Alternate couplings?

[Shadow.Monk]

Hi all,

 

Can anyone suggest alternate couplings to narrow the gap between engines and rolling stock? As I am wanting to make my trains look as realistic as I can and the default couplings that come with the stock are good to start off with, but I

 

am looking to move away from that now.

 

Cheers

[Alessio]

I'm afraid I can't recommend a product but I know they do exist. It may be worth having a look at Model Rail/Hornby Magazine and such like in your local newsagent- they often mention these things.

 

Sorry I can't be of any further help.

 

[81F]

The close couplings supplied with some of the new Hornby Coaches do narrow the gap between the Coaches so these could be used on other stock and locos providing they are fitted with nem pockets.

 

I use them on a couple of fixed rakes - a train of

 

6 wheeled milk tanks and some grain hopper wagons and they do make a bit of a difference. They also eliminate the opening and closing between stock which is good for coaches but not for loose coupled coal trains.

 

I once had a chat with a volunteer at

 

Pendon Museum and they use something as simple a length of stiff wire fixed to one end of a coach which hooks into a hole in the floor of the nect coach and bent to look like the vacuum brake pipes. However, their coaches are in permanent rakes so each is

 

made to suit to couple two specific coaches - not very flexible.

 

For goods rolling stock the most realistic is three link, which I did try in my 20s but it is very fiddly and you really need large radius curves if you are going to push the rolling stock

 

to avoid buffer lock. This and the fiddliness can make shunting a bid tedious.

[dude2112]

It depends how old your rolling stock and engines/tenders are. I have lots of newish coaches that have close couplings but still use the old coupler to the tender/engine as its less troublesome.....

Hope this helps

[LCDR]

There is a commercially available system that allows coaches to be close coupled on straight track but opens up on curves to avoid buffer locking, much as Hornby's super detailed carriages do. It does require some modification to the vehicle, which requires

 

some modelling skill.

 

The proprietor is very keen for people to use his system. He advertises in the Railway Modelling press. He also supplies scale bogies for Pullmans.