just wondering why almost all engines have open pilots with truck mounted couplers? n scale used to be that way. will z eventually change also? is it because of sharp curves? thanks....
Yeah the tight radius curves in Z are the main reason. A standard minimum curve in Z is 145 mm radius. That's an equivalent of a 7.8 inch radius curve in N scale. I personally would like to see 195 or even 220 mm become the minimum in Z and get away from truck mounted couplers on locomotives. They make the scale seem toy like. Many AZL locomotives come with pilots that can be installed by the customer, with a dummy knuckle coupler, that fills in the gap. It rally improves the look, but I would rather have a working auto latch or MTL coupler body mounted for switching. Matt
I hear you... I would bet that will be coming in the near future as z gets stronger. im just beginning to get a handful of z to try out. I never thought n scale would look big! thanks....
I'll add that the AZL GP38-2 is not advertised to come with the optional pilots, although the one SP unit I got had them. I think all other AZL locomotives have them. The SD70s have an auto latch coupler pilot and plow.
Except for the first run of GP7s which have a removable truck mounted coupler, you have to permanently cut off the coupler. They do sell replacement trucks at $35 a pair of you want to go back. I have some 145 radius turns so I run with the front pilot filled in and the rear truck mounted and so engine looks good for photos but is still functional. On the first run of GP7s the removable coupler would some times pull out when pulling long trains so they went to the permenanty mounted design on later engines. Matt
As Curn says, all* of the newer AZL locos come with a pilot/plow mounted coupler. It is a solid one-piece coupler (called a dummy coupler), is 100% compatible but will not Autolatch (you must lift the loco up and over the other coupler). The swing of this coupler is limited so similar to a body mount coupler. This works OK with larger radii but does not work well when no transition curves are used (straight track direct into a 195/220 curve). As long as there is a transition curve (like using a straight->490->220->195mm transition or, flex), you can get away with a body mount.
Remember the new AZL locos don't just come with a pilot/plow, but an extra trucks to be used to replace the truck with the coupler mounted on it. Look under the packaging of the SD70ACes, GP30s, SD45s, F3s and E8s for the bonus truck! Rob
