Jump to content
 

uncoupling your cars


Recommended Posts

Ray - glad you enjoyed your turn on Jons Playground - isn't it fun! - I trust the gang behaved themselves! and yes - he does sneak about with that camera when you aren't looking, and blow all hope of remaining "an anonymouse" - looking forward to seeing Jon at Glasgow - hopefully both years - which one is coming first, Jon?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ray - glad you enjoyed your turn on Jons Playground - isn't it fun! - I trust the gang behaved themselves! and yes - he does sneak about with that camera when you aren't looking, and blow all hope of remaining "an anonymouse" - looking forward to seeing Jon at Glasgow - hopefully both years - which one is coming first, Jon?

 

Alabama will be there next March. I've already planned out a 4ft scenic extension and longer fiddle yards for Cardiff - can't help myself

 

Jon

Link to post
Share on other sites

That extension will be for all those new loco's you bought (i'm slowly having a clear out of my unwanted stock,don't really need any)!!!!!!!!!!

or will it be a sawmill?? or A coal loading point or..............???

 

Is this a new game, guess the extension,answers on a postc...........................?????

 

Ray

Link to post
Share on other sites

Is there any advantage to the Kadee #148 whisker coupler as opposed to the #5? According to Kadee it can be used wherever the #5 is used, but it's a bit more expensive.

 

And is your choice of replacement dependent on whether the existing coupler housing is screwed or clipped in place?

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

A lot of vehicles that have a Kadee look alike installed have a shallower box so quite often installing the Kadee no. 5 phosphor bronze plate makes the Kadee tight in the box. Also some locos wont allow the fixing of a plate if there is no coupler box (ie a bracket and a screw holding the coupler with plastic whiskers inplace .

In these instances the kadee with whiskrs is preferrential.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Martyn

 

Yes I would say so aswell. However, if the built in coupler box on a car / loco is designed for the phosphor plate and no 5, then a whisker Kadee might be too loose in the box. You can pack with plastic shims but then it becomes fiddly.

Ian

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks both. I've covered my options by ordering four pairs of each so I'll see how it goes. By the way, I've ordered them from DC Kits, their postage rates for small items are very reasonable.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Rod

Have you got the kadee coupler gauge to get all your couplers the same height,they also do fibre washers to help with the adjustment,think they do 2 thickness.

 

All the above really help with better and more reliable operation,i have a mix of #148 and #5 they both work ok together,my old mate Roger Nicholls swears by #148,he says they centre better.

 

Ray

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ray

 

No, I don't have a coupler gauge, but I daresay I'll end up getting one if I need one. Some of my trip pins do just touch the point blades when they pass over, but not (as yet) so as to cause problems. I suppose the trip pin bending tool is also desirable?

 

I'm burning the candle at both ends really - although I said somewhere I'm happy with the twizzle stick, I would like to get auto-uncoupling working as well as possible, with maybe a couple more magnets on the track - just in case I get Yorkford, PA invited to any exhibitions...it's operated from the front, only 4ft long, so me fiddling around uncoupling will obscure about half the layout!

 

Rod

Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't mind using the skewer method when operating by myself at home... I do think the "hands free" magnets method is good for exhibitions though, especially with hidden magnets - it really can 'turn heads', especially of those who aren't familiar with Kadees.

I'm planning to do something in O Scale for next year's Trent Valley Show, and want to use magnets with that. As far as couplers go in O Scale, Kadee #805s are really the only way to go. In my experience anything else is either a cheap'n'nasty version or sprung too strong - Weaver & Atlas respectively.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I've fitted #148s to two locos and #5s to two cars. Much better all round - even on some curves The only niggle is with one of the locos, a Bachmann GP38-2. The plastic coupler mountings are integral to the body, which looks to have a very slight tilt to it, causing the coupler at one end to sit very slightly over to the left and not move across when it's over the magnet. A very slight push to the side of the body and the coupler moves over instantly.

 

So I suppose the answer is a maybe small amount of weight one side of the body?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Rod

i had this problem with one of my bachmanns,striped it down and found there was some flash on top of the bogie pivot,a little file sorted it out,also check inside the coupler box there may be flash in there too,this can also stop the coupler from centring.

 

when i install new couplers i always run a file over both sides of the coupler to get rid of any flash, then once in the box i give them a couple of puffs of Greas-em (kadee #231),this aids the coupler swing.

 

Ray

Link to post
Share on other sites

I plucked up the courage and dismantled my GP38-2 to inspect the truck pivots for flash. I couldn't see anything obvious but I gave them a bit of a file and clean-up anyway, and lightly filed the couplers and boxes. It seems to have made a slight difference (problem only occurs intermittently) or it may be wishful thinking.

 

But on removing the body I discovered one of the pickup wires had broken off and soldered it back, so there's a bonus. Those wires are really flimsy.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I wouldn't be overly bothered about this, my Traction layout requires alot of attention at the front when changing poles, and the public appreciate and respect this (apart from a few comments such as "why don't you use pantographs" or "why don't you stick to RTR, I don't pay to go to a show to see something I have no chance of building at home...")...

 

Thats useful to know, as most of my US rollingstock has already had the trip pins removed, and I was wondering whether it was feasible to uncouple with a skewer under the wire. Know I now it can be done, I'm a lot happier.

 

I can only see one problem though at an exhibition - if anyone were to be as rude to me as the example you gave about running RTR, I'd be tempted to poke them in the eye with the skewer. :no:

 

(Seriously, when I go to an exhibition I don't particularly want to see the same RTR trains that every man and his dog already has. I want to see something different, something I might not have considered possible to build myself, something that will inspire me to improve my skills.)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Rod

Have you got the kadee coupler gauge to get all your couplers the same height,they also do fibre washers to help with the adjustment,think they do 2 thickness.

 

All the above really help with better and more reliable operation,i have a mix of #148 and #5 they both work ok together,my old mate Roger Nicholls swears by #148,he says they centre better.

 

Ray

 

In my estimation the most unreliable centering Kadee is the #5. They can be made to work well, but that flat spring has always been a compromise. The whisker couplers are IMHO the better solution.

 

But for the ultimate, and now sadly discontinued, solution...the #4 was unbeatable. Hard to assemble, took some work and some care, but if done right they snapped to the center and stayed reliable...and had a lot of 'slack' in the centering mechanism so when you pulled a long string of cars with them, the slack would run out just like the prototype :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...