Trip Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 No other forms of torture are still allowed. Has anyone actually checked the Geneva Conventions? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 They were a good reason (amongst many) to abandon UK OO gauge, & cross to the Dark Side & model U.S. outline back in the late '80s/early '90s. Ah, the joy of Kadees. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 25, 2018 No other forms of torture are still allowed. Has anyone actually checked the Geneva Conventions? Just buy yourself a pair of Xuron track cutters, chop them off and fit something decent (which means pretty much anything else). John 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold D9020 Nimbus Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 25, 2018 Not sure what's so terrible about them. And on modern stock with NEM pockets, you don't need to cut them off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2975 Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 'S why I adopted Spratt and Winkle couplings 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 25, 2018 'S why I adopted Spratt and Winkle couplings Which are essentially upside-down tension locks............. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 At least the modern tension lock couplings are not as bad as the giant ones which Triang used to use in the 50s/60s. Coaches a scale 10ft apart just to go around 24" radius curves? Those were the days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 25, 2018 I guess we are hooked on them? As pointed out above they have come a long way since the Triang days.... Phil 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 25, 2018 No other forms of torture are still allowed. Has anyone actually checked the Geneva Conventions? Could be worse - have you tried to couple 3-link or screw link under a corridor connection whilst the public watch you at an exhibition.......................? Cheers, Mick 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 25, 2018 Could be worse - have you tried to couple 3-link or screw link under a corridor connection whilst the public watch you at an exhibition.......................? Cheers, Mick The Hornby Roco style close couplings when fitted to Bachmann Mk1s are bad enough thanks Mick.... Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 25, 2018 At least the modern tension lock couplings are not as bad as the giant ones which Triang used to use in the 50s/60s. Coaches a scale 10ft apart just to go around 24" radius curves? Those were the days. More like a scale 6ft, IIRC. The loops of the big Tri-ang couplings were much wider (as were Lima) but they hardly stuck out any further than today's so-called mini ones. Any reduction in slack is down to the hooks being shorter now. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 25, 2018 Could be worse - have you tried to couple 3-link or screw link under a corridor connection whilst the public watch you at an exhibition.......................? Cheers, Mick That's just voluntary martyrdom............. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 If you remember, we all quite liked them as children, which is who they were for in the days before, to quote that bloke off the telly, model trains became the preserve of ‘sad middle aged men’. And, I smile when I read articles in RM that say things like ‘now I’ve got older, I’ve given up on three-link, and gone back to tension lock’. So, they have their place. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 They were a good reason (amongst many) to abandon UK OO gauge, & cross to the Dark Side & model U.S. outline back in the late '80s/early '90s. Ah, the joy of Kadees. The problem is then you have to put up with ugly locomotives rather than just ugly couplings. Jason 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBRJ Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Modern tension locks would be ok if only people (at exhibitions) used them as intended, that is, automatically. Why people keep these couplings and then use a shunters pole/bit of wire to operate them beats me everytime! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 25, 2018 I've used many forms of couplings over the years, but IMO the tension lock requires the least adjustment, maintenance and care. Other forms of coupling require regular checking and resetting as required. Yes - it isn't the prettiest, but is usually the most reliable. Cheers,Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 Yes - it isn't the prettiest, but is usually the most reliable. Yeah, they reliably drive me fkin nuts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 31A Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 25, 2018 If you remember, we all quite liked them as children, which is who they were for in the days before, to quote that bloke off the telly, model trains became the preserve of ‘sad middle aged men’. And, I smile when I read articles in RM that say things like ‘now I’ve got older, I’ve given up on three-link, and gone back to tension lock’. So, they have their place. I didn't like them, I liked Hornby Dublo ones and I still do! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Goldfish Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Could be worse, try the giant upside down ones used by LGB. Brilliant when used properly, nightmare if used by hand, never have uncoupljng issues though! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 25, 2018 The market for toy trains has been used to these since long before Hornby became the brand name for what had formerly been called Tri-ang. It would have been economic suicide for any radical change of coupling to be foist upon that market. The smaller version now usually found on rtr rolling stock suits the traditionalists - and as pointed out, yields readily to removal and replacement by other varieties of coupling, especially those with NEM fittings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
paftrain Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 I didn't like them, I liked Hornby Dublo ones and I still do! I wrote to Pec last year to ask them if they made or considered making their version (simplex?) with a plug in NEM fitting. They said no they didn't but would think about it. I am sure they would be very popular as I think they are much more convenient than any other couplings on the market. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 31A Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 25, 2018 I wrote to Pec last year to ask them if they made or considered making their version (simplex?) with a plug in NEM fitting. They said no they didn't but would think about it. I am sure they would be very popular as I think they are much more convenient than any other couplings on the market. Hmmm they DID consider it; in fact such a system was described in the Modeller in some detail a couple of years ago, but they have told me that they were unable to make it work satisfactorily and didn't proceed with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Kirk Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 I wrote to Pec last year to ask them if they made or considered making their version (simplex?) with a plug in NEM fitting. They said no they didn't but would think about it. I am sure they would be very popular as I think they are much more convenient than any other couplings on the market. I am afraid that I doubt if this could be done. The HD (Peco Simplex) coupling relies on having the big pivot somewhere behind the buffer beam (to get the correct spacing between vehicles) and the coupling is on about the same level as the pocket. The only way I can fit HD couplings to modern wagons involves destroying the NEM pockets. Sixty odd years ago when making the first steps from Train Set to "scale" modelling fitting scale wheels and three link couplings was standard. Now at the other end of the age spectrum I find the need to go back to autocouplers! best wishes, Ian 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 25, 2018 Surely the Rapido coupling suffered in N scale is worse? Thank God for Dapol's own versions of the Kadee is all I will say! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 31A Posted March 25, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 25, 2018 I am afraid that I doubt if this could be done. The HD (Peco Simplex) coupling relies on having the big pivot somewhere behind the buffer beam (to get the correct spacing between vehicles) and the coupling is on about the same level as the pocket. The only way I can fit HD couplings to modern wagons involves destroying the NEM pockets. Sixty odd years ago when making the first steps from Train Set to "scale" modelling fitting scale wheels and three link couplings was standard. Now at the other end of the age spectrum I find the need to go back to autocouplers! best wishes, Ian I think that was the nub of their problem. The Peco person who told me they couldn't make it work said that during testing the last vehicle kept becoming detached. From my experience of using the metal Peco (or HD) Simplex couplings, this could happen if a vehicle had couplings that weren't entirely free to pivot from side to side. The last vehicle doesn't have the weight of the rest of the train behind it to force the coupling to swing on curves, especially with modern free running rolling stock. I suspect they were trying to use a thin plastic 'pivot' (like the flexible piece in the Bachmann / Hornby "NEM" tension lock pockets), which probably would act as a centring spring rather than being flexible enough to let the Simplex coupling swing freely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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