[tommyrob123]

hi all, i have just bought 8 dapol coaches and fitted light bars at great cost. look good, however, coaches keep uncoupling at various stages. as these will be kept as a rake and will not be separated does anyone have ideas of how to stick, pin glue nail or any other method the couplings together without stopping them functioning on curves and points etc.
any advice greatly appreciated
cheers

 

[kiwionrails]

A couple of questions;

• Can you see why they are uncoupling - is one/more of the couplings sitting higher/lower/drooping?
  • Is it the mounting bracket, or the coupling within the socket?
• Are you intending to run the coaches in a fixed rake, or do you want to be able to shunt them?

If there are specific quality issues with certain coaches, I'd suggest rejecting them back to the retailer for a replacement (see separate ongoing topic RE quality control).

You could also investigate fitting alternative coupling types. Kadees and Hunt Magnetic Couplings are both popular choices.

Regards,

Cameron.

 

[tommyrob123]

i will be using them as a fixed rake, no shunting. i can't see anything standing out as a problem which is rather annoying. i was thinking of trying magnetic couplings but with the cost of coaches and the lights i really don't want to spend any more. if i could connect thwm together as a fixed rake i would be happy at that.

 

[jamesed]

Hunt magnetic couplings are great, don't cost much and are easy to fit.

 

[boxbrownie]

If you really wanted to save money buy some very small Neo magnets 2-3mm round, chop the hooks off the standard couplings to leave a flat surface and cyno the magnets to them, a bit of trial and error and you have what you want.

I’ve used the same magnets inside the corridor end of coaches and put another in the corridor blanking boards and the end boards stay on firmly, no falling off as they thunder around.

ps : just remember to keep the magnet polarity around the right way

 

[34C]

Brace yourself, lecture incoming.

Reliability in coupling is a function of six principal distinct factors:
Coupler design.
Uniform coupler mounting and alignment on all vehicles.
Free rolling vehicles.
Track laying standard.
Smooth mechanical performance of traction
Operator skill.

Coupler design. This is simple, the old 'Rapido' coupler used for European N gauge is very poor. There are superior alternatives, Microtrains about the best in RTR autocouplers, but simple DIY ' bent wire' body mounted permanent couplings will perform just as well for fixed formations.

Uniform coupler mounting and alignment on all vehicles. It doesn't matter what coupler is used, this is essential. If there isn't a manufacturer positioning gauge for a RTR coupler, make one yourself, and use it without fail.

Free rolling vehicles. Really important, one draggy vehicle can ruin all in a train of more than 3 or 4 coaches. A good starting standard is vehicles should roll away from rest if placed on a true 1 in 100.

Track laying standard. A smooth rail top and longitudinal alignment. Largest possible radius curves, and no kinks or 'dog legs' horizontally or vertically; no protrusions above chair tops of track pins, ballast, 'scenic features' or anything else. (Hilarious example, a layout and stock which was fully 'sorted' and really reliable, suddenly suffering from random uncouples. To the great chagrin of the owner it was the prototypical newly arranged loose rails in the 'four foot' that just disturbed the occasional coupler, resulting in an unexpected uncouple, sometime after.)

Smooth mechanical performance of traction. The traction should 'creep' in and out of motion and perform smoothly throughout the speed range, no bumping or jerking.

Operator skill. Operate your superbly performing traction the way the real railway driver does. (A major disappointment for me at shows are operators that don't use the excellent inertia simulation available on DCC, which does this way better than a human hand on knob, slider, button etc.. But no, the train arrives on platform still doing 50mph, and crash stops to rest in two coach lengths. Sigh!)

You have to be the engineer in observing all the above, and making the corrections as required to deliver the desired performance.

 

[tommyrob123]

just sent for the Hunt Elite couplings. very good price for a set. thanks for the info. jamesd.

 

[jamesed]

Yes, at £12.95 for a full HST set of couplings (I assume you are talking about N gauge Mk3 coaches) including enough for eight carriages and two power cars you can't go wrong. I met the chap who designs them at the Bristol exhibition earlier this year and he is very thorough in his design and testing. I bought one of their new sets for a Farish Class 220 Voyager which are a godsend because the manufacturer fitted couplings are a nightmare and drove me mad.

They do look good with the light bars fitted. If you want to go a step further and throw a bit more money at it then you could convert them to dcc. I am part way through converting my Mk3 coaches to switch the lights on or off by dcc control. I've done six so far and have another six to go but I'm waiting for the very small and cheap (£10) Lais 860010 decoders to become available again before I can continue. They are very small so easy to conceal in the end doorway compartment of the carriage. Just snip the wire from the light bar in half and insert the decoder inline between the lightbar and the little plug.

 

[tommyrob123]

i spoke to Hunt and because i have some r1 curves we have gone for the intermediate elite. i'll leave the dcc concept for now. costs me enough for n gauge sound loco's