COOL !!! Another reason to run cabeese !!! The axle springs also kinda' work as an "E-brake" while you're uncoupled and picking up or dropping off cars. Of course, if you run shorter cars, you have more coupler springs to "bounce". A 4' train of ore cars has ALOT more springs than a 4' train of 89' piggy-back cars. When I had my 4x8, nobody seemed to notice the "slinky" thing 'til I pointed it out. I DO find it a bit annoying, but learned to just deal with it. If someone made a comment, they were told that Tigger is major shareholder of the RR. They have also been told that my cabeese were equipped with WoO Sprint Car type seats !!! BTW... starting construction on a couple Alco C-415 "TURNOUTER" locomotives soon !!!
I believe Con-Cor was the last manufacturer to ditch rapido couplers as their standard N scale rolling stock coupler...in the year 2016.
Slack is taken upon starting and slack runs in when stopping in the 1 to 1 world. So thus MT couplers are proto.
Would adding extra weight to a caboose make a difference, or would it just cause as many problems as it would solve?
The correct weight is always a good thing. However, the idea that adding weight... is a good thing, will cause more problems then it solves. Cause and effect. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Wrap your head around that, if you dare.
They're not prototypical. Slack action and "slinky" are not the same thing, they are related, but they are not the same. Have you ever seen a car with worn out shocks bouncing up and down as it goes down the road compared to a car with good shocks? That's the difference between "slinky" and slack action. Both cars allow the suspension to compress and rebound, but good shocks help control oscillations. Likewise, prototypical couplers have damping to help control oscillations while Micro-Trains couplers have completely undamped springs.
The 'slinky' has always been there and WILL always be there. The only time I notice it is when the train is going right by in front of me. I don't see it when the train is coming towards me. I don't see it once the train passes and is going away from me. Those few seconds I do see it...meh ! I have a lot more pressing things to worry about !! JMO
It would really depend on you're particular situation. With shorter trains it would probably help, but it will also increase needed pulling power show it might shorten your maximum train length and it could also increase the likelihood of string-lining. Non-MTL couplers on the caboose will not prevent slinky throughout the rest of the train.
My layout is designed for short trains with short cars and having a 2% grade. My small steamers are already limited to short consists due to this.
Rapidos are pretty kid-friendly, whereas Bachmann's EZ-Mate coupler isn't friendly to ANYONE, so in that case it's practically an upgrade
I have something you can try . I haven't done this , but I am 95% confident it will work . Open the coupler box and add a second spring . That should stiffen things up enough to take the bounce out without affecting the loco traction . Mike
I have a track maintenance car with a gravity weighted masonite wafer that I pull at the end of the train... no slinky.
