mattog Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 As has been mentioned previous times on this forum, the NEM couplings pockets on Bachmann's Mk1 coaches are the wrong height and the close coupling mechanism can play havoc with Kadee couplers etc. I was wondering then whether Bachmann's Mk1 replacement bogies (36-005A) are the answer? See them here... http://www.ehattons.com/18665/Bachmann_UK_36_005A_Pair_of_BR_Mk1_coach_bogies_Identical_to_36_005_/StockDetail.aspx Not sure whether the height is right but the lip would be handy for attaching a Kadee gearbox with the appropriate shims. Anyone had any experience with these? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trevellan Posted October 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 13, 2011 I haven't tried this myself as my experiments so far with Kadees on Bachmann Mk1s have given acceptable results. However, if you're prepared to go to the trouble of obtaining and fitting replacement bogies, why not give the Keen systems conversion a go? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattog Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 I haven't tried this myself as my experiments so far with Kadees on Bachmann Mk1s have given acceptable results. However, if you're prepared to go to the trouble of obtaining and fitting replacement bogies, why not give the Keen systems conversion a go? I hear the Keen system presents problems as well though don't quote me on that. What success have you had with the Mk1s? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Max Stafford Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 What you can do is bodge the supplied coupling. Remove the hook and bar from the coupling and mount a Kadee 17 or 18 on the underside of the remaining part of the lower step. I drill through part of the Kadee shank to and secure the two parts with a 14BA nut and bolt. You can also add a small bit of wire between the prongs to restrain the fishtail end. Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattog Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 What you can do is bodge the supplied coupling. Remove the hook and bar from the coupling and mount a Kadee 17 or 18 on the underside of the remaining part of the lower step. I drill through part of the Kadee shank to and secure the two parts with a 14BA nut and bolt. You can also add a small bit of wire between the prongs to restrain the fishtail end. Dave. Sounds like a plan. Any problems with buffer lock or derailing when reversing? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trevellan Posted October 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 13, 2011 I hear the Keen system presents problems as well though don't quote me on that. What success have you had with the Mk1s? I confess I have yet to tackle any of my Bachmann Mk1s - for a variety of reasons - but I do plan to fit the Keen system to one rake as part of a larger project. One of the issues I wish to address is the slack in the whole drawbar area. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 If you are prepared to slightly butcher the mounting, a Kadee no 5 straight into the overheight Bachmann pocket comes out dead right on the Kadee gauge and works better than any of the NEM mounting type. (The NEM mounting Kadees add more slop and flex to the close coupling mechanism, Bachmann, Hornby, Keen w.h.y.) That's what I use on the ends of my sets, using the Hornby R8220 (Roco clone) within sets. The Bachmann coupler box is not only overheight on the mk1s, it is positioned too far inboard. Happily Hornby's R8220 is of the Roco pattern that forms a rigid bar that optimally operates the close coupling mechanism, and the extra length over Roco standard compensates perfectly for the too far inboard position. Using these the set couples up with all corridor connectors in contact on straight track, and the mechanism takes care of the curves, up to radius one reverse curves should that be required. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Like Max, my solution was to fit a KD under the NEM box by drilling a hole and using a self tapping screw. I only did this for the brakes. For the rest I used a homemade hook and bar system that I saw Tony Wright do in one of his DVDs. It is far better to couple off the buffer beam than the bogie. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
naugytrax Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 As far as the Bachmann Mk 1's are concerned, there are two different solutions from Keen Systems. On solution would be to fit the entire two-part gubbins with tne fixed base plate and the delta plate which slides within it, which is what you do for most older coaches. The easier, better solution is to replace the Bachmann coupler arm with the Replacement Arm from Keen Systems which simply puts the coupler pocket in the "right" place according to NEM 362. It's a 5-minute job. Initially I tried one of these hack-and-bolt-or-glue approaches, because it was cheaper than the Keen replacement arm. It worked, but it looked clumsy and that's why I replaced it with the Keen arms which IMHO are a more elegant solution. By the way, this approach can also be applied to the Bachmann Mk. 2's, but there's a different Keen Replacement Arm for these since the butterfly slots in the MK 2 floors are slightly different from the Mk 1 slots. Unless you do shunting of individual coaches on your layout, Kadee couplers are only recommended on the outer ends of rakes, as 34theletter and Brossard said above. Between the coaches of a fixed rake, it's better to use a type of coupler head which locks the two coupler arms into a solid bar so that the close-coupling mechanism will extend by the correct amount and you won't have buffer-lock problems while pushing. You could use the Hornby/Roco type or the Fleischmann Profi-Coupler. I chose to fit the dummy knuckle-coupler heads from Keen, for appearance and economy. [edit for spelling] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Make up a stepped shank Kadee as per the tension lock that is supplied with the coach, from a non stepped shank tension lock (with the tension lock removed) and a NEM Kadee (with the NEM prongs removed) glued (and bolted if desired) on top of each other. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Max Stafford Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 While it's a shame that we need to do this, it does prove that there's more than one way to skin a cat...! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RFS Posted October 13, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 13, 2011 The Hornby version of the Roco close coupling, as supplied FOC with Maunsell coaches, works extremely well with the Bachmann MK1s and I use these internally as all my MK1s are kept more or less permanently in sets. The gangways are touching realistically on straight track. For the outer couplings I use the NEM Kadee no.20 which works well. Several of the brake coaches have the coupling pocket at the right height (more or less!) but some do not. I tried the Keen replacement but I had some difficulty with it as it seemed to be stiff and caused derailments. It probably needs a bit of filing to make it operate more freely and I may have another go at that. But it's also moulded in white plastic which makes it visible so it'll need to be painted. A stepped coupling is the answer where the pocket is too high. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I've used the Keen Systems on both Mk1 and Mk2 carriages. They work brilliantly for me, but then i haven't tried more than 4 carriages in a rake ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
armchair modeler Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 I have no experience of using other than No.5 Kadees. However if you have a look at the Kadee website there are differing "shank" positions. Some are set to the top of the knuckle, other to the bottom. I do not know whether this would accommodate the height differences. Also you may find that Kadees can also come with the appropriate "gearbox". So a bit of butchery and replacement of the box may work. ACM Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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