I’ve got a flat car that’s just plain low - and its coupler is noticeably lower that its surrounding cars. Is there a way - tiny washers maybe? - to build that up?
Also, some of my couplers just seem “weak;” pulling a load up a grade sometimes they’ll just let go.
I also obviously need to get a coupler height gauge.
If the flat car has truck mounted couplers there’s not much you can do about it other than using a Kadee coupler with the raised head. If the couplers are body mounted, you can put washers between the truck and car body to raise it, and also use the Kadee coupler with a raised head. You definitely need to get yourself a Kadee coupler height gauge.
Those “weak” couplers you mention are probably McHenry or other Kadee clones made of plastic, probably with a small plastic finger holding the knuckle closed instead of having a metal spring. Throw those into the trash and get some good couplers – Kadee or newer McHenry’s with an actual spring in the knuckle.
I consider the coupler height tool an essential in my tool box. Also, I have a trip pin pliers and a tube of Greas-em.
If your heights aren’t too far out of the ballpark, you might want to try .010 or .015 washers to shim your trucks. Otherwise, look for overset or underset couplers for more severe cases.
Installing Kadees should eliminate your “weak” coupler issue.
As cacole said Kadee makes an offset coupler for that. If the coupler isn’t too much off, you can try putting a small washer between the truck and body. Some LHS’s have the small washers to use. A couple come with the NMRA coupler gauge.
You are half way there Swayin, it is a must tool. Next question is how is the coupler mounted and who made the car? Trucked mounted couplers can be a problem in the long run. But, depending on the make not that hard to convert. Tyco is easy , Bachmann take a little more work and Athearns are simple.
Cuda Ken
This is a body-mounted flatcar I got at a swap meet - runs nice, but low. Just ordered the height gauge and two sizes of washers from the Kadee site; I’ll see if the they do the trick. Does Kadee also sell those little copper boxes that gves the #5 its “spring?” Or is it just as easy to not use those and use the whisker couplers?
Yes they do sell the springs: link. I’ve heard good things about the whiskers but I don’t have any first hand experience with them.
Depends on the car as far as the 148 Kadee’s. On some cars like Athearn you need to sand down the coupler mounting point to fit in the coupler pocket. Bachmann Silver Series they are a drop in fit.
Far as the copper spring boxes them self, yes you can buy them.
If the coupler is that low I am going to guess it is a Athearn flat car. Did you see the raised shank coupler when you bought the washers? 50% of my older Athearn cars couplers where low.
When adding washers give the mounting point a drop of oil and do not tighten the truck to much. Leave about 1/16 wiggle side to side if not a little more.
Cuda Ken
I got the washers just because I figured with my generally older, rather beat up cars (my 9-year-old son is “in charge” of putting the trains together when we have a session, and quite a few have hit the floor) I’ll need 'em … but if they don’t solve the problem, i’ll definitely score a pair of those raised-shank couplers, Ken. Many thanks once again for your help, and thank you Left Coast for the link!
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This is a great question because I just bought a couple Athearn flat cars and have the same issue of low couplers. Not is an issue in performance but just looks bad. I think I will try the Kadee Coupler first, I just installed my first pair on my Athearn Dash-9 and I love them! This will give me that extra push to upgrade all my rolling stock a little bit at a time.
Let me know how yours works and i’ll do the same!
I glued a 2 ft. section of cork roadbed to a piece of 1x3" pine. I affixed a section of flextrack it. I attached a Kadee coupler height gauge at one end to the track. I know the roadbed may be overkill, but it gives it a semi-finished look. Whenever I buy a new piece of stock, I use this tool, along with my NMRA gauge to check that the couplers and wheels are in gauge before it ever touches the layout. I found out the hard way about buying a new piece and being so excited that I couldn’t wait to put it in a cut of cars, only to have it uncouple or derail in the worst places. Coupler height adjustment tricks seem to have posted already. If there are cars that I like, but they have truck mounter couplers, they either get the coupler pocket (draft box) cut off and a body mounted coupler installed, or new trucks with body mounted couplers. I am running 28" minimum radius curves, so that helps. If I was running tighter radius (say 18" - 22"), I might leave the truck mounted draft boxes on, but replace the couplers with Kadee offset head/shank couplers.
