Coach Rake Couplings

User avatar
Serjt-Dave
Posts: 641
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:31 pm

Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Serjt-Dave » Fri Oct 12, 2018 9:26 am

Hi All, still ploughing through a 3 car Bullied set that I'm building. But now the time has come to think about the intermediate couplings between the coaches. They will remain as a permanent rake only having working couplings on the extreme ends of the set. I did buy some of David Bradwell's {Box} Couplings but as I keep looking at them I can't help in thinking they are a bit over engineered. I would like to retain the look of a real coupling, which Bradwell's sort of do {in a bad light and from a mile away} keeping all the pipe work etc visible.

What does everyone else use?

Dave
Last edited by Serjt-Dave on Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
BryanJohnson
Posts: 181
Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:45 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby BryanJohnson » Fri Oct 12, 2018 9:55 am

Hi Dave,

For the couplings within fixed rakes I use a modified Bill Bedford coupling.

Details and photos are in Scalefour News 192.

Bryan

User avatar
jon price
Posts: 640
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 2:34 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby jon price » Fri Oct 12, 2018 12:13 pm

The Brassmasters couplings are good. They have all the gubbins, hooks and pipes, but are in reality just a hook that goes behind the buffer beam of the next coach. They come in screw and buckeye, but not Scharnhorst or whatever those modern things are called
coupling_1.JPG

http://www.brassmasters.co.uk/coach_couplings.htm
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Connah's Quay Workshop threads: viewforum.php?f=125

User avatar
steamraiser
Posts: 557
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 4:49 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby steamraiser » Fri Oct 12, 2018 3:28 pm

Interesting that both sets of pipes are ribbed.
Vacuum brake pipes are ribbed and steam heat pipes smooth so you can tell the difference in the dark, so I was told.

Gordon A

User avatar
Serjt-Dave
Posts: 641
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:31 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Serjt-Dave » Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:06 pm

Thanks guys.

Bryan, will take a look at the Bill Bedford ones via MRJ.

Jon and Gordon, I remember theses lost wax ones from many years ago but couldn't remember who made them. As the coaches are Bullied ones it will be the Buckeye versions needed. How I remember the difference the vac brake and heating pipe was the vac was a bloody pain to separate, either in daylight or in the dark. LOL.

Dave

Brian Pearce
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 2:49 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Brian Pearce » Sat Oct 13, 2018 8:31 pm

On Bulleid coaches have successfully used Kaydee couplings under Keen corridor connections.
Easy to couple and uncouple.

Steve Carter
Posts: 643
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:51 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Steve Carter » Sun Oct 14, 2018 8:35 am

Brian Pearce wrote:On Bulleid coaches have successfully used Kaydee couplings under Keen corridor connections.
Easy to couple and uncouple.


What number/type of Kadee did you use Brian?

I am thinking of using Kadee couplings on my rack of Maunsells.

Steve
Steve Carter

Andrew Ullyott
Posts: 225
Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2008 2:31 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Andrew Ullyott » Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:51 am

Steve Carter wrote:
Brian Pearce wrote:On Bulleid coaches have successfully used Kaydee couplings under Keen corridor connections.
Easy to couple and uncouple.


What number/type of Kadee did you use Brian?

I am thinking of using Kadee couplings on my rack of Maunsells.

Steve

Steve
I used one no 19 and one no 20 for my Hornby Maunsell P set on Wheal Elizabeth if that helps.

Brian Pearce
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 2:49 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Brian Pearce » Sun Oct 14, 2018 12:03 pm

No 22 or 25 overset types set into slotted out buffer beam. About to do some Maunsells myself.

User avatar
Serjt-Dave
Posts: 641
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:31 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Serjt-Dave » Sun Oct 14, 2018 3:22 pm

Thanks Brian and Andrew, like Steve I was thinking about Kaydee's and he preempted my next question "what size"?

The only issues I may have with them is I use S&W couplings which also uses a magnet to couple/uncouple, so will have to adjust the Kaydee's so not to be effected by the magnets.

Dave

Brian Pearce
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 2:49 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Brian Pearce » Mon Oct 15, 2018 3:48 pm

I cut off the uncoupling tails so no magnetic effect on the Kaydees.

Brian.

David Knight
Posts: 810
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:02 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby David Knight » Mon Oct 15, 2018 5:03 pm

As I recall S&W couplings are pulled down by their magnets. Kadees are pulled to the side so your average button magnet will have no effect on them.

Cheers,

David

Barry Davis
Posts: 45
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:49 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Barry Davis » Thu Nov 01, 2018 4:54 am

Serjt-Dave wrote:Hi All, still ploughing through a 3 car Bullied set that I'm building. But now the time has come to think about the intermediate couplings between the coaches. They will remain as a permanent rake only having working couplings on the extreme ends of the set. I did buy some of David Bradwell's {Box} Couplings but as I keep looking at them I can't help in thinking they are a bit over engineered. I would like to retain the look of a real coupling, which Bradwell's sort of do {in a bad light and from a mile away} keeping all the pipe work etc visible.

What does everyone else use?

Dave

Hi Dave.
On my Bullied 3 and 4 car sets I used Kadee scale buckeye couplings (set at the correct UK height) between the coaches in the set, and scale screw couplings at the outer end of each end coach in the set.

I know that on the real Bullied coaches the drop buck-couplings were normally buck-eyed coupled together, but I have found it easier to couple the sets to my locomotives with the screw couplings.

Regards
Barry

User avatar
Serjt-Dave
Posts: 641
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:31 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Serjt-Dave » Thu Nov 01, 2018 4:57 pm

Hi Barry, thanks for the post. Kadee couplings have been mentioned before and I was thinking of going that way. But then decided to play around with an idea of using some MJT buck-eyes and make them like the Brassmasters cast ones. As you can see from the image I've cleaned a pair of buck-eyes up and made them fit together. Next is to either drill through them both and insert a brass wire {rod} to act as the hook at one end and the fixing loop at the other end, or I may get away with having the brass wire notched in underneath the couplings. Also the brass wire will have a cross bar to which the brake and steam pipes can be soldered to.

I've had to shut down production of this coupling idea as I need to finish off another coach to attach it to and get dimensions etc. The outer ends of the set will have S&W couplings.
1C.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Brian Pearce
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 2:49 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Brian Pearce » Thu Nov 01, 2018 10:39 pm

Are your coach sets kept on your track or removed for storage etc? Mine have to be taken on and off tracks and being able to just push coaches together to couple with Kaydees is a great advantage. I don’t worry about pipe work as it’s mostly under the corridor connection and like couplings not very visible, certainly when the train is moving.
Tried a semi permanently coupled set and getting it on the track was a pain!

Brian.

Barry Davis
Posts: 45
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:49 pm

Re: Coach Rake Couplings

Postby Barry Davis » Fri Nov 02, 2018 9:30 am

Brian Pearce wrote:Are your coach sets kept on your track or removed for storage etc? Mine have to be taken on and off tracks and being able to just push coaches together to couple with Kaydees is a great advantage. I don’t worry about pipe work as it’s mostly under the corridor connection and like couplings not very visible, certainly when the train is moving.
Tried a semi permanently coupled set and getting it on the track was a pain!

Brian.

Hi Brian,
My 3 or 4-car coach sets are permanently on my layout and never removed, as I am lucky that most of my hidden storage sidings are long enough to store the equivalent of 2 x 4 car EMU's or 7 coaches plus loco.

Only the Bulleid and Maunsell coaches are Kydee coupled within the sets, and as per the prototype, all my ex SR EMU's are screw coupled together in sets, like wise all the parcel vans are all screw coupled together in rakes, and the goods stock are 3 link coupled together in rakes.

Regards

Barry


Return to “Couplings”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: ClaudeBot and 0 guests