Best Diaphragms ?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Who makes the best diaphragms for Rivarossi passenger cars ?

TIA

2

I use American Limited diaphragms on all my passenger cars, regardless of brand. They look good and work well, and can be spaced to always touch and still handle moderately sharp curves (if you need to).

I really dislike the set up on many of the new passenger cars out there now. The diaphragm is in a slot in the end of the car and still does not always touch as the train is pulled.

Remember, for best appearance passenger cars should be coupled as close as practical. I have found by removing any molded on diaphragms and installing the American Limited ones, and ajusting coupler positions for their recommended spacing, you can get very realistic results.

Anything that looks like a “door frame” on the end of a passenger car should be removed before installing the American Limited diaphragms for the best effect.

Sheldon

3

Thanks Sheldon

I looked them up and went to thier web site

http://www.americanlimitedmodels.com/diaphragms.htm

and also looked them up in walthers

but i notice that walthers didn’t list the

9200 series which are the ones listed for Rivarossi and other MFG Heavyweight cars. I wonder why?

4

Hi!

I’ve used the American Limited ones on several Athearn passenger cars, and also their applications for Stewart, Bachmann, & Athearn F units. They are not necessarily easy to build/paint, but I found doing them “mass production” assembly line helped make it easier. Get some good ACC cement, a very sharp blade, and have at it.

All of mine are painted, and I painted them after assembly. I got a piece of tinfoil to lay them on, so they wouldn’t stick so much. The painting took 3 or 4 sessions, but the end result was well worth it. They are definite upgrades to passenger cars and cab units, and I highly recommend them.

Mobilman44

5

I also find the American Limiteds to be a great diaphragm for the dollar. I have installed a lot of them and have hd very few problems. I like the fact that they finally started to offer a better variety of striker plates.

I think the best diphragm you can use is the Hi Tech Details diaphragms. They are a bit pricey and a little bit more complicated to assemble, but they are the best looking. The stainless steel striker plates are really nice.

6

Remember that none of them will work right if your turns are too tight. This is IHC alignment on a 26" curve.[xx(]

7

Well my sharpest radius is a 24" curved turnout every thing else is larger

But even at 24 it looks better than your photo

are you sure both cars were on the track in your photo ?

8

I’m guessing from what I can see of the track and the cars that the location is at the beginning of a 26-inch radius curve. The car on the left is still on the straight track, the one on the right is on the curve.

This photo makes, once again, a convincing case for an easement - besides making the cars look smoother entering the curve, they reduce the misalignment across the car ends for both couplers and diaphragms, and I suspect the diaphragms are more troublesome than the couplers.

  • Gerhard
9

Gerhard-Correct. They’re just coming off a straight going into a 26" curve with no easment. It’s the worse case spot on my layout for diaphrams. I probably won’t be adding them to my cars.
It’s almost as bad going through my #6 crossovers.

10

The BEST diaphragms? The ones that keep you from becoming a dad… [:D] I’ved used the American Limited diaphragms, and they work great if you take the time to put them together correctly.

11

I’ve been kitbashing IHC and Walthers (folding) diaphragms and it works well on my 30"+ radius. What bugged me about the other manufacturers is that the diaphragm pleating was missing, and the Walthers one alone was just too plain.

Basically I shave off the tabs on the back of the IHC diaphragms, cut off the leaf spring at the top. Glue the leaf spring to the car, glue the fabric folding diaphragms to the back of the strike plate after creasing and opening it several times to take the stiffness out of it, then glue the other side of the fabric to the car. It’s not perfect but pretty darn close…

JOHN

12

Really nice looking work John [bow]

13

Thanks, if you’d like more detailed instructions let me know. But when you have it all in front of you it’s pretty easy.

14

Well i tried them on 3 cars and they worked ok till i tried backing through a 28 inch radius and the cars derailed

so for now i’ve removed them

I guess i could add more weight