A few questions on short couplers

If you have tight curves sometimes changing one coupler is the compromise needed to get close but still negotiate tighter curves. I changed all of them, including the proto coupler.  

Hi MCD, Thanks for the info. I am thinking that I might want to do the one side only as I have all 036 curves and might run into problems.

I thought that bluelinec4 once posted that the minimum radius was 045 for short couplers on both cars. I hope he is right because my rapid transit layout that is under construction uses 045 as a minimum based on that info.

I remove the front coupler on the powered car and add these. They do not function so I add them only to the front powered car.

 

 

Hi Greg. Those look real nice. Where did you find them?

Q-Car makes the H2a couplers in both white metal and brass.  I have the white metal ones on my three subway sets and they look great.  The part numbers are CS362D (white metal) and CB362D (brass).

 

http://www.qcarcompany.com/lis...ts_Exterior.html#HXC

 

Stuart

Thanks Stuart.

Get the short couplers directly from MTH P/N- DD4000005.

I used to deal with Deborah Bensinger or Midge Woburn in parts.

 

Subs will run on 036 curves using short couplers on each end but the safety gates can rub off the paint on the brass parts.

 So put one short coupler on one end only of each car to get them closer and look better.

R-26’s, 36’s & 40’s you’ll have to match the cars to the correct position first since they are single cab units.

Although it looks correct, it’s a project to remove the operating front coupler on all the motor cars.

For me time wise, it’s not worth the effort to do all the motor cars. I’m not into subways much anymore.

Thanks for the advise Steve. I have already ordered six short couplers and I will have to see how it works out. The R36 set will definately get the couplers.

 

Steve, I'm not sure I follow you on the matching the car numbers.

Nothing to do with numbers?

 

Subway cars that connect in pairs (no window on one end) you need to correctly match them up prior to installing one short coupler to each car.

 

So, 1 long and 1 short coupler between them to shorten the gap.

Does that make sense?

 

 Since you only ordered 6 vs.12 couplers, I assume each car in a 6 car set will only get one short coupler.

I received the short couplers today. Wow that was real fast delivery! I saw some on Ebay and ordered six. Three for the R36 four car set and another three for another subway set. They were very easy to install and all is good. Just for the heck of it I tried two short couplers together. Yeah they look great, but as was mentioned they can cause those gates to rub on those 036 curves. At first it looked like it would clear, but there is just enough "play" in the coupler that can cause the gates to rub. Better safe than sorry so it is one long coupler and one short for me.

Hey the gates rub in real life, so it's prototypical. ;-p

You have to put the short couplers on the R-32's those draw bars look terrible!!

It is not easy either but worth it. They look great with them!

TreverDog has a set of R32's that he put the short couplers on, the rubbing chipped the paint off them. As long as this doesn't happen, the shorties make a world of a distance. Ben did my Graffiti set way back when and got me hooked. The next thing is adding Q-Cars fron and rear couplers to finsih the train off.

 

 

The Q-car couplers on my R-16s along with "staple" stirrup! I also added the "missing" metal casting on the front of the trucks glued to the truck box and not the side frames to make i believable! I run on 0-72 curves so i custom made short draw bars so that the cars are 1/8th inch from the anticlimbers, i made the Sinclair antenna from plastruct T stock and the wind shield wiper guards from L stock, Funny, i even painted the wear rust marks on the end gates because every picture i looked at for weathering information showed this along with tons of brake shoe dust! Gman.

Galo your weathering looks great. Can you share how you did or where someone can go for tips.

Wow Gman, your cars look fantastic! I too would like tips on how you do your weathering. Both you and Steve do super work.

Thanks for the kind words,when i rode these trains to school in the late seventy's  this is how i remember them, I use the site nycsubway.org for all photo references  then take note to the dates on how the cars looked upon arrival from the builders, then follow them through the paint schemes and how they all weathered differently and sometimes received only partial repaints that produced different results. But the one thing that improves the weathered look quickly is pay attention to the truck side frames and wheel sides, they are almost never shiny black but dust/ rust tones with the wheel sets themselves a different color, here is a example...click on the pics to blow them up!

Gman for some reason the pictures are not showing up.

 

Gee , i wonder what might be happening because i can see them as plain as day on this side! Webmaster! whats up with that?

The other pictures you posted came through fine. Anyone else not see the second group of photos? Maybe a problem on my computer?

I can't see the second group of photos either.

Here we go, hope this comes out...In the top 3 shots from the site nycsubway.org,retired cars,R16 we have that top scene in a yard that shows so many different rust and dirt tones of the car roofs. i took this into account when i decided to make every car look different and maybe keep one clean, but with dirty under sides as per the proto type in the second picture.The third picture to me shows what i consider the perfect tone, notice in all these pics the truck colors and that wood beam with the pick up shoes is very subdued red and not bright red. my truck side frames were a blend of brushed on grimy black and engine black and i made sure to leave the deep shadow areas black to force a shadow, then i scraped and applied a dusting of chalk"dry" till it looked believable and finished it with a dusting of Testers Dull coat spray. The wheel sides only are a combination of rust and tie brown on the rims with the white quarter marks applied with a tiny brush.I then took a Dremel with a stainless steel wire wheel and polished bright the flat spot where the rails make contact.I also black out the sides of the pick up rollers with black paint(flat) and a sharpie marker.

These pictures are now showing. Thanks for sharing. You make it look too easy, I'm sure it takes some practice to get those results although I am hesitant to do without fear of ruining a car.

Gentlemen, I apologize in advance for reopening an old subject but I've read the thread and in searching the web for MTH short couplers found a reference to DD-0000004 Proto-Couplers which are designed for use on the "F" end of the MTH Doodlebug. In available photographs, the coupler appears to be quite short but appearance can be deceptive. Have you had any experience with these couplers? Are they shorter than those supplied? Would they work on MTH BMT Standard cars?

 

Stuart

 

Did you equip all your subway cars with this coupler.

 

I intend to do that if it works. I have 80 inch radius curves

 

nils.bagelius@telia.com

 

Kindest Regards

 

Nils Bagelius

Hi Nils,

 

The Q-Car H2a couplers are non-operational, so I only equip the first and last car of train with them.  For the rest I use the MTH DD-4000005 short couplers.

 

The only subway cars that I can't use the H2a couplers on are the MTH BMT Standards.  The trucks on them are set farther in from the ends.  I also can't the the DD-4000005 couplers on them for the same reason.  So instead I used the original couplers from the other MTH subway cars which are shorter than the original BMT couplers.

 

Stuart