Special Knuckle Hitches

[Anonymous]

Hey y'all (texans included), I have a question for ya. On my P2K e6, every time it goes over the top of my elevation ( 3% grade to level) it loses the cars its pulling when the hitch rises over the top[banghead]. It seems I saw a tall knuckle hitch one time that woud remedy this, does anyone know about these? Where can I get one?

Thanks for your help,
Greg[C):-)]

[Anonymous]

#1 Lower couplers (how?-put styrene strips under the coupler box.)
#2 Maybe you could gradually go from 3% to 2% to 1% to level instead of going from 3% to level. Hope it helps!

Alexander

[Anonymous]

Would a shelf style coupler help? see http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page310.htm Maybe the little shelfs would help keep the mating coupler from coming free. When I have a particular train that I don't intend on uncoupling, but just want it to run continuously around the layout and there is one problem car that always uncouples in the same spot, I use is a small drop of rubber cement between the two couplers. It usually does the trick, and because it is rubber cement it comes off easy enough by rubbing on it when you want to put the train away.

[dehusman]

The problem is the "vertical curve" at the top of the grade. Your RR changes from ramp to flat too abruptly. The real solution is to make that transition more gradual. That may mean rebuilding the grade.

Dave H.

[Anonymous]

I agree that you probably need to rebuild that grade. Sooner or later you'll get a long car with body mounted couplers that will do the same thing. Did you check the coupler height with a guage? Also, is there much up and down slack on the E-6 coupler? Kadee and McHenry make the shelf coupler you are talking about. These were designed for use on tank cars to prevent punctures I believe. Wouldn't you need this type of coupler on the loco as well as the car it was pulling? If so, you would have to equip every car that you planned on pulling with this engine. Maybe you could set up a test track and try to duplicate that grade to level trackage, then take some of the abruptness out of the transition and see if this fixes the problem. Let us know what you decide to do and the out come please. It may help a fellow modeler in the future.

[cisco1]

Greg
I had a similar problem at the top of my grade. Like Dave and Tweet469 said, you'll have to rework the grade approach near the top. I model in HO and ended up rebuilding the last two feet of the transition near the summit for everything to work right. Seems like the problem was worse with longer cars ( 60 ft and bigger). Do check for drooping couplers. Any with even a little vertical slack will show up at the worst possible moment.
Its a bad, bad thing when you have to watch a runaway fly off a curve or bridge and find the floor! Keep us posted on your progress.
Chris

[Anonymous]

Thanks y'all
Just one more question: If I lower the coupler it'll lose the cars when I go down the hill won't it? If I can get a good Rock Island Rocket passenger train, (any suggestions?) it would always be pulled behind that loco. I could even use drawbars if they would work. Reworking the grade sounds like a big job right now, I just want to get running! Maybe after I fini***he rest of the layout I can go back to that.

Thanks again,
Greg

[ndbprr]

In the interim you could also use some dummy couplers on the back end of the engine and the front end of the first car. Any good hobby shop will have them and sometimes you have to squeeze the two of them with pliars to get them at the same height so they won't come apart!. Basicall what is happening is the top of your grade is acting as a fulrum and the car body of the E6 is so long it is going over center (think seesaw!).

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainwreck100

... Reworking the grade sounds like a big job right now, I just want to get running! Maybe after I fini***he rest of the layout I can go back to that.
...

One temporary thing I am doing with a portable modular layout (and I do mean TEMPORARY!) is putting tiny copper alligator clips (painted boxcar red for camouflage) on the couplers between some 86-footers, to stifle the up-and-down movement. The layout is part of a Christmas display and I didn't have time to do the proper leveling/transitioning of the roadbed. By trimming off any part of the clips that would protrude from between the cars, and painting them as I mentioned above, nobody notices and the train stays together.

[bogp40]

Greg,
The only solution to remedy this problem without reworking the entire grade is to smooth out the transition at the top of the grade. If you haven't ballasted the track yet it should be a fairly easy project. Remove the track and sand, file or rasp the roadbed even if it means removing as much as 1/4". I don't know the type of construction, risers and subroadbed you have, but this should solve the problem. In the meantime a bandaid repair would be to use one of the shelf couplers. It may fix this problem and create derailments when the lower shelf lifts rolling stock. Give it a try, just might work until the grade can be fixed. You only need the coupler on the engine, once coupled the normal #5 can't lift or drop out.
Bob K.

[Anonymous]

T.W.100: I don't have much to add to what the other guy's have said. Except to try it and see. Rebuilding the top of the grade where it goes from an incline to flat is probably the only way to fully eliminate the problem.

Robert

[Anonymous]

I really don't want to rework it right now, but it sounds like that might be the thing to do. I'll try the dummy couplers though, I'll try anything to avoid cutting on it [:D]!!

Greg[C):-)]