Know Your Couplings!
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- čas přidán 4. 09. 2024
- From Kadee couplings and large tension locks to Fleischmann hooks and proprietary couplings used on the Virgin Pendolino, this video takes a look at them all. And helps us all to never get confused about these small but essental bits of the hobby.
Image of woman at 2:20 - 'Curvaceous Crystal' by Tim Lucas (Flikr username: toolmantim), www.flickr.com/..., used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 General License, details available at creativecommons...
@CavanRail001 thank you for the feedback! I shall do my best to keep the vids coming. It's hard sometimes - I can get pretty busy. But at least some people are patient!
Now that was informative..
Having GWR outline stuff with a range of tension couplers. I regularly have issues with them derailing wagons when shunting over 2nd radius points. Or not un-coupling properly over the uncoupling mounds (or what ever they are called). This short video has really help clear a few things up.
An example to all of us as to how a CZcams vid should be made/edited. Well done.
A very well presented fantastic documentrry showing couplers - well done
I enjoyed your video very much
I am 64 yeas old and after a 40 year break from model railways i have returned to build an L.M.S oo gauge layout in my garage.It goes to show that you are never to old to restart in this great hpbby of ours.
I am in the process of converting all my rolling stock to Kadee NEM plug-in couplers and also "Whisker" couplers.
On the whole, converting NEM rolling stock is quite easy, but converting non NEM rolling stock i have found to be quite challenging.
Martin Guyat
Very interesting ... but I am so glad we have standard "Knuckle Couplers" in this country. This is what the Kadee Couplers are based on ... thank goodness! Cheers!
Wow!!! You guys have a whole bunch of different couplers on your side of the pond. In the US we pretty much only deal with Knuckle couplers and the X2F Horn Hook couplers (Usually swapped out as soon as possible for Kadee (or similar) Knuckles).
As a kid. I nailed my tracks into a cork base. Otherwise, The track would slide apart at full speed. That was a long time ago (1980's) and they probably make better rail connections by now. Miss my old train set. It was impressive back then. Enjoyed the video.
When I first started in this hobby about 3 years ago & a bit green on what was what, I ended up with a hole bunch of rolling stock with every variation of coupler know to mankind. With a bit of research I decided to bite the bullet & convert all stock to the Kadee type couplers. Its taken a while at some expense, but I have found the challenge rewarding & the results of better coupling performance worthwhile.
In the process I have also swapped all my plastic wheeled rolling stock to Intermountain metal wheels. That upgrade has also been worthwhile. If you convert your stock over time the expense side of it is not so painful.
using other peoples photos does not breach copyright when used in that way, unless you claim to have made it yourself or if you tried to sell it.
5:30 Looks very much like my Marklin ICE 2 type couplers. Jolly good show mate :)
Great informative video Will. As always your videos are a joy to watch, you explain things in good detail filling in all the blanks, and any questions people may have.No wonder you have some many subscribers.A pleasure to watch,a joy to see your sets in action, and better still always a joy to know when you're up-loading a new one.
Here in the US it's pretty much only Kadee couplers and knock-offs, though there's plenty of stuff floating around with ancient "horn-hook" couplers that were used before - though nowadays if you wind up with them, the first thing anyone does is toss them out and install Kadees. (Railroad couplers in the US are actually standardized unlike what I saw traveling in Europe, which as far as I can tell was "anything goes". Also, Kadee couplers may look very odd to a lot of the world, but they're very accurate to the ubiquitous North American Knuckle Coupler.) You're also far better off with actual Kadee couplers as well, any other cheaper knuckle couplers I've come across tend to fail (usually because they're plastic, while actual Kadees are metal) and are just generally asking for trouble.
In my experience, Bachmann's EZ-Mate and Accurail's Accu-mate couplers are some of the worst offenders. I run long trains, and I've had those plastic EZ-Mate couplers straight-up break trying to pull trains. The Accu-mate couplers just tend to come uncoupled when you don't want them to and aren't reliable.
One other interesting thing I've heard is that Bachmann stuff in Europe is actually decent quality. Is that true? Because the vast majority of what the sell in the US market is almost universally considered complete and utter garbage over here, I know a hobby shop that actually refuses to sell their stuff because of the quality.
FYI, you spoke about magnets under track to operate Kadee couplings, but you can very easily and cheaply modify the humble tension lock coupler to also use under track magnet uncoupling. Look up what has become known as the 'Kirby Uncoupler', non-ferrous hooks available from PH Designs.
Hope someone finds that useful.
How old is the locomotive in question?
@coolibahrail thanks, yes I realise that but in the UK when people switch to knuckle couplers, 9 times out of 10 it's Kadee couplers they switch to. (most people simply stick with tension locks)
@hornbytrains125 Because if you look carefully, you will see that the coupling overlaps, locks, then proceeds to derail the train. Either you can go for the less ugly option and put Bachmann tension locks on all stock, or the ugly one, and go for Hornby couplings on the Bachmann model, they're interchangeable.
I have done some of the coupler swapping myself. It would depend on how the horn hook is attached. If it has a small pin sized hole you can get through Walthers some knuckles to switch out with. If it has the larger hole you can get knuckles from Bachmann or use Kadee #5 couplers.
Can't remember what make my first train set was but it wasn't Triang - Hornby, however it was fitted with buckeye couplings - as we say in the UK. Around the mid 1960s.
Excellent video, very informative and well shot. Also pleasant tone. Thanks
@NewChannels thanks for the comment! Yes, the new layout uses cork underlay. Definitely better than the foam stuff I think.
This is a very good information clip. well done. do more as it is use full for new and beginner to our hobby. well done again.
@hornbytrains125 Those couplings are graded for (like many locos from Hornby & Bachmann & even Dapol) for Radius 2 curves. I had a 56xx & I found it was very happy on 2nd radius. It's just the way the locos & the couplings work
@Trainmaster909 that's true but when people in the UK switch to that type of coupler, in 99% of cases it is the Kadee they switch to.
In the days before propriety couplings modellers just "wired" their DMU / EMU ? coach rakes together using homebrew brass wire hooks and loops to achieve very close coupling.
You missed out 3 link / screw link (prototypical) that is commonplace on a large number of 00 / P4 / EM layouts where the sight of any unrealistic massive tension lock coupling is seen as detracting from the visual effect.
And don't forget "Sprat and Winkle" descrete automatic couplings for those railway modellers who find 3 link couplings going a tad to far for realism.
To us older railway modellers the tension lock couplings are still refered to as Airfix (small), Mainline / Bachmann (medium) and Triang Mark.3. or simply Triang (large).
For what you call the Kadee coupler it is actually called Kadee as it is a brand of knukle couplers. The one you showed in the video is called the McHenery coupler.
About the Kadee coupler, The reason they have their taken shape is because they are used in the continent of North America, and Australia. So they have accurate coupling shapes. However, your Dash-8 has Bachmann E-Z mate knuckle (true name for Kadee, which is a company name) couplers/couplings that follow the NMRA (National Model Railroading Association {Of north America}) but don't worry, they have nearly the same standards of the NEM. Respond.
From,
Trainmaster909
the couples are actually called knuckle couplers that are made by kadee. Other brands make them it’s just Kadee’s are the best for them being metal
@JACKRAIL37001 using Photoshop, the drawings were clear and crisp enough for its smart select tool to isolate each sketch, and then the white background was replaced with the IC82 trademark blue.
@traindriver1225 that's true but when people in the UK switch to that type of coupler, in 99% of cases it is the Kadee they switch to.
Nice! Very informative, and nice to see you got some suitable stock for the Dash 8
Hello i have a question, can you put Marklin couplings on Marklin rolling stock?
Thanks in advance. TDMK
Excellent explanation many thanks!
Brilliant quote in there - "That's the great thing about standards...there's lots of them!"
great video my friend.
once someone explains it to you and shows you the various types of couplings, its actually very simple.
its definatley made me understand the different types and what the are for.
many thans
Great video! Great to know some more stuff about couplings despite thinking I knew a lot already
For more realism, I do recomend converting all couplings to KDs, because I have the new flying Scotsman and I wanted to run her with some of my Australian Rollingstock to replicate Aus Steam 88' in a way. So opa few weekends and all 14 of my british locos, all 35 coaches and all 67 wagons that were British in my collection were converted to KDs. Just thought I'd share that.
Great video, very informative and certainly answered all my questions. Thank you.
I got fedup with all the different couplers, so I solved the problem. I have made my own universal coupler called a piece of wire.
Funnily enough, the Pacer proprietary coupling is the same as on either end of the APT power car. I actually ran the Pacer with the APT power car in the middle once. It was pretty funny looking. (My Pacer is the older version with two driving cars)
thanks for the kind comment!
@JAC4468 that was actually a premium Class 8F by Hornby and its fake coal load is easily removed.
The medium tension locks on the Bachmann Thomas range are good.
Knuckle/buckeye couplers (of which there are makers other than Kadee) are only good-looking on American-outline stock tbh. They're what you'd see on them IRL, which is why the Tri-Ang models of American stock have those dummy knuckle couplers.
Tension-lock couplings aren't realistic, but they're reliable and less fiddly than the realistic-looking H & N or Spratt & Winkle type of coupling. At the small size of HO/OO models, they're also much more reliable and durable than buckeye couplings. And with the Kirby method they can even be magnetically uncoupled.
@panniertankboy8751 Indeed! I shall be doing a video on the American rolling stock soon.
@MrJezza31 it was not an easy video to make! (as you can probably imagine) but thank you. I tried my best.
Nice vid lol I prefer the old Bach Ann ones because they hold the wagons close together
that's correct, "KD" couplers are a brand of couplers of the "knuckle" type couplers used mainly in north America. now there are also other types such as the horrible "horn hook" couplers which nobody likes but they are very cheap. I myself am switching over to the "sergeant engineering" brand of knuckle couplers, these are by far the most realistic knuckle ones with looks and operation being the same as its real life counterpart.
You can change the coupling types from tension lock to kadee for example, but it could be expensive. You're looking at around £2 per loco to change them over. Then there isn't any guarantee that the rolling stock that you have is NEM compliant.
@Whizzer1 in the UK, when people switch to 'knuckle couplers', 9 times out of 10 it's Kadees they go for. I tried to trim the video down to just what the British modeller needs to know.
As I type this i'm off school ill, but you just gave a great lesson there:) i'm subscribing, well done!!:)
@Trainmaster909 yeah they are the NMRA standard. they are also really nice couplers.
Just FYI "Kadee" couplings are "knuckle" type couplings. Kadee is a brand name.
You can get just the knuckle springs by themselves, but they are a bit fiddly to put back in.
Very well presented Will. Good job :)
Another excellent vid Will....& another great idea to video too. I have loco's with all the couplings you mentioned & used drawings as examples....I can send you some real photos should you wish?
Kind regards, John.
@Lavapit2457 I have no plans to look at that set just yet but I'm sure someone else will do a review of it (if they haven't already done so)
I must say this is one of your best :-)
dgilbert222 t
@wtierce1 that's true but when people in the UK switch to that type of coupler, in 99% of cases it is the Kadee they switch to.
@jasonandjoesrailway thanks for the comment! I must admit it did take some time to make haha
Have you seen the Hornby international Schanferberg couplers, there a working 00 gauge version of multiple unit couplings that look ver realistic, you may hve seen them on dapols class 156 and 153 in N-gauge, its really the same principle
I have had problems with couplings. A small tention lock coulping on a Bachmann 56xx and again small tention lock couplings on Hornby coachs, they derail all the time on standard radius 1 curves. Why?
I looked today to remind me of the Pendolino, but you didn't show the " act of coupling/uncoupling these", which is what I wanted to check!
Hi, Your video was very helpful in understanding about couplings. I have a Hornby Frederick Harrison Steam Locomotive, but iam unable to fix the Hornby close coupling to the rear side, would appreciate if you could tell me how to fix if possible.
1. You forgot the generic European NEM 360 coupler, which thanks to Lima, became the defacto Australian standard coupler for a few years until knuckle couplers started to catch on.
2. Roco is pronounced "Roe-coe", not "Rocko".
3. The main reason I found for proprietary couplers on DMUs and trains like the APT is so you don't go coupling, say, a DMU trailer to any other loco or rollingstock, but keep it coupled to the train it belongs to.
Otherwise, keep up the good work.
They're OK to be honest. Great if you leave the train on the layout 24/7 - not so great if you need to keep taking it off at the end of a session. The biggest problem is if they get damaged. It often means a call to Bachmann for a replacement!
@MrBrit4l it sure is!! A very keen eye you have! Strong in you the force is!
Nice video Will. When you said the Kadee couplers were "fiddly" are you trying to unhook them without a magnet? The kadee are designed to be unhooked using magnets in a similar manner as to how you would unhook a real locomotive. I believe they sell something that allows you to slowly unhook them as well for a more realistic feel. Most people just convert locos and rolling stock that would connect to the locos. Converting everything is cost prohibitive :)
@thetrainkid1 I did research 3link/hook&chain couplings but as they're not 'automatic' and have to be manually coupled and uncoupled I felt them being in the video wasn't really necessary. Indeed many people do use them but they're no where near as common as the automatic couplings I look at in the video.
InterCity82 Aap
When it comes to the tension lock couplings, I only feel comfortable using Large or Medium. The small ones really bother me because they have always derailed my trains. They may look nicer, but my layouts have always had trouble with them, even if the bends aren't that sharp.
What radius are your bends?
nutfield001 I don't know, my old layout was pulled up so I could rebuild it somewhere else. The outer "main line" bends weren't particularly sharp (4-6-2s could travel along it without issue), but sharp enough to cause problems with narrow couplings.
Fleischmann Profi coup's all the way man. just watch out with Hornby rolling stock, the way you attach the couplings to that makes them unable to corner. other then that, i never had a problem with the Fleischmann Profi's with any other brands.
i thought the giant couplings can only go around light radius curves because they are so big they get in the way
@benjokazooie thanks for the feedback! And you're welcome!
Kadee couplers are a brand of knuckle couplers.
Great video
@ClassA4Mallard thank you for the feedback!
@ReyoNeutra thanks for the feedback!
Nice video!...just out of curiosity, why does the ES44 there have LMS on the side? does LMS actually have GE locomotives or is it just a love for LMS? looks like it was Conrail 8098 NS heritage unit?
That knuckle coupler at 3:56 doesn't look like a Kadee brand, it looks more plastic.
Excellent vid! Showing & explaining some great info there! =)
the brand of coupling is kadee the are really called knuckle couplers.
@agachocho you're welcome!
@Y2Jyr it looks lovely doesn't it!?! I think I will have to.
How can you convert older Hornby rolling stock that don't have NEM sockets to Kadees/E-Z mates?
Honestly I just use custom 3-link couplings. They look alright and are really reliable.
@toffie702 definitely! I got sent some wagons and have yet to do a video on them.
I never heard the frase k d coupling. Is that just a European term for knuckle couplings?
is the pendolino coupling a NEM coupling as they call them
sounds expensive! I've found a place that does them for £3.50 for two sets, but that's still almost £2 per item of rolling stock. I've not counted mine in a while, but the cost would run into the £100's
@MysteriousKiwi Last year I did a video stating that videos on my new layout would start this Spring - and this Spring it will be. I'm in no rush - this is the hobby of a lifetime! :P
dear IC82 will you be getting the West Coast Railways Pullman train pack?
@EWSclass66 the IC82 website will reveal that when it goes live (planned for a big Easter launch)
great vid , could you do evan just a short clip of the american locomotive i fortgot the name now but of it running with its coaches or wagons?
Very intresting well done.Is the websiteup and running yet?
I've been wondering where my pen went. How it got all the way across the pond, though,
I don't know...
How many attempts did you have at saying NEM in German? Thanks.
@lukianzio lol thanks for the comment!
I am wanting to change my mk3 carriage couplings ( specifically the royal coaches and virgin coaches ) they have a slot for changing couplings but I can't seem to find any slimmer couplings that will fit
i saw some transfers building airfix? looks like control tower
i thought the pendolino coupling could fit sideways into a nem socket
@BritishRailways60163 thank you my friend!