COUPLERS TRUCK VS.BODY MOUNT?

[Anonymous]

Hello my name is Larry
i am an N Scale modeler
And i would like to know which is the better way to go? i like to run 30+ car trains with a good deal of switching along the way but it seems that when i start backing like say into a industry or a yard track for example with more than a few cars they tend to pick the points or jackknive on a curve even goin real slow
all cars are weighted all the points have been carfully filed smooth but still they derail i would like to be able to back as many cars as i want without derailing
any info hints and tips on this bothersome problem would be greatly appreciated

Thanx
Larry
p.s all cars have m.t. couplers

[dknelson]

We in HO have faced this same issue for years and years. The solution is inevitable: body mounted couplers are simply the best way to go if you anticipate doing any serious backup moves. It MIGHT be possible to adjust the weighting on a car -- either the amount of weight or its placement over the trucks -- to at least lessen the pain of truck mounted couplers. So would making sure the trucks are extremely free rolling. But that sounds like more work than converting to body mount.
Of course things like length of car and sharpness of curve all enter into this as well.
I do not know what the physics are but somehow our Lionel and American Flyer buddies seem able to back up at speed with no problems. Maybe it is the flanges and the curved rail of Lionel?
Dave Nelson

[Sperandeo]

I've operated on N scale railroads where a yard switcher could routinely pull out a 30-car cut and deal the cars into various yard tracks with no trouble. Body-mounted couplers are part of the reason for that, and truck-mounted couplers will inevitably cause trouble when you try to switch or back long cuts. But the owners of those N scale layouts also took care to be sure that their track, tunouts, and wheels were correctly gauged, and that their cars were consistently weighted.

Good luck,

Andy

Andy Sperandeo
MODEL RAILROADER Magazine

[Anonymous]

Hi Dave and Andy

This is Larry
Ok thanx guys you have both been a tremendous help to me on this frusrating problem it now seems rather clear to me what the course of action to take
Next question what size hole ,drill ,tap and screws do you recommend i use for this? and the proper way to approach this task? dang man, this is gonna take awhile i gotta bout 100-120+ cars to convert if there is an easy way to do this please do tell me if not will sit down and do one at a time till all done
thanx again
Larry

[BR60103]

Larry:
I'm long out of N, but I used to body mount Kadees (Now MT). The screw is 00-90, and should comewith the coupler kit (unless you're cutting them off the trucks). I don't have a # for the drill, but you should get one when you but your tap.
I mark the center line of the car on the bottom of the floor between the end and the bolster. For this I abuse a vernier caliper with some sharp corners.
I take the top plate (or a spare top plate) of the coupling and see where it comes to on the underside. This needs to be done with the body in place so that the lip on the end comes over the body. You may have to adjust for end detail. Then I mark where the hole in the plate lies on the center line. Then I drill the hole and tap it. Take an assembled coupling and screw it to the bottom of the floor. You may then either cut the screw off, add a nut for security or leave it.
After you have done a few you can see where the nole has to be drilled, but you still need the center line.
I had problems with certain cars like tanks and hoppers where the end was open and there was real floor to mount them on.
I forgot: Test with a coupler height gauge and against another car. You may need to add a bit of plastic sheet to lower it.
--David

[BR60103]

correction: read "there was NO real floor"
--D

[dknelson]

Well I can only speak for doing this on HO cars and over the years just about every possible situation has had to be dealt with -- including wood floors which probably most N scale guys never have to deal with. I have used tapped holes plus screw, self tapping screws, small nut and bolt combinations, and plain old glue. Oh yeah and one time out of pure desperation -- I heated small nails on a soldering iron and pressed them into the plastic floor where they more or less melted themselves into place. I was young and foolish ....
For cars with "no real floor" I have glued on piece of styrene just to give myself a surface to work with. Obviously this does not do great things for the scale appearance of the car. But again I am talking HO here and will defer to someone with hands on experience with N
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

Hi David

This is Larry yes your right i am cutting them off the trucks have done a few and i found this one problem:
the truck mounted coupler box is a bit too wide
so when i mount it to the body the trucks barley have any room to turn so when it goes around a curve it is sorta tight not real smooth and loose like it was on the truck
now then how do i fix this problem without goin and buying all new specifically designed body mount couplers?
Thanx
Larry

[BR60103]

Larry:
I haven't done any for over 20 years. I don't think I did any from the trucks. Hope someone else has.
--David

[dknelson]

I use HO Kadee couplers so yes I use the coupler boxes that come with the Kadee No. 5s. After a few years in the hobby they accumulate like old National Geographics.
I really don't know the options in N.
Dave Nelson