would go for a broad 'U' shaped piece of wire to fit into the bufferbeam to provide the coupling wire/buffer lock preventer. Iain Rice would doubtless melt these in, I would drill holes, push through, bend over ends, give 'em a smear of araldite (belt, braces, velcro). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium M.I.B Posted January 25, 2011 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25, 2011 My problem is standardising - I have Bachman, Dapol, Hornby new wagons, right through to some Traing chassied and early Hornby as well as a a rake of late Dublo re- detailed GRANOs. Getting one RTR coupling to work and fit will be difficult. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stuartp Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 They sound like "Spratt & Winkle" couplings, now marketed by Model Signal Engineering/Wizard Models. They should be more than capable of coping with 8 coaches or 25 wagons, provided you fasten them to the wagon securely. Search the forum for 'Spratt" and "Winkle" and you should come up with loads of information. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Many years ago, I used to make the hooks from wire pivoted through a piece of electrical sleeving. The head design was similar to the American X2f with a 'horn'. Mine were single ended - this makes for easy uncoupling by hand, but means that locos need a coupling hook* and you can't turn things round. I had problems with the buffer bars, which all must be the same height and be smooth across the buffing surface. Tri-ang and Hornby are immediately a problem, because of misreading 3' 5½" as 4' on the drawings. If your curves are gentle enough for the buffers to do their job without locking (difficult in 00 because of the excessive wheel rail 'slop' ), then the loop need only be between the buffers and only serve for coupling. However if this is the case you are better off using the Alex Jackson coupling IMHO. *Leaving the hooks off locos makes for a neater appearance. Sir Nigel was my second (Xmas 1952 - one of the last). The loco has survived everything else in the set and is sitting on a shelf nagging me to complete her restoration Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 My problem is standardising - I have Bachman, Dapol, Hornby new wagons, right through to some Traing chassied and early Hornby as well as a a rake of late Dublo re- detailed GRANOs. Getting one RTR coupling to work and fit will be difficult. Same mixture here, also with Mainline, Airfix, and a large tranche of kit builds in plastic, whitemetal, etched brass... No trouble whatsoever ftting Bach's miniature tension lock to what is now circa 200 refits. Plastic kits and old plastic RTR has a Chivers Finelines mounting block for the NEM coupler pocket cemented on underneath. The old Dublos, including the very same Grano have a 'long' version miniature tension lock screwed to a 60 thou packing glued to the pivot post for the old HD coupler. Airfix tooling now in Hornby's range (which accounts for most of their useful steam era items) a replacement coupler can be glued into the coupler housing. Potentially most awkward to date has been the Airfix./Dapol plastic Lowmac kit as there is minimal space behind the deep bufferbeam, but happily Bach's cranked version (which compensates for the out of position pockets on some of their vehicles) enables a secure location through a hole in the bufferbeam. As far as I am concerned, if not using the threelink / instanter / screwlink coupling that is correct for steam age wagons, then all alternative couplers are equally incorrect. With Bachmann seeking world domination in UK steam age wagons for OO (come to my layout you lovely Histeels) it made sense to go for the one on their vehicles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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