Knuckle Coupler question


AyTrane

AyTrane

Member
I have some F7's in A-B-A fashion and I have them hooked up with some knuckle couplers. The shank is standard length, but I don't like the appearance as the distance between the engines is unrealistic (too far). I was wondering if I could go with a short shank knuckle coupler without running into any problems.

What is a good rule of thumb for length of the shank vs length of the car? And what brand would you recommend for something that is simple to install and works great?

Thanks,

Adam
 
I just sold an A-B-B-A powered units w/close couplers. I bought them from kadee just for that purpose. I also had working Diaphrams on those engines. The only reason close coupling won't work is w/tight turns. In tight turns the corners of the loco's hit & the whole team will derail.

Larry
 
What about 18" curves? My passenger cars have less space between them than the F7's and I don't have a problem with them. How tight were your turns? What if you had one normal, one short shank?
 
As larry suggested, it depends on your turns. If you have tight turns you'll need the long shanks to prevent the units from hitting. If you have wider ones over 18 inches or so you can probably move to shorter ones like the Kadee #5.
 
hamltnblue said:
As larry suggested, it depends on your turns. If you have tight turns you'll need the long shanks to prevent the units from hitting. If you have wider ones over 18 inches or so you can probably move to shorter ones like the Kadee #5.
Click to expand...

There's still a shorter one than the #5. It's just for close coupling. I ordered some from ToyTrainHeaven monday. I think it's called a 1/4" coupler.
I was going to try them on my Amtrak Superliner cars before I added diaphrams. I have large radius & I think they would work(hope).

Larry
 
Since a short shank and a long/regular will work well together, a combination of 2 might be the best fit for your situation.
 
it also depends on the diaphrams and what loco you have. my Proto 2000 FAs with diaphrams will make the 18 radius with 2 short shanks it is tight but it works, now if it was a PA I think it would be an issue?

Trent
 
AyTrane said:
I have some F7's in A-B-A fashion and I have them hooked up with some knuckle couplers. ...

Thanks,

Adam
Click to expand...

What brand F's. Reason I ask is if they are from Stewart, Kadee makes a special set of couplers that do couple the locos together at a prototype 3' distance. They make a similar set for Bachmann F's.

I would suggest That you visit Kadee's web site and check on their conversion list, which ones would do what you want them to do. Here's the web site:
http://www.kadee.com/conv/convpl.htm

Good luck!:D
 
I had a hard time close coupling my A-B Athearn units on the Exec train, tried all sorts of Kadees, the close coupling kit by American models(?), and dummy couplers by Walthers.
I wound up making a permanent draw bar from styrene but the screws worked their way out on curves. The answer was to make oversize holes for a small tube to pass thru. The tube keeps the screws from coming loose. The engines are perma-coupled on the layout and are still easy to transport if necessary. I should also mention the locos have diaphragms installed.
 
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