When I attempt to couple 1 or 2 cars they invariably roll. Since I have a switching layout this can get anoying. I have all MT- trucks & wheels. Any suggestions to get them to hold still or make them have a "lighter touch" to couple?
Use Micro-Trains "Greas-em" graphite on the couplers and in the draft gear, lightly. This should help some. Often, it helps if you couple a little faster than the slowest speed you locomotive runs at.
Thanks Gregg. I'll try the graphite- I use it to build the couplers but never put in prebuilt ones. I know speeding the loco up will couple, but I'm trying for something closer to proto speed in a yard. I was wondering about more weight or something to make the cars roll less freely. Bill McLean
I think MicroTrains makes and sells a spring that you install between the axle point and the truck side frame. This causes a little bit of friction that would help the free rolling that you talk about. It also helps the back and forth motion of a slow moving train. People that use these springs usually don't put them in all the cars though, just a caboose or the last car in a train. If you put them in all cars the amount of drag would be enough to severly cut the number of cars you could run in a train. This may or may not work for you.
Mike This spring is placed in the Microtrains cabooses to place some drag on the caboose to prevent the yo-yo action you some times see with long trains ans MT couplers. I believe the spring is as you suggest between an axle point and the truck. Another way would be to place a wiper strip on the axle, but I wouldn't do that as the drag may be to great.
There is an easy way to make that "retaining" spring that the posts above were talking about. I have TONS, and I mean tons of rapido trucks in a box because I convert everything to MT's. The spring that comes with the rapido coupler are perfect, after you cut them down by about 1/2 their length. Then place the spring on the cone of the wheel (any side, and any spot in the car)and pop it into the truck. It's as easy as cut, place, and pop in!
Craig- the idea I was looking for! I will begin experimenting. May put one on each- it's a switching layout- short trains- mostly a game- keeps me outta trouble when the weather is too lousy for garden RRing. Thanks, Bill McLean
Bill, I'd love to see a picture of your track plan, and a brief description of how you operate it. I'd interested in how the "Game" works. I operate much like that since I operate alone. Scot
Craig, Thanks for that tip, I have loads of the other type coupler. Since I changed all my couplers to Micro I have no derails that weren’t my fault. I run a set of pretty long units on my layout and I am going to try your spring idea. Thanks [ 23 May 2001: Message edited by: squirrelrun ]
My UP: I used a plan from Don Mitchell's book- Walk Around Track Plans- Bekin United RR on pg. 7. I made it single main line. The game is simply switching cars. Sometimes I'll put a letter on top of each car and the game is spelling a word drawn from a hat with the cars with the least moves. Sometimes we put them in alphabetical order. We do the same in G scale only it's a lot more work. Bill McLean
No problem with the tip guys, it is easy and effective and cheap! I submitted three N Scale Quik Tips to N scale magazine and they used two and left that one out! Oh well.
