I have a Bachman GE 44 ton switcher. It came with DCC which is cool. But it also came with plastic couplers so my LHS guy recommended replacing them with 148’s. So tonight I finally got a chance to do it. I have several questions though as the instructions are not clear.
First, how often do you use the snap-together insulated draft gear box? The loco can’t use it.
Second, on the gauge, what exactly does that gauge dowel pin do?
Third, it calls for some “Greas-em” in the coupler box but I don’t have any yet. Is it necessary?
Fourth, do you have any other advice for a novice coupler changer?
You should just be able to drop in the KD’s. The draft box they came with is for converting truck-mounted couplers to body-mounted couplers. The Greas-em helps alittle, but I personally do not use it.
First, how often do you use the snap-together insulated draft gear box? The loco can’t use it.
Never…I use the car or locomotive’s coupler box.
Second, on the gauge, what exactly does that gauge dowel pin do?
You lost me…
Anybody? Anybody?
Third, it calls for some “Greas-em” in the coupler box but I don’t have any yet. Is it necessary?
I been using KD couplers since '68 and never found the need for “grease 'em” so,in my opinion no its not necessary.
Fourth, do you have any other advice for a novice coupler changer?
Yes just be sure the coupler is at the correct height and check the coupler over before installation for burrs and knuckle spring-nothing like putting a coupler on a car only to find its missing the knuckle spring…IMHO its easier to replace the spring before the coupler is installed.
Samuel & Larry, thank you for your quick response and advice. Tonight was my first time doing this. I did it to the loco and a Walthers tanker. Now everything has 148’s on them. One thing about the Walthers tanker though. After I replaced it (you NEED three hands by the way!) I noticed that the coupler sagged lower than the other cars. So I took it apart and FINALLY got in a .015 red washer between the bottom of the coupler shank and the plate that covers the box and now it works fine. This can be a very tedious, nerve wracking job! But I did it! First thing I did so far and it was a success.
The drawing is odd in that it shows it going UNDER the top plate that screws down and when I do this it is completely hidden under that top plate. This is puzzling to me. Do you have the 206?
EDIT:
Oh wait! I think I have it now. The UNcoupler will push the pin UP as I just did with my finger. That’s because the uncoupler is mounted between the tracks right? So if the uncoupler is installed correctly then the TOP of the pin, the part that protrudes UP out of the top plate SHOULD be flush right? Is that what you meant? If so I understand now.
I wonder, how many of you guys use magnetic uncouplers? Is it common on model RR’s?
No, I use the #205 gauge. 206 is pretty much the same, just made from plastic instead of metal.
Exactly, you set the gauge on the tracks, over the uncoupler. If the uncoupler is too low, the dowel will be “low” as compared to the gauge surface; too high, and it’ll protrude from the gauge surface; just right and it’s all flush. I would assume that the dowel is of a different color/material than the body of the gauge so you can more easily tell if it’s flush or not. If not, the “fingernail trick” should work OK (run fingernail over where the dowel travels, if it snags on something, the uncoupler height is wrong). Unfortunately I can’t find any images through google that illustrate this … oh well.
From what I can tell, the difference I can see between the 205 and 206 is the style of coupler, where the 205 uses a #5 Kadee and the other uses the whisker style Kadee. Besides that and being plastic or steel, are there any other differences? Does one need to buy both of these or will either do the same job as far as coupler alignment?
They’re exactly the same as far as what they do (though, the #205 is white metal or zinc, not steel).
#205 pros
Heavy/metal, you can toss it in your toolbox without any worry (not that you would be careless with them in any case)
“pocket” for the coupler is the exact geometry of the #5/58 shank. There’s no chance of it EVER coming out of alignment.
dowel is large and made of steel (slightly contrasting to the zinc/whitemetal)
#205 cons
metal, so it’s gonna short out your track if you leave it there when you power up the layout.
#206 pros
Plastic, so it won’t short out the layout if you forget it on the track
#206 cons
Dowel appears (from pictures) to be both smaller in diameter than the #205, and made of the same material as the gauge.
Plastic can become damaged more easily than metal (again, not that you’d be careless with it) … so this one’s a bit of a moot point.
pocket for the coupler is designed for the #158 (whisker) coupler, possibly could allow for misalignments … though most likely an uncommon occurrence; the gauge is made by Kadee afterall [:)]
So, really it boils down to one of two things:
Which one does the LHS have when you walk in?
If the LHS has both, is one less expensive than the other?
The two coupler height gauges are much the same in design and price with the 205 being 50¢ more I believe. If you want an expensive one there’s the Kadee 980. It has a Type ‘E’ coupler in a 232 box mounted on a metal frame. $20.45