Problem #1: Trying to convert some old engines and rolling stock from horn hook to Kadees. Kadees have nice exploded diagrams on how to assemble them, but I can’t find any references on how to ADJUST them so they conform to NMRA standards. Some that I have installed are loose and/or need shims, or something to make them the correct height. How do you properly do this?
Problem #2: Trying to install a #321 uncoupler (the one that fits into the track, not underneath). I am using code 100 track, and it says you can glue it right onto the rails. But most of my rolling stock snags on the uncoupler. Some I’m sure is because the couplers aren’t perfect heights (see #1 above) but it just seems to me that the uncoupler is too high. Any advice on how to properly install a #321, or should I return it and get an “under the track” one?
Kadee’s website doesn’t have very good Troubleshooting tips. Any advice on the above would be appreciated. Thanks!
Kadee makes a gauge for you to set the coupler and un-coupler “hose”. When I buy a new piece, I automatically check the gauge of the wheelsets and the couplers. I used code 100 track on my first layout and found that I had to notch the ties for the Kadee uncoupler magnets to fit so that they were lowe enough. Some locomotives have rounded cover plates under their trucks which hang down low enough to rub on the magnet, if not hang up on them outright. When I install an uncoupler magnet, I ‘disguise’ it to look like a crossing.
Many times the existing draft box can cause the slop. I try to use a Kadee box if at all possible. Have also cut and fit the Kadee shims if changing the box is not possible in this case.
Kadee couplers will always work best using their box, lid and spring. I don’t even use the P2K bronze spring when changing to #5s. Even though it looks identical, the spring won’t center like the quality Kadee one. On stock where the box can cause truck or frame interference, I use the smaller hard to assemble #30 series. The 30 and 40 couplers come in a wide range of shank/ head to get the proper height.
Bob K.
The Kadee site suggests 0.15 above the rail. Here is the instructions to the height gauge, it contains some good info: http://www.kadee.com/html/205ins.pdf Sounds like you should buy the gauge also. Unfortunately, since the Proto 2000 switchers have come out, it has been reported that the uncoupler magnets should be even with the top of the rails. It seems that the P2k switchers will drag on the magnets if they are not even with the top of the rails. I glue mine in place with weather-strip adhesive. Others have used rubber cement, silicone or whatever. Make sure what ever you use you can remove the magnet with a minimum of fuss. It usually takes some tweaking to get them in the right place.
Others of us after fighting them for years and years (about 20), wishing we would have never wasted all that time, money, and energy installing them in the first place, have recently gone through and ripped them all out. Prefering the bambo skewer for uncoupling instead.
I pretty much agree with the above. First, get the Kadee coupler gauge and use it for everything. Second, you do need to grind down the ties to seat one of those magnets flush with the tops of the rails. This allows everything to clear, and still uncouples just fine. I’ve got a P2K S1 switcher, a fine engine but the gearboxes on the trucks do ride very low. When I did a simple glue-down of the uncoupler ramp on my code 100 flex track, the S1 would actually “run aground” and sit there spinning its wheels above the track.
The one thing I did right the first time? I used rubber cement to glue down the ramp. They stay down just fine, but when I had to pull one up, it came right off with no “collateral damage” to the ramp or trackwork.
I also played around with positioning of the ramp before I got out the bottle of glue. I found that you should have a straight section of track on either side of the ramp. This should be at least as long as the longest car or engine you plan to uncouple, so that the two cars are aligned straight with the uncoupler ramp in the center. (The exception for me is my passenger cars, which have truck-mounted couplers and are thus exempt from this rule.) This has implications for your track plan, not just uncoupler placement, because you really need that 12 to 18 inches of straightaway to mount the ramp and have it work successfully. Remember, though, that the Kadee “delayed” uncoupling feature allows you to put the ramp out further than the point where you want to “spot” the car.
The uncoupler ramps aren’t perfect, but I’ve found that by following these rules I can get them to work pretty well. I even put a ramp at the entrance to one of my roundhouse stalls so I can park a dummy engine there.