Close coupling Hornby coaches.

[Robert Stokes]

I hope that I have posted this in the right section.

 

I have a train of six Hornby (ex LMS) corridor coaches - 2 x R4447 + 2 x R4448 + 2 x R4449 all bought within the last couple of weeks. One is brand new and the others were bought on Ebay. They are in excellent condition but two came without the accessory pack. (I don't mind that since they were at bargain prices). I therefore bought a pack of close couplers R8220 and I have fitted these without any problem.

 

The corridor connections are a different matter. Are the pieces in the accessory pack an addition to what is already on the coach or a replacement for it? I have taken off the end plate and tried adding the accessory part but it won't clip on. I then tried removing the part already on the coach and replacing it with the accessory part. I found this very difficult and I've only managed to get one to clip in so far. Although I haven't got the one facing it clipped in yet, holding it in place seems to leave a noticeable gap between to two parts, even on straight track. If this is how it is supposed to be then I will be disappointed as I thought that there would be no gap on straight track.

 

Thank you for any advice.

 

P.S. Do Hornby supply the corridor accessory parts that I'm missing as a separate item?

 

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

I don't have these specific coaches, so cannot advise on the accessory parts; but my consistent experience of Hornby coaches with close coupling mechanisms is that Hornby's R8220 coupler spaces them off too far to have the gangway ends in contact on straight track. Use the Roco 40720 (small pack) or 40721 (economical 50 pack) which has the same coupler head but with an appropriate length mount, and the gangway ends are in contact on straight (or nearly so) track. The Hornby Pullman cars which have end covers fitted to the gangways need these removed, and some coaches may need sprung buffers retracted too.

 

(The R8220's that came with the Hornby coaches are redeployed to Bachmann mk1s with the pockets recessed further than the NEM standard specifies: by some weird happy chance Hornby's overlength mounting compensates perfectly.)
 

[phil-b259]

1 hour ago, Robert Stokes said:

I hope that I have posted this in the right section.

 

I have a train of six Hornby (ex LMS) corridor coaches - 2 x R4447 + 2 x R4448 + 2 x R4449 all bought within the last couple of weeks. One is brand new and the others were bought on Ebay. They are in excellent condition but two came without the accessory pack. (I don't mind that since they were at bargain prices). I therefore bought a pack of close couplers R8220 and I have fitted these without any problem.

 

The corridor connections are a different matter. Are the pieces in the accessory pack an addition to what is already on the coach or a replacement for it? I have taken off the end plate and tried adding the accessory part but it won't clip on. I then tried removing the part already on the coach and replacing it with the accessory part. I found this very difficult and I've only managed to get one to clip in so far. Although I haven't got the one facing it clipped in yet, holding it in place seems to leave a noticeable gap between to two parts, even on straight track. If this is how it is supposed to be then I will be disappointed as I thought that there would be no gap on straight track.

 

Thank you for any advice.

 

P.S. Do Hornby supply the corridor accessory parts that I'm missing as a separate item?

 

 

Right, couplers first.

 

Hornbys supposed 'close coupler is actually too long to close couple ANY of their coaches (though they do help prevent derailments).

 

Now, while the Roco originals mentioned above (and which were reverse engineered by Hornby) are fine for coupling together the Maunsells and Greasley stock in the Hornby range, they are actually too short to work with Hornbys Stainer stock - mainly due to the LMS use of 'British Standard' gangways which stick out further than the 'Pullman' type used by the LNER and SR.

 

What you therefore have to do is use ONE Genuine Roco coupler and ONE of Hornbys 'clones' - this will give the correct spacing for two Stainers coupled together with the extended gangways fitted (see below).

 

As regards the accessory packs - later runs of these coaches came with alternative gangways for the user to fit. You see, when Hornby originally designed the coach, they modelled the gangways between vehicles in the RETRACTED position (i.e. as would be the case on each end of the train) and not in the EXTENDED position as they need to be for passenger use.

 

To fit the extended gangway you need to completely remove the 'retracted' one (bot just the gangway cover) which comes fitted to the models. Once this is CAREFULLY removed (to avoid damaging the suspension fittings stuck into the coach end either side of the gangway itself) you should see some slots in the end of the coach to insert the 'extended' version. Be aware however that the soft flexible plastic Hornby use for the gangways means it can be a right pig to get the tabs to sit in the body slots - on some of mine I resorted to cutting two of the tabs off and gluing it.

 

 

 

 

[Robert Stokes]

Thank you - that is just the help that I need. So I am right in removing the part already on the coach and trying to replace it with the accessory part. From what you say, my difficulty in doing so was to be expected. I already have some of the Roco close couplers as I was advised that I would need them for my Bachmann porthole coaches which I have also recently bought but haven't yet tried close coupling. (What a price they are! £7.49 including postage for only four of them. I was expecting four pairs!)

 

What about buying extra corridor connection parts? On the other hand, I wonder whether gluing together two of the removed parts will make an extended one.

[Phil Bullock]

The Roco 40720s work on Hornby Mk1s too - see the last two coaches in this train on Tarifa of this parish's layout - taken a couple of years ago at the Cheltenham show

 

 

Chamfering the corners of the corridor connections will help with sharper curves...

 

 

[phil-b259]

9 minutes ago, Robert Stokes said:

Thank you - that is just the help that I need. So I am right in removing the part already on the coach and trying to replace it with the accessory part. From what you say, my difficulty in doing so was to be expected. I already have some of the Roco close couplers as I was advised that I would need them for my Bachmann porthole coaches which I have also recently bought but haven't yet tried close coupling. (What a price they are! £7.49 including postage for only four of them. I was expecting four pairs!)

 

What about buying extra corridor connection parts? On the other hand, I wonder whether gluing together two of the removed parts will make an extended one.

 

I don’t know whether Hornby will be able to help with coach spares but it’s worth asking.

 

sticking two retracted gangways together will look odd close up - have a close look at the retracted and extended ones to see what I mean.

 

You can of course seek out some aftermarket solutions involving black card to fill the gap.

 

I don’t have time right now - but I can post some pictures later if it helps.

Edited November 16, 2019 by phil-b259