Hornby Stanier to P4 around 3' curves

[Steve Carter]

Hi Martin

I’m pleased with the buckeyes, especially as they worked when shunting on St Merryn.

I intend to add coupled vacuum and hanging steam heat pipes so hopefully that will help even more?

These coaches are destined for my own future project which will be a “might have been” in the East Sussex area. Curve radiuses will be similar to those we have on St Merryn so I’m happy that my attempts survived the Carriage Siding shunt!

Steve

[martin goodall]

I agree that the buckeyes really do seem to do the biz.

The only problem is that the coaches I am modellling did not have buckeyes. So I have to look at the other coupling types available from Keen Systems and (as Tim Venton has pointed out) these are a little too conspicuous - mainly due to the height at which they are mounted. I am wondering if I can adapt them so that they are closer to the underside of the coach ends.

[Philip Hall]

I have to take a mild issue with one of Martin's comments. about the close coupling system being devised by Kean Components. Their version of the 'expanding coupling' may be of their own devising, but the system fitted to Bachmann and Hornby stock, and which Steve has used (with the Kean heads) on his Maunsells, was first used by the Austrian firm of Rowa in the early 70's, later taken on by Roco (in a big way) when they took them over. Maybe patents have expired or they negotiated the use of the system, but what we have now is an almost exact copy of the Roco ones. Indeed, the couplings supplied by Hornby are almost the same, bar the uncoupling dropper, which is a dead loss and should be removed.

It's interesting that the Kean buckeye seems to lock the two coupling bars rigidly together, which is exactly what is required to make the system work. The coupling has to be rigid between the two vehicles for the mechanism to force the carriages apart on curves. The over-centre spring returns the vehicles together after the bend, and also pulls them very lightly together. A sprung gangway, whilst very nice, is not essential in this case so long as the coupling is rigid and cannot bend in any way. But Steve's sprung gangways do look very nice indeed. Nice to see carriages properly close coupled.

Philip

[grovenor-2685]

I am wondering if I can adapt them so that they are closer to the underside of the coach ends.

I'm sure you can. Tim did.
See http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=24138&start=150#p710856
Keith

[Tim V]

A further note on this, the couplings fell apart at Southampton, obviously the plastic used by Hornby is unglueable with the solvents at my disposal

My solution a nut & bolt, I only had one 16BA nut left so it's got a 14Ba at t'other end

IMG_0932.JPG

No brakes in note, I haven't been able to test this coach thoroughly yet.

[gruntphuttock2000]

I've just finished a conversion and found that to retain free running I had to shave some plastic off the insides of the bogey frames. I also had to reposition each brake block individually as otherwise it appeared impossible to avoid some contact with the wheelsets and producing unwanted braking. It has made it round the 3' curve, rolling solo downhill, and survived a little shunting without taking to the dirt yet but testing is not yet complete. I hope I'm not inviting Sod's Law to interfere by writing this prematurely.

Rog