Hello,
I want to put Kadee couplers on the front and back of some vintage mantua 0-4-0 and 0-4-0 switches. The Kadee site says to use their #37 coupler. Does this work without modification on the front of the boiler and on the tender?
The boiler has a very narrow slot to fit a coupler in. The tender looks like it may fit a standard draft gear but looks a little on the narrow side. What solutions have folks used for these cases? Thanks
Boiler
Tender
It has been a long time since I have done this, but I recall needing to use my Dremel tool with a milling bit to widen the area for the coupler pocket. Having said that, the range of Kadee couplers available when I did that work was more restricted: choices were basically #4, #5, #6, #7, #8), and very different than it is now. All were metal then so insulation of the coupler from the electricity-carrying frame and tender body was needed since it was also an era when other rolling stock and locomotives also had metal frames and metal couplers. Hey I said it was a long time ago!
The challenge then and now is that the metal is rather on the brittle side and i see for example that one of the tender steps has already broken off, which is something I too did accidentally with my Mantuas from time to time. In fact I also recall using the Selley after-market switcher pilot casting to replace the Manuta switcher pilot on some engines. But I digress.
I’d have to open up the coupler box to check this but I think what I did in at least one instance was follow a very old piece of advice in the Model Railroader “Kinks” column (not what you think! It wasn’t naughty thoughts but rather clever solutions to common problems) was that I lined the sides of the cast on coupler pocket, enlarged slightly with that milling bit, with a bit of a thick rubber band which I “Goo-ed” to the sides, then mounted a #5 using perhaps the original Mantua screw (?) so that the shaped metal around the #5’s screw hole would be automatically “centered” by the rubber band, but also was allowed a certain amount of swing for the coupler and coupler shaft, since it was also the era of tight curves. In a sense the rubber band replaced the built in spring of the #5’s copper spring, for which there was not enough room. These days the whisker springs on plastic
Will these fit?
I bought a box of snap together narrow coupler boxes which hold the #148 nicely if you don’t need a scale coupler. I find they fit the stupidly narrow space older Bachmann cars leave when you change out the truck mounted couplers to fit a coupler to the body instead.
The Kadee #252 is a different solution to a tight spot, it is short but not narrow.
The #115 logging skeleton car coupler is narrow but a tad long.
The whisker couplers are very versatile because they don’t depend on the #5 coupler box spring which is fixed in size.
The #148 technically may not need a gearbox at all, just some sort of lid to contain the coupler itself. The #148 needs only some kind of side to compress the whiskers a bit to self center the coupler. I even fit one into a Bachmann truck mounted coupler box. On one Bachmann Plus GP35 (don’t ask, noisy little brute with droopy couplers due to an amazingly poor design of coupler mounting) I’ve even just held the coupler in place with a washer under the screw head, you just need to contain the whiskers so they can exert their action laterally.
For tight spots also don’t turn your nose up at the Bachmann EZ Mate II series of couplers which have thinner shanks than the Kadee and are all plastic so insulate themselves electrically. I find the EZ Mate II and the Walters Protomax to be nearly as good as a Kadee and will use these if necessary to get a good fit.
Many coupler problems are actually locomotive or car mounting problems. I find this a bit weird since EVERY piece of railroad equipment we use MUST have an effective coupler mounted at the same height. How hard ca
Any conversions I have done using the Kadee site, they had a sketch of the needed modifications, including parts you needed what to cut out and paarts you need to make from styrene.
Goof luck,
Richard
The Kadee Website describes the process as the following:
“MANTUA 0-4-0 BOOSTER # 37 COUPLER CONVERSION 1. Remove existing coupler pocket screws, covers and couplers. Save screws. 2. For pilot and tender, assemble # 37 Coupler with Torsion Spring on bottom. Do not use Lid. Install coupler from below and secure with Mantua screw. 3. Check for correct coupler height, function, and clearance and make any adjustments necessary.”
It does not indicate any dremel work [:)].
Simon
No, no, no. Never use the #37. It will drive you nuts and still not stay together long enough to actually work.
Kadee is working on updating their extensive instructions but haven’t got to everything yet. The one constant when Kadee updates their recommended couplers is to use whisker couplers. That means no goofy separate spring(s). To go with these Kadee has developed neat and tidy snap gearboxes.
Use a #252 box and #148 whisker coupler. Or a scale coupler in a#242 scale gearbox if you prefer.
Looking at the 252, it does seem similar to the 37 in terms of box size, but it’s made for a whisker coupler. Kadee needs to update its documentation!
I have both types. They are identical in fit. The difference is the lid snaps into the box which captures the whisker springs. The older style has a goofy hairspring type which is captive in a separate compartment in the box. This spring has two prongs which create the self centering forces. The hairsprings are insanely difficult to capture inside the box together with the unsprung #5 coupler. Once you switch to whisker couplers you’ll never go back to the old #5 for any reason.
Even Kadee now recognizes the “challenge” presented by their older design. Scroll down to the text in this page:
Old thread, but.
I carefully opened up the front pocket
A 148 with no box will then work.