HELP REQUIRED PLEASE!!!!! I am modelling in British Outline N, so all my locomotives, freight and passenger vehicles have the Rapido style of coupling. Some of the freight stock has the Peco "ELSIE" version of that. The majority of the vehicles (Farish or Union Mills locomotives and Farish passenger cars) have sprung couplings. I have tried the tracks from Fleischmann and Minitrix, with the uncoupler built in (electro magnet working on the coupling itself). All they did was send the vehicles with sprung couplings into orbit. I have tried the Peco and Seep arrangement, with a metal arm fitted to a coupling without spring. This worked fine when first installed and tested: come back a week later for a running session, and nothing happens. I have seen on here and on other forums, plenty of praise for the Kadee and its smaller cousin the Micro Train, but there's a great variety available. Is anyone out there able to recommend a particular stock number from Micro Trains that I could use instead of what Farish and Peco supply?
We have some Peco and Farish wagons and I have been experimenting with several ways of mounting Micro-Trains couplers. If you need more info, here is a good (if old) link on British N scale. http://teladesign.com/british-n-scale/standards.html I have tried Unimate 1010s. They work OK, but have to be uncoupled manually (see the photo). The next thing I will try is the Micro-Trains 1015-1 coupler -- requires modification of the wagon. (We are experimenting with link and pin couplers as well.) Disclaimer: My wife is modeling B&O in the 1850s, western Maryland.
Bachmann are supposed to be bringing out their new working knuckle coupler on the British Graham Farish range and as a separate item. One version will be for NEM coupler mounts and I'm hoping there will be a T-shank version as well for older models because I have the same problem as you with my Japanese rollingstock.
Thanks chaps! I've been in contact with micro Trains as well. The recommendation at present is to try the 1128 or 1129 T shank units for vehicles that don't have NEM pockets. They're working on something for NEM pockets. Regards, Pete Davies
hey seated viper do not waste your time or money with the m/t 1128 or 1129 there junk!!! i bought them for my 70' cryo reefers and tossed them out after one hour trying to get them to work!!! do you need a t shank coupler? if so try a kato 11-702 http://www.newhallstation.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=878 i have these on my con-cor smooth side cars, granted i don't need to un couple the cars but they DO NOT uncouple accidentally
I don't want to be a party pooper for some of the posters above, but the original poster is looking for couplers that uncouple. So the unimates and kato knuckles simply aren't going to fit the bill, they also don't look anything more like a British screw coupling does than a rapido - so they're not much help in the looks department either. If your coupling/uncoupling is routine, one solution might be to weight down the cars that you uncouple from eachother. If you mix them up though, this won't be of much help obviously.
Mos6502 is correct in thinking I am looking for coupling mechanisms that work. I have a freight yard and want to use it for switching vehicles so that some are brought into the yard, the locomotive takes others away, and at some time later, those brought in are taken away again. I do have some of the Kato units, to improve closer coupling within a set of passenger cars, for example, but they don't couple/uncouple. Regards, Pete Davies
If you do go with these you will find them cheaper elsewhere, even from Japan. Newhall Station seem to use the adjective 'Japanese' as an excuse to almost double the price of items. I'm still waiting to see what Bachmann comes up with, Mchenry could also come out with a T-shank version of their coupler if they wanted to.
Well, having waited over a month for something the UK importer said should be with me in three weeks, I'd like to ask those modellers who live in UK but use US outline stock and MT couplings this question: Where do you obtain your couplings? Do you buy them from a UK store or do you have them shipped in from stateside? Regards, Pete
Well Pete, as I'm "just 'round the corner" from you I am probably best to answer this. I get all my M/Ts from The Penguin at LSWR Models - see PENGUIN first for American Model Railways | Home Cheapest in U.K. Cheers, Bob.
Thank you, Bob. I'll give them a try. I'm sure you are aware of which outfit the UK importer is, and I know they're best avoided, but I was advised to go that way . . . Regards, Pete
Pete I get mine in the UK in bulk packs from shows. The NMRA Convention is usually a good source. Next year it will be in Bournemouth and there will be a lot of N Scalers there. I also import directly, but you have to be careful about getting hit for duty and the Royal Mail charges! Peter Peter Harris N Scale Kits N Scale Kits
I've used these on those same cars, just took a bit of time, but I have no issues with them... Just gotta go slow and be patient I guess.
This is the hard way. I am still looking for the easy way. As you can see I had to modify the wagons -- removed the Rapido pockets and added sheet styrene to fill in the holes. Drilled a hole and mounted an MTL 2004-1. The wagons are light (even with the little piece of steel that came with them), so I will have to add a heavy load.
I see your "sample" wagon has a Farish chassis. I've converted almost all of my freight stock to Peco chassis, which may or may not make life more difficult. All my passenger stock has Farish . . . The stockist phoned me yesterday to say he'd received the order and would be sending them out yesterday afternoon's post. I'm just waiting for Royal Snail now, to deliver the parcel! Thank you, chaps, for your thoughts on this. I'll keep you posted. Regards, Pete
The parcel arrived from LSWR models yesterday - thanks, Bob, for the referral - and I spent time during the evening getting a magnet into the Kato track. That seems to be okay. I have another project to finish (putting over 40 years of colour transparencies into digital format) before I do any more at this, but assembling the kits looks as if it should be easy enough! Horrid turn of phrase that - DIGITAL! Reminds me of gardening, as in DIG IT ALL. Regards, Pete
Well, the magnet is in the track, and I've been using a spare Peco chassis for experminents and dry running with putting the kit together. It's fairly clear they don't like each other, though the coupling itself is probably going to be okay with the sprung version of the Farish coupling (not the U shaped device Sharriso shows in his picture). Almost all my freight stock (80 vehicles) has the Peco unit. Another for the "Lessons Learned" file! I'll stick to just watching trains go past and kill the sorting yard. Regards, Pete
