When running trains of more than 20 cars I get false uncouplings due to the slight movement of the couplers (spring action ?). I use mostly Kadees but do have a few accu- mates and other Kadee compatables. Does anybody have a way to solve this problem ?
Make sure all of your couplers are at the correct height and they are all Kadees…the other brand of couplers tend not to be a relyable.
David
I have an Atlas tank car that has Accu-mate couplers and two hoppers that have McHenry Mark II’s and they are a constant headache. They’re getting changed to Kadee #5’s when I get around to it.
Height is key. Before I temp. trued the height on my couplers,I had one small, short grade that made half my train derail before running a lap around the mainline. As far as McHenry’s and Accu brand couplers, I dont have too much of a problem with them, but if you have KD’s to spare, replace the other brands ASAP.
-beegle55
A coupler height gauge is a must-have piece of equipment. Even on the best laid track, there is going to be some vertical play in the couplers. As long as the couplers are all at the correct height, you can handle this movement in the couplers. You didn’t mention whether you have uncoupling ramps on your mainline. I used to have them installed at industrial spurs but removed them because even a little slack in the coupler can cause an unwanted uncoupling if the couplers are over the ramp when that happens. I now use a manual uncoupling tool for mainline uncoupling and only use ramps on spurs and yard tracks.
All above is probably right, But, if you are dealing with long cars and they give trouble at the ends of inclines, you may find Kaydee Shelf couplers are the answer. I use them with my passanger cars which are always together.
Which cars give you trouble? I bet it’s not where a Kadee meets another Kadee. Accu-mates and other couplers that came with RTR cars or locos will last on my layout only as long as they don’t cause problems. Once they do (and they will, it’s only a matter of time) it’s down to workroom for an upgrade. When I build a kit, it gets Kadees from the start.
Mr. B,
Why the delay? When I get a loco and take it apart to add a decoder, it gets Kadee’s.
[:D]
[#ditto]
Yeah, me too. But the last three I’ve bought were already equipped with decoders! The BLI Hudson came with Kadees, and the P2K S1 was packaged with the couplers separately. I had the option of horn-hooks on that one, but I still went with the Kadees.
I don’t assume every KD knock off is going to cause me problems. With the RTR equipment, I’ll leave the original coupler in place until it causes problems. As soon as it does, it gets fired and replaced with a KD. The kit cars get KDs right off the bat. I also have a lot of old equipment from the days when KD was the only knuckle coupler widely available for HO. I would guess that about 75 to 80 percent of my fleet has KDs. Regardless of what kind of coupler a car has, it doesn’t go on the layout until the coupler height and car weight have been checked. Right now, upgrading wheelsets is a bigger priority for me. Compared to what is available now, the trucks on most of my 1980s equipment are junk. With some of the trucks, I am able to get good performance by reaming the trucks and replacing the wheelsets with P2Ks. If they are really bad, I’m replacing the whole truck. It can get expensive but it is well worth it.
‘Knuckle’ Couplers - imitating the prototype - have clasp area limits (Handshake.
They require matching height. They also do better with matching designs (5’s with 5’s, 138’s with 138’s. etc.
KD’s WITH KD’S is a given: Everyone else is playing ‘catch up’.
Matching KD type to KD type works even better (similar centering springs, tensions, side/side play, etc.
ALL these reduce ‘‘False Uncoupling’’ .
It’s known as a “bad order” and it goes to the “rip track”. [:D]