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Solution To Train Coupler Problems
Phillip has been experimenting with various coupler options and sent in these tips to share.
I had been looking on the internet for Kadee couplers for the NEM pockets for Bachmann coaches and rolling stock, but found it was not that easy to convert due to different heights of the NEM pockets, plus the cost to convert most of my rolling stock.
I found a PECO ST261 setrack decoupling unit which I purchased last Saturday and I have installed six on my layout so far. I now can decouple the locos and coaches and swap the locos around and visa versa.
I had to experiment with them and found that as long as you keep enough speed up and the couplers are tensioned, they do not uncouple while going over the decoupling unit. The tensioned drop down bars on the couplers pushes down on the spring while riding over it. I positioned them on the track between the wheels where the loco stops at the station, and just have to go forward a bit and reverse over the decoupling unit and bingo, they are separated.
I have found that some of the couplers on the four wheeled wagons just ride over the ramp when reversing and don’t decouple. I think the push up bar is just a fraction short. If I raise the decoupling ramp a fraction, the diesel locos bottom out on the axle cover. I’ll be purchasing some more when stocks are available and I would recommend these decoupling ramps as they are great and make my railway operation more interesting.
Also, I have closed up the gap between the coaches by swapping the coupling on one end of the coach with a shorter cranked coupler (36-027). There is no buffer lock with this set up on my layout. If I use two of the short couplers, the coaches will not couple up and both ends of the coaches touches.
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Phillip,
I am working on a model railroading Clinic for our Local NMRA show and how the couplers we are modeling today in model railroading and how to choose the couplers you might need to do that. with references in various age of couplers used. I have already done a clinic on modifying US 86 foot Auto Parts Box Cars from Athearn to make them operate better. Also the 85 foot trailer flats from Athearn did the same thing. Now these cars can be backed in large groups through the turns and switches into a yard without derailing and this has made backing large group of these cars work almost flawless. . Before I did the modification the coupler bars were tied into the wheel trucks and also allowed the coupler bars to swing the full distance across the car mis-aligning the couplers and not allowing the wheel trucks to swivel through the curves and switches. Also when couplers were mounted to the wheel trucks especially on cheaper models they did this because they were dealing with very sharp turns in model railroading track. Now I modify good looking cheap cars with body mounted couplers as they should be and remove the couplers from the trucks. Cars from Bachmann and Tyco MFG’s if the couplers were left on the wheel trucks there is very little adjustment for the coupler height. Anymore I remove the wheel truck from the car, fill in the king pin hole with some plastic sprue , file it smooth and refit a new wheel truck that uses a screw to mount and raise the body up with Kadee’s spacer washers to the height I need. There are a lot of cheaper cars that look really good or will work with your operation and buying expensive cars is really not necessary to get the job done.For example a winter project for me will be building a MOW rail train. I will be using inexpensive Backmann and tyco cars for this. These long rails (now used for welded rail operations would on multiple cars. In the US these car sets are 24 cars in length on average plus the equipment car to load and unload the rail. These cars if the couplers are not already body mounted they will be when I am done with them. Since long model rails will not flex with the train for out operation the cars will have blocke of rails that will float across from car to car and the rail that would be going through each car would be hidden with covers to hide the fact that the rail is really not there. Using Gondolas with the ends cut out will allow this to happen and hide the missing rail on each car.
If you are using a mechanical uncoupler in the track, The Kadee Knuckle couplers don’t do well with them at least in the US couplers. You can use the magnetic uncouplers that work with Kadee’s trip pins or so called hose connections if you want to call them that. Rather than using the coupler block in between the rails that sound like they may not work well, Remove them and use the hand magnet tool to uncouple these cars. The tool uses a magnet mounted on a handle and comes down each side of the coupler and there by as you lift back up should lift the trip mechanism. Hope this helps with your problem. from Newman Atkinson