Here’s a problem that I should’ve posted long ago:
Most of my operation is smooth. However, my couplers are one of my main problems during operation. Soon I will purchase an NMRA guage to try to cope with it. I add washers as needed for now and do it by eye. But if I add more than 2 washers, the car is above it’s prototypical height. Mos of the trouble comes from the fact that the couplers “hang down” I guess you could say… They’re at an angle from the coupler box or what ever it’s called (kinda tired, it’s 10:00 P.M. at the time of writing [zzz] .) So I have tightened the skrew so that the coupler still operates, but is still tight. No luck. Also, I have a GP40 that could use some coupler adjustment to. How do I trat that?
Assuming you are using either a Kadee coupler or a clone (and are in HO), you should really invest in a coupler height gauge. Kadee makes a regular version and an insulated version. They are Kadee product numbers 205 and 206. You can see what they look like at the Kadee website: http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/height.htm.
The hanging down at an angle problem is a horse of a different color. To get suggestions on how to correct this it would be necessary to know which type couplers you are installing and into which brand car. Some cars are prone to bent frames and this causes the couplers to hang at an angle. In other cases the cars draft gear, or coupler box as you call it, may not be appropriately sized for the coupler shank. For example, if the coupler box is sized for a Kadee #5 and the flat bronze spring that centers it, and you install a whisker type coupler that doesn’t need the bronze spring, then there will be excessive clearance between the coupler parts and the box. This allows the coupler to flop or hang down. You would have to install a small shim under the front of the coupler to lift it up to the horizontal position.
Kadee also makes offset couplers that will allow the coupler head to be higher or lower than the straight shank #5, eliminating ht eneed for excessive washers. More information on these can alos be found on the Kadee site: http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/coupler.htm
I’ve never had that problem with the Whisker couplers I use (#148, #119). The base and shank are slightly thicker than the #5 to make up for the absence of the bronze centering spring.
It’s pretty much all Bachmann equipment. The couplers are all Bachmann E-Z Mate couplers. I should really start building my rolling stock from kits, because I notice that all of my problems come from ready-to-run engines and rolling stock. So anyways, none of my couplers have those Kadee metal spring plates, or whatever they’re reffered to as. Sorry about me not being specific. [banghead]
In my opinion, the two or three different types of plastic couplers are not worth very much. They are OK for someone just starting out, but as you can see by the problems that you are experiencing, they are not that good.
If you are going to be serious about the hobby of model railroading, you will keep most of the cars you buy. So the best thing to do is convert from plastic couplers to Ka-dee couplers as soon as you can. They operate much better, are more reliable, and are the standard for 99% of all model railroaders. I convert any new cars that I get almost right away, so there is no big cost for converting a whole fleet at one time.
Get the Ka-dee coupler height gauge. The NMRA gauge isn’t much use for coupler adjustments.
Fortunately I have not had too many couplers that sagged but when I do, I use a method suggested by someone (can’t remeber where I saw it) who has also had the problem. The idea was to glue a small strip of styrene across the bottom front of the coupler so that the styrene supported the coupler shank at the proper height. According to my Kadee coupler height gauge it seems to work. You might want to use brass so there won’t be any long term wear problems but the styrene is easy to work with. I would also mention that if you are running Athearn cars with the snap on coupler bottoms, make sure the bottom is properly engaged with the tabs. If it is not, the bottom will sit too low and the coupler will sag.
Sorry guys (and Gals) but I left out an important detail in my last post. Namely, the styrene piece is glued to the bottom front of the coupler BOX, not the coupler as my post might have lead you to believe. Sorry all.