i am trying to add body-mounted Kadee couplers to my old blue box streamline passenger cars. Can anyone tell me if I need to add a spacer to the body to mount the Kadees at the proper height?
I did not need a spacer with the standard passenger cars, but there seems to be a difference with the streamline ones. Thanks in advance for any help.
RicZ
If you are referring to the old blue box kit passenger cars, a KD will fit right in without any adjustments. OK, that was my experience with consists of heavyweights and streamline cars - but your experience may vary.
Only way to be sure is with a KD coupler height gauge - a worthy investment IMO.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
RicZ i am trying to add body-mounted Kadee couplers to my old blue box streamline passenger cars. Can anyone tell me if I need to add a spacer to the body to mount the Kadees at the proper height? I did not need a spacer with the standard passenger cars, but there seems to be a difference with the streamline ones. Thanks in advance for any help. RicZ
You need a spacer, this company makes them:
http://jbwheelsets.com/coupler_mount.html
Not sure how you body mounted on the heavyweight cars without a spacer and got the correct height?
Sheldon
Hi there,
Body mount couplers might very much limit the radius curve your Streamline cars can handle especially if they are close coupled and your curves are even medium say 24-28". You will have few performance issues with truck mounted couplers because passenger cars are most often pulled unlike freight cars which can be switched and pushed and pulled over multiple track formations.
My recommendation is to keep your couplers as truck mounts.
Cheers from Australia
Trevor
Sorry... somehow managed to post twice... been having gremlins lately!
These are a possible option, too:
https://www.kadee.com/ho-scale-couplers-c-272_230_231/451-ho-scale-extended-swing-gearbox-whisker-metal-couplers-medium-932-centerset-shank-p-359.htm
You still may have to build up (down) the floor to provide the proper coupler height and a smooth surface for the swing.
Good Luck, Ed
I used 0.060" (1.5mm) and 0.040"(1mm) styrene plates laminated as a spacer. The coupler was cut out the upper and lower shelves of #118 and shows it as a type H tightlock automatic coupler for passenger cars. This is recommended by Kadee (official site). These cars operate on my railroad tracks, including #6 turnouts.
Kotaro Kuriu
I have some Rivarossi coaches. They came with swing-mounted coupler boxes which allow the cars to operate on 18 inch radius curves.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I use the coupler pads I recommended above, with #36 Kadee couplers, on Athearn and ConCor 72' cars.
This is a long shank coupler with a wide swing.
I also use American Limited diaphragms and set the coupler back for close coupling.
Personally I have large radius curves, 36" minimum, but these cars will run fine down to about 28-30 inch radius.
Sheldon,
Thanks for posting that link!
I checked it and, while I no longer own Athearn passenger cars, I still have a group of Rivarossi Budds that are equipped with the stock Talgo trucks. JB makes a mount that will work quite nicely for the Rivs!
ATLANTIC CENTRAL ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You need a spacer, this company makes them: http://jbwheelsets.com/coupler_mount.html Not sure how you body mounted on the heavyweight cars without a spacer and got the correct height? Sheldon
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"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
AntonioFP45 Sheldon, Thanks for posting that link! I checked it and, while I no longer own Athearn passenger cars, I still have a group of Rivarossi Budds that are equipped with the stock Talgo trucks. JB makes a mount that will work quite nicely for the Rivs! ATLANTIC CENTRAL ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You need a spacer, this company makes them: http://jbwheelsets.com/coupler_mount.html Not sure how you body mounted on the heavyweight cars without a spacer and got the correct height? Sheldon
You are most welcome, happy to help.
ATLANTIC CENTRALYou need a spacer, this company makes them: http://jbwheelsets.com/coupler_mount.html
I've been chasing down Jay Bee coupler pads on eBay for months!!!! I have no idea the company still existed and was still making them! The Internets have failed me, Atlantic, but you have not. I am so glad you posted this. Now i have no excuse not to finish my Amtrak rainbow era train.
Yes, btw, to the OP: These things work perfectly. You can make spacers but for what they cost, I think these little JB pads are worth the cost for the time they save.
Aaron
Autonerd ATLANTIC CENTRAL You need a spacer, this company makes them: http://jbwheelsets.com/coupler_mount.html I've been chasing down Jay Bee coupler pads on eBay for months!!!! I have no idea the company still existed and was still making them!
ATLANTIC CENTRAL You need a spacer, this company makes them: http://jbwheelsets.com/coupler_mount.html
I've been chasing down Jay Bee coupler pads on eBay for months!!!! I have no idea the company still existed and was still making them!
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain Autonerd ATLANTIC CENTRAL You need a spacer, this company makes them: http://jbwheelsets.com/coupler_mount.html I've been chasing down Jay Bee coupler pads on eBay for months!!!! I have no idea the company still existed and was still making them! That was my understanding as well. I have used Jay Bee coupler pads on several ocassions in the past. When I could no longer find them, I made my own from styrene sheet. Rich
That was my understanding as well. I have used Jay Bee coupler pads on several ocassions in the past. When I could no longer find them, I made my own from styrene sheet.
Like a lot of small companies in this business, it appears they are only selling direct these days.
mobilman44 Only way to be sure is with a KD coupler height gauge - a worthy investment IMO.
Ed: thank you for posting the Kadee special extended coupler with the spring, I will look for that. Seems to be the a good solution for layouts with tighter curves...
Simon
I think I mentioned on a related post that a number of HO passenger car modelers have been recommending to go with "Whisker" type shelf couplers.
From what I've read, the KD shelf couplers perform well on trackage that is not level, so the chances of unintended uncouplings decrease considerably.
I operate my rolling stock on a friends layout and he has a few "dips" on his layout's main line. Thankfully he's gradually making the needed adjustments.
Using shelf couplers instead of fixing trackwork is like adding traction tires instead of weight to an unbalanced/light loco, and is also like adding keep alive capacitors instead of adding pickups to dead wheels; all being bandaid solutions.
That being said, I am personally guilty of the latter, Im too lazy to add pickups to brass engines :(
Charles
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Modeling the Santa Fe & Pennsylvania in HO
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LastspikemikeKadee suggests that using shelf couplers will not compensate for rough track.
Why, why, why, do you continue to do this?
The real statement from Sam on the Kadee website (click to make it readable):
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Lastspikemike Why, why do you continue to do this? Why, why,why, why? https://www.kadee.com/ho-scale-couplers-c-274_276_284/119-ho-scale-se-shelf-whisker-metal-couplers-with-gearboxes-medium-932-centerset-shank-p-289.htm You really should develop improved reading skills, or possibly improved comprehension skills. Scroll down to the "However" referring to derailment and the exact statement about not compensating for rough trackage, even in quotes although from where they are quoting is unclear. The relevant passage is right before Kadee touts their uncoupling devices and tool. Here Kadee expressly disclaims the use of these shelf couplers to compensate for rough track instead of fixing it: https://www.kadee.com/coupler.htm I'll stop if you stop. You were doing really well there for a while, even recently deleting a personal attack type post. You can do it.
Why, why do you continue to do this? Why, why,why, why?
https://www.kadee.com/ho-scale-couplers-c-274_276_284/119-ho-scale-se-shelf-whisker-metal-couplers-with-gearboxes-medium-932-centerset-shank-p-289.htm
You really should develop improved reading skills, or possibly improved comprehension skills.
Scroll down to the "However" referring to derailment and the exact statement about not compensating for rough trackage, even in quotes although from where they are quoting is unclear. The relevant passage is right before Kadee touts their uncoupling devices and tool.
Here Kadee expressly disclaims the use of these shelf couplers to compensate for rough track instead of fixing it:
https://www.kadee.com/coupler.htm
I'll stop if you stop. You were doing really well there for a while, even recently deleting a personal attack type post. You can do it.
The exact quote Mike is referring to is:
"However note, there are certain limitations to shelf couplers that will cause derailments. "Couplers are not designed to compensate for rough trackage". Although they may help in certain areas, do not expect them to alleviate the problems with poor modular connections, dips, bumps, gaps, sharp grade changes, or any other rough track work. "
I read this more as "although it will help prevent unintentional uncoupling in certain cases, they aren't guaranteed to always work, and should not be a suitable work around to bad track."
IMHO, it sounds more like a way to cover their butts in the fine print in case someone complains how their shelf couplers still uncoupled. But I do think the couplers were intented (advertized) to lessen the chances of uncoupling.
Hey guys,
PLEASE.......it was not my wish to see a blowtorch match between fellow modelers.
I understand and appreciate the comments regarding the importance of good trackwork. No argument there. However, as stated, I sometimes operate my passenger equipment on a friend's layout who, unfortunately, has a few dips on his track work. He's slowly working to redo those sections.
In the meantime, I've been reading posts from modelers stating that the KD "whisker" couplers perform better than the traditional KD's with the bronze-"spring-in-the-box" set up. When I discovered that the "shelfs" are availabe in whisker form, it seemed like a win-win scenario.
I have used the Kadee scale shelf couplers on my Athearn streamline and heavy weight passenger cars for several years without a single problem.I went with the shelf couplers because any jerky operation on my 3½% grades regular couplers would cause an occasional uncoupling and an embarrassing string of cars to roll at a pretty good clip down hill. I use the stock Athearn talgo trucks and with the exception of the intermittent uncoupling the regular Kadee couplers work great, even backing into my yard through #4 Atlas turnouts with S curves.All my passenger trucks have the Athearn metal wheel sets and are slightly over weight.I have been slowly replacing all my larger Kadee couplers with scale size shelf couplers because they look much better.Incidentally the shelf couplers work great over the Kadee uncoupling magnets, actually better than the regular couplers. Mel Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Aging is not for wimps.
What I can add about "Shelf couplers'' is that if I pick up two cars that are coupled together, I can twist the two cars all I want, within reason, and they will not come apart. I need to use a uncoupling tool of some type. Looks like I use them on many, if not all of my Auto Racks and Flex-Van Mark III and Mark IV. The Mark III and IV cars do have different wheel base's. The trucks are closer to the ends on the Mk-III and set in from the ends more on the Mk-IV.
I'm still looking at my Passenger cars for any with Shelf couplers.