Kadee Couplings on Narrow Gauged Wagons.

Fitting coupling to a narrow gauged H0 scale wagons can be a lot of fun. Modelling a 3’ 6” gauge system on 12 mm track does not leave a lot of room between the wheels to fit couplings.

 Looking at the prototype and comparing the differences between NSWR standard gauge couplings and QGR narrow gauges couplings there is very little for the modeller. The height above the rail being the main difference.

QR coupling on yellow wagon coupled to NSW standard gauge wagon

 

In the 1960’s, Queensland Railways had four drawgear classifications on their rollingstock fleet. Auto (D1), Premium (D2) hooks on the steel rollingstock built in the 60’s, Select (D3) hooks on steel wagons built in the 50’s and newer wooden wagons, and ordinary (D4) hooks on the older wagons and all four wheeled wagons. By the early 1990’s it was all auto (D 1) couplings and the buffers were gone. The era I model had all classes including transition coupling to couple hooks with auto couplings.

 

 

At first on my wagon fleet I tried to have different class/standards of couplings as the prototype, the method in my madness was to marshal trains as per QR instructions. Stronger drawgear to the front and not so strong on the rear, maybe have the same end results as the prototype if the instructions were not followed.

 So all wagons could operate together on the layout without to much trouble, I fitted Kadee # 711 H0n3 couplings on the hook wagons and Kadee # 5 coupling to more modern steel wagons fitted with auto couplings. This worked OK for trains running around the layout. The # 711 looked good set between the buffers. The # 5 looked a bit big, but they were the same size as standard gauge wagons on the layout. The standard Kadee # 5 box (# 242) left little room between the wheels on the QR rollingstock, some wagons had wheels on the end of the wagon. This left very little room for the bogies to turn. Not being a fan for gluing couplings, as much a possible I would use a screw to fix the coupling. Open and platform wagons made thing a little difficult and some time there was no choice. I often fitted the # 5 coupling without the box, screwing the coupling and the brass spring to the wagon floor.

 

 

 

 I was not over concerned if the couplings did not centre, the prototype do not centre, it’s up to the Shunter to line up the couplings. Most did not have grease on the slide plate and often required two hands a lot of grunt. The height also varied considerably, loaded wagons with empty wagons, new wheels with last turning could alter the height quite a bit. Provided the jaw hit the knuckle tongue on the other coupling and the coupling locked, all was good. 1620 DEL’s were noted for their low coupling, often you would stop short and close one jaw. Some times it was a two man job, one shunter would lift the coupling and the other would slide a dog spike under the stem.  The good book suggests after coupling auto coupling they should be tested by stretching them, the locking block in bottom pin couplers often did not drop.

 

All was good on the layout until I started making up operations sessions requiring a number of shunting moves. In big strings of wagons the # 711 did not like being pulled and pushed about and would let go. Often in hard to reach locations, plus it added extra time into the shunt. Maybe I had given them a flogging over the years. Yes, the method in my madness was working to good. The scale whisker coupling have been out for some time and are great, they are better than sliced bread. I use the # 153 short centerset on wagons without buffer. # 158 medium centerset subject to buffer size and # 156 long centerset for bigger buffers. In each application, I use the shortest shank coupling for the job. When pushing back, the long shank couplings swing to one side and on curves could cause wagons to derail. I have been using them on all my new rollingstock and they work great and look awesome. I have found them easy to fit. Over the last few years I have change my fixing methods a bit. On open wagons without a load and platform wagons I make the coupling box as part of the floor.

 

 

At first I was using styrene for all of the compounds including the coupler pivot. Thinking that this may wear over time the next lot of wagons I included a brass bush made from 1/8” brass tube. The last lot I made I used a 1/8” brass rod (3.1 mm) in which I drilled a 1 mm hole in the centre using the lathe. The rod was cut down to the same thickness as the coupler shaft. A 1 mm brass rod was used to mount the pivot block. This was done on the PCUY wagons which you can find on the blog.  http://westgateswr.blogspot.com/2019/01/pcuy-wagons.html

 

 

 

Recently I made some grain wagons, the wagons were fitted with traps and the floor was not visible. I fixed the couplings with a self-tapping screw, much the same size as the coupling pivot hole. A washer was added to provide extra support for the bottom of the coupling. Check the size, it may foul the wheels if to close. With styrene made wagons the self-tapping screws can form a bubble around the fixing hole, this will need to be removed with a file. The mounting hole can be some what large also.

 

 

I have used a 3mm machine screw with much same the success. It was OK, but I think better method could be found.

 

 

Sometimes the Kadee # 262 narrow snap-together insulated coupler box was used and worked well. The box is ¼” wide giving you some room for the bogies to turn. Auto couplers on some freight wagons has a flange/yoke protruding out from the headstock. The box came come out from the headstock a litter can give this effect.   

 

This coupling is to far out from the headstock, I was using the fixing point from a previous coupling.  

 On changing the # 711 to scale whisker couplings I used a 2 mm machine screw with a 1/8” brass collar in the same fixing hole used for the 711. The hole was drilled out with 1.5 mm drill and thread added with a 2 mm tap. The brass collar was made from 1/8” brass tube cut to the same size as the coupling shank. A washer was added for extra support. The treaded screw provides fine adjustment to allow free movement and to keep the shank straight without sagging. Most wagons were box wagons or open wagons with a load. A couple of open with vehicle loads I covered the screw with some rubbish. Often dunnage from a previous load was left in the wagon. If you took it out of the wagon, you created another job for yourself, what to do with the rubbish. Laptop screws with a fixed washer is being considered for the next batch. I see them on e-bay in the modeller’s favourite colour, black.

 

711 Coupling

 

 

Using a 2 mm screw

All my four wheeled hopper wagons are Peco TT underframes, these were available in the seventies. At first I ran them in blocks of five using dummy knuckles. A small Kadee rounded box was used at the end of each block, this didn’t look all that great and did not work all that good. Moving into operations I wanted to be able to change the orders for each day, to do this working couplings were required on all wagons. After some thinking, a channel was cut into the headstock with a dermal cutter to take the coupling shank. Short shank couplings # 153 was used with a brass plate top and bottom to hold the underframe together and to mount the coupling. Fixing the coupling was the same as above with the 2 mm screw and a bass 1/8” bush. Yes, a little bit of a compromise, once painted they don’t look to bad and they fit the bill until something better comes along.  

 

 

The QR coupler height is 2’ 8 “(9.3 mm for the modeller), for mounting I use the casting mould line in the centre of the knuckle for this measurement. I made a coupler gauge to ensure all wagons have the same height coupling. The coupler release pin is raised a little to ensure it don’t catch on points. So buffer do not buffer lock on curves and points I try to mount the back of the coupler pocket in line with the front of the buffer. I use Peco track and standard points with a 24 inch radius on the turn out. The curve points have an 18 inch radius turnout. Placement of the coupler should be checked if running on less than 24 inch radius curves. This may not look prototypical with a large gap between wagons, our models run on much small radius curves than our rail networks use and do not have springs in the buffers. The modern era without buffer it is more achievable, but the slack in model couplings is greater than the prototype draft box. On the prototype, a train of 40 wagons will have equal to one wagon of slack across the draft packs.    

 Standard HO gauge on top, H0n42 gauge on the bottom

Trust you find this helpful in your modelling.