Best Corridor Connectors for Bachmann Mk1s and Bachmann pullmans..

[40034_Nick]

i have seen a bunch of these on Ebay and they seem to be no more than just paper.. Are there any others on the market or am i expecting too much :-) ... 

 

Thanks

 

Nick

[Dunsignalling]

i have seen a bunch of these on Ebay and they seem to be no more than just paper.. Are there any others on the market or am i expecting too much :-) ... 

 

Thanks

 

Nick

What do you find unacceptable about the standard ones? 

 

Gangways with sprung covers are available from Keen Systems and, if you have the skills needed to make them up, the ones offered in kit form by Masokits perform every function real ones do except letting you walk through them.

 

John

Edited December 8, 2017 by Dunsignalling

[Silver Sidelines]

Hello Nick

 

If you can manage a craft knife you can make your own corridor connectors very cheaply from black card.  By changing the dimensions you can get the connectors to fit a whole range of coaches (There are links to some other coach types at the side of my Blog).

 

As to Bachmann Mk1s, if you have track radii above 30inches the Mk1s can be close coupled with Hornby R8220 couplers. This way the moulded gangways will touch and you might decide that corridor connectors are superfluous.

 

Regards

 

Ray

Edited December 8, 2017 by Silver Sidelines

[40034_Nick]

Hello Nick

 

If you can manage a craft knife you can make your own corridor connectors very cheaply from black card.  By changing the dimensions you can get the connectors to fit a whole range of coaches (There are links to some other coach types at the side of my Blog).

 

As to Bachmann Mk1s, if you have track radii above 30inches the Mk1s can be close coupled with Hornby R8220 couplers. This way the moulded gangways will touch and you might decide that corridor connectors are superfluous.

 

Regards

 

Ray

Hey Ray.. Thanks

Where do you buy your black card? Whats the weight of an A4 piece? or thickness?

[Silver Sidelines]

Hello Nick

 

I used Daler – Rowney A4 Canford 150g/m Jet Black card.  I think there are cut sizes and a links in my various Blogs.

 

I bought my card locally from a craft / art shop.  They do not do 'online' shopping.  A quick look on eBay suggests that it called 'paper. but from the quoted weight this is what I used.  For example. 

 

I originally bought ten sheets and have just recently bought another three.

 

Hope this helps

 

Regards

 

Ray

Edited December 8, 2017 by Silver Sidelines

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Being a type who likes really cheap and simple, within all the close coupled sets I just fix a tab of black 90gsm paper centrally inside the gangway, protruding to the depth of the gangway it faces. These act as light blockers sufficient to prevent an obvious gap when going through crossovers.  Exactly as described by Ray above, if curves are 30" minimum radius this works well. Neatly made bellows from paper or light card will work yet better, but I have a service timetable to run...

[gwrrob]

Modellers Mecca sell them in pairs and when used with the Bachmann pipe coupling they are superb. Usual disclaimer.

[vitalspark]

An old pal Jimmy Clayton used to make these things up about twenty years ago and gift them to his friends.

 

We called them 'Clayton Corridor Connections' and I still have a few.

 

It has kept his name alive long after old Jim has passed because whenever I see connections I think of the 'CCC' jobs.

 

He made them from black cartridge  paper with black plasticard ends and they worked and looked a treat were easy to knock up and cost little.

 

 

Dave.

[muddys-blues]

Nick I have sent you a PM, I have a good number of MK1 corridor connectors I won't be using.

 

Best regards

Craig.

[Il Grifone]

Hey Ray.. Thanks

Where do you buy your black card? Whats the weight of an A4 piece? or thickness?

 

'Works' sell sheets of paper/card in various thickneses and colours.

 

Traditionally gangway connectors have been made from black cartridge paper folded concertina fashion. I fitted Hornby Dublo Coaches with them in my youth, so sharp curves cannot have been a problem.

[John ks]

I'm not sure that these would be suitable but they might be worth a look

They are from Walthers in the US

Also just be wary that postage from the US can be expensive

 

John

[BR60103]

I have used the Walthers ones -- about 50 years ago.

They are a sheet of folded material, a bit sturdier than paper. They expand and compress. There is a striker plate to be glued on the end.

There is no detail. I found that if the striker plates touched they would lock going into curves and derail the cars (much like buffer lock). I think the design goes back to the 50s or earlier.

[FPH 603]

I quite like using the coach pipe couplings on my Bachmann Mk1 rake. Whilst they are realistic, if you plan on frequently remarshalling your stock, go for Kadees. Don't know what size though, guess it will be a trial and error thing. And yes, making corridor connections out of paper/cardboard will enhance the look of the rolling stock, with ridiculously huge gaps in between the coach corridors. I think that I will also make this part of my stock too. I wouldn't do it on RTR stock permanently, although if you're willing to than go ahead!

[chrisf]

Every time I ruminate about this topic I have a nagging thought that there must be a better way of doing it than making a bellows from paper.  It depends what you mean by better, I guess.   Even P4 practitioners find themselves with sharp curves and for all the finesse of resin castings with floating ends and various etched sculptures there is probably no better way of capturing the gyrations of the real thing.  I picked up some laser cut bellows from the Dart Castings stand at Uckfield.  They are not of Dart manufacture and I forget who is responsible for them.  They have the potential to do as I require and work is in intermittent progress.  One day I will tell all ...

 

Chris, edited because the post posted itself before I had finished composing it!

Edited December 10, 2017 by chrisf

[Silver Sidelines]

I have some further points that I feel are worth mentioning regarding 'do it yourself' connectors.

 

Card corridor connectors will probably only work in a satisfactory manner with curves greater than 30 inch radii.  Second point is that home made corridor connectors do not need to be glued to the coaches - I make mine a push fit into the existing moulded plastic coaches ends.  They are held in place by the concertina effect from the adjacent coach.  Secondly connectors on individual coaches are not joined together - in fact the end plates of adjacent coaches must be free to rub against each other.  If they are fixed they will be too rigid and cause derailments.

 

I reiterate what has been said before - within rakes of Bachmann Mk1s it is perfectly possible to replace the existing long cranked Bachmann couplings with either Bachmann short cranked couplings or better still Hornby R8220.  The latter give a far smoother ride and in my view simulate at train of coaches with screw link couplings rather than a string of loose coupled wagons.

 

First a video of Mk1s with R8220s and then as bought. 

 

 

Then a second video comparing R8220 with Bachmann short cranked.

 

 

Ray

Edited December 10, 2017 by Silver Sidelines

[dasatcopthorne]

I once produced this set of instructions.

 

Dave

 

 

 

Corridor connection instructions.pdf

[scottrains29]

A number of years ago I remember reading a detailling article in ModelRail (Oct 2001) for a Lima Strathclyde class 101. A set of very flexible rubber gangway connectors were used to completely fill the gap between the cars. I think they were from No Nonsense Kits, so it may be possible Phoenix Paints could now have the tooling. I remember they looked far more effective than naff bits of folded black paper.

 

I'm sure there would be a huge demand if a manufacturer could bring out replica working rubber gangway connectors for the various styles seen in the UK. Alternatively, they could also be make cheaply from silicone, like the type used for those flexible cake cases etc often found in the poundshops.

 

The main problem, apart from needing realistic radius curves, is that it is difficult to de-couple coaches. One solution could be to use a thin strip magnet (installed at the end of each connector) that is just strong enough to keep the connectors attached, but weak enough to de-couple when pulled apart thus preventing derailments on tight curves.