jkbixby Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Hello - I'm new to the forum and new to G scale so I'm hoping for a lot of good advice on the several problems I'm anticipating in the future as I get started. I fell in love with live steam traction engines and stationary plants quite a while ago and this led to trains which I already have in the form of two rail scale O gauge. I found a shelf queen Roundhouse SR&RL #24 for a quite reasonable price on Ebay and am really happy with it so far. Even though it will probably not see steam until next year I would like to change the couplers from the single buffer type it came with to a more standard Kadee type knuckle coupler. Has anyone done this and what did you use? I appreciate any help I can get in these early days. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman4449 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Hi there and welcome Do you have any pictures you can post of different angles and views of the area of the coupler you wanting to replace? You are going to have two basic choices to either go with the One Gauge size coupler with scale size coupler knuckle or the larger G scale size (I use the larger size) then you will have two options of a fixed mounted coupler arm that allows for no slack in the train or one spring loaded that does. Either way the mounting will be similar but will need to see what the area looks like. Depending on the situation you can either just direct mount the coupler assembly to the bottom (maybe drill a hole or two for screws) or add a spacer to lower the coupler assembly down so the coupler arm can stick out the back unrestricted. I will also note that you will have options on the coupler offset. They come where the knuckle is centered on the coupler arm or in varying degrees that position the coupler up higher to allow it to reach up. I use Kadees on all my engines and swear by them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkbixby Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 Sorry about the delay getting the pictures but I had a "must do first" project come up from "she who must be obeyed". At any rate here are the pictures - it looks like I be using Kadee G scale couplers, probably with a straight shank, again probably modified to some degree unless someone has a better idea or been there before. I downloaded the Kadee catalog but found that they don't seem to put in the dimensions of the various couplers as to shank length or width. Is this info available anywhere or do I just experiment? Thanks in advance for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman4449 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Hi there, I have generally just experimented. (not sure if I've seen measurements ever posted by Kadee. Also not sure I recall ever looking specifically for that either so.) In my case I have purchased examples of a good variety of ones that I would likely use and keep a pair of each on-hand for anytime something comes up. I tell you what, look at my Engines/Rolling Stock modifications page and look for the topics with Kadee installs. I have a number of photos of the different types of Kadees used and that should probably help give you an idea of what you need. Assuming you want a coupler head that is centered on the coupler arm, sounds and looks like you may want to go with a 789 Kadee. I'm not sure however if you will need a coupler head that is offset (raised) any. See this page if this might help some: http://www.rayman4449.com/Aristocraft_Heavyweight_Kadee.htm What I think you need is that coupler just mounted to the coupler arm on your truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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