Has anyone replaced the "snap in" link and pin couplers on the Micro Trains Civil War Era of rolling stock with a prototype link and pin Thank You OldJohn
I do remember some conversations about the link and pin couplers when these cars first came out here on Train Board. What I cannot remember if anyone actually followed through with working link and pins. Might have ended up being too much of an operating nightmare.
I make resin link-and-pin pockets for my Class A Climax kits, and my V&T ore cars. I've experimented with making scale-sized links out of .010 wire and coupling them together. I've done an entire string of 25' log cars as an experiment using K&S square tubing for boxes. Good news is that it actually works, and it looks fantastic. Bad news is that coupling them up takes two pairs of tiny tweezers and a surgeon's touch. It's not impossible, but it's close enough that I'm not doing any more. I've had better luck with putting in the MT snap-ins instead, and they look just as good when coupled up. At least you can get them apart and recouple them without going off of coffee for a day.
Randgust, I've tried the MT Link & Pin Couplers that came with the cars, my problem is that I converted all my Civil War era rolling stock to knuckles ( including the MT cars). It worked OK, but suffered in looks. I was at a train show a while back and they had a Civil War layout setup and were using link pin couplers that looked like the prototype. The pins were inserted using a magnet and took no time to couple or uncouple. The trains looked great and ran great. Unfortunately the fellows manning the layout didn't know where the owner bought them and the wouldn't give the owners name or phone number without his permission. I got the impression from them that they were commercially available, if so, I can't find them.
Early morning coffee and waiting to develop a pulse did a little Googling. Found one link that my computer would not open that seemed possible, but there was a lot of chatter about this subject in various scales. Evidently Verne Niner has tinkered with them and a outfit in the UK, Backwoods Miniatures has done some with them in other scales. Also found this. http://www.shapeways.com/product/V6...woQFX8jJ-QB8QFCFy9gLV_3m5ILd3dhitYaAvW08P8HAQ
I purchased some of the MTL Civil War era cars; in fact, I purchased one of the early sets with the Bachmann locomotive. I found the coupler system awkward to use, however, I elected to retain the coupler except have one car with knuckle couplers to match with the alternate Atlas locomotives I purchased. The stock MTL couplers on these cars require patience to connect and the train, once all connected, is a bit ridge so more effort needed to get all cars on the track.
John Moore I bought and received 48 of the couplers from Shapeways, great looking couplers, I'm going to start installation - Than You Again OldJohn
Eric Cox of Panamint Models has a whole line of various link & pin units (as well as some great coaches and trucks). I strongly recommend contacting him directly and explain what you need, as he constantly is tinkering with the designs, and usually has some not posted up for sale on Shapeways. Also, he knows how to put orders together to minimize Shapeways charges.