I have a LIfelike Proto 1000 E8 and an A/B set of Eirie Built Locos and find that the swing coupler on the rear of the loco has a tendancy to lift off the couplers of the trailing wagon or carriage causing the train to unhitch. The couplers on the locos are the supplied proto couplers and the wagon couplers are all Kadee 5 couplers. Does anyone have a solution for this problem?
Install Number fives.
Kadee makes a variety of couplers with raised or lowered heads and short, medium, and long shanks. Check Kadee’s web site for the lowered head coupler’s stock number, get a package of them from your local hobby shop if they handle Kadee products, and put one of them on the Proto 1000. When they say “overset shank” that means the head is lowered on the shank, so you probably need the Number 32 coupler if we’re dealing with HO scale here.
I’ve found that the supplied couplers on the Proto 1000 (and 2000) locos don’t have the durability of the Kadee #5’s. So have upgraded all the couplings to Kadees, everything runs so much smoother now.
Ian
Another vote for replacing Proto couplers with Kadees. It’s a drop-in fit for the ones I’ve done. The Kadee coupler fits with the Proto spring, too. I used #5’s for my RSC-2, GP-9 and R-17 subway cars.
go with the kadee couplers …you may need to install the kadee that has the longer or off set shank…measure the rolling stock from the track tie to the bottom of the coupler, then measure the one on the tender…if it’s higher than the rolling stock then an off set coupler lower than mid point is needed …if it’s lower than the rolling stock coupler then you’ll need one with the offset higher from mid point…always use a kadee height gauge to align your couplers…the couplers must be dead accurate or nothing but trouble will follow…chuck
Thanks everyone tried replacing with #5 s but have a problem with delrin swing bracket shaped like =L with the frame connection in the = and the coupler pocket at bottom of L the connection at the frame has movement which creates the problem.
Your couplers are not aligned
ANY ‘CLASP’ TYPE coupler need’s to be ‘height matched’ to prevent de-coupling. The Kadee 205 coupler gauge is a MUST HAVE along with washers to raise cars to an agreeing coupler level. ATHEARN car’s are notorious for being non NMRA compliant. A pkg of #47’s with underset shank’s might also be a good idea.
Of the Kadee CLONES being offered, LL FREE Proto’s are the worst!
I body mount KD’s on my E-8’s, but They make a #453 just for the LL.
Thanks everyone have found a solution of manufacturing a bracket similar to the proto delrin bracket secured to the chassis with 2-56 screw and threaded base of bracket (made from 1/4x1/16 brass bar) This is to overcome the way that the delrin proto bracket is held in place with a friction delrin pin. The pin pops from the bottom of the bracket allowing it to lift with the weight of the train on the coupler. Also I use a Kadee height guage and shim or remount coupler boxes on all cars to maintain correct height with the height guage. All my Carriages and locos are height matched with this guage. I also run metal wheels on all cars to help in keeping trains running as the track stays clean longer with metal wheels