ANY UPDATES ON SHELF COUPLERS?

NO!  Thank heavens.

Hi Alan,

Jimmy Booth is the owner of Glacier Park Models so you may try emailing him at the Glacier Park Models contact email below and see where he is at with regards to the O scale shelf coupler project.  Or even find out if he is indeed the correct contact and then be kept up to date with the latest progress.  If indeed Jimmy is getting these done, then he will have the best first-hand knowledge to share vs. second hand info on this forum.  At least he'll know that there are buyers waiting as he'll want to sell as many as he can once they are available since he will most likely be footing the bill for getting them made in the first place .

rocky@glacierparkmodels.com

Scott

GPM website last updated 9/17 no mention of shelf couplers.

Protocraft 100 ton roller bearing trucks are back in stock and now Jimmy doing shelf couplers.   Good times for modern modelers as well as us antique era modelers

Scott,

Thank you for the address,sent Jim an email but it came back to me with a failure notice. What do you make of that?

Al Hummel

 

....sent Jim an email but it came back to me with a failure notice. What do you make of that?

 

Bad typing skills, server down, some setting somewhere had an unhappy electron....could be a host of reasons.

I'll bite, what is a shelf coupler?

Couplers used on tank cars that have shelves or pieces of steel to prevent them from coming uncoupled. I believe they act to keep the couplers level? Try and google it for the real thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tightlock_coupling

Rule292 posted:

Protocraft 100 ton roller bearing trucks are back in stock and now Jimmy doing shelf couplers.   Good times for modern modelers as well as us antique era modelers

Rats! Looks like proto48 only?

http://www.protocraft.com/cate...49&Categoryid=31

I wonder if the wheel sets could be swapped out for regular O gauge? Are the trucks built narrower?

Very much narrower.  Easier to convert track than trucks.  They are beautiful.

bob2 posted:

Very much narrower.  Easier to convert track than trucks.  They are beautiful.

I'll have to pass then. I have no interest in switching again. Too far along.

Wasatch Model Company was advertising 100 Ton Roller Bearing trucks in O5W in the online O scale magazine as late as last summer.  The photo in the magazine ad of these Barber S2 100 Ton Roller Bearing trucks looked almost identical to the ones that Protocraft once carried in O5W before they sold out.  However, I did not see a reference to the trucks on the web site.  If you are interested, drop him an email or call (contact info on the website).   

Scott 

Scott Kay posted:

Wasatch Model Company was advertising 100 Ton Roller Bearing trucks in O5W in the online O scale magazine as late as last summer.  The photo in the magazine ad of these Barber S2 100 Ton Roller Bearing trucks looked almost identical to the ones that Protocraft once carried in O5W before they sold out.  However, I did not see a reference to the trucks on the web site.  If you are interested, drop him an email or call (contact info on the website).   

Scott 

 

Scott,

I followed your suggestion & contacted Wasatch Models in 2016 when you mentioned about these 100-ton trucks on these forums but never heard back from them.

Thanks,

Naveen Rajan

Earlier last fall Wasatch sent out an E mail for one last run of these trucks, their builder in Korea was willing to do one last run. I have not heard anymore on this project and I am on the mailing list.

Joe,

Look at Bill Davis/American Scale Models for 5'-0" gauge 100 ton roller bearing trucks.  He's got several styles and I believe they are very similar to the Protocraft trucks excepting the gauge of course.

Jim

big train posted:

Joe,

Look at Bill Davis/American Scale Models for 5'-0" gauge 100 ton roller bearing trucks.  He's got several styles and I believe they are very similar to the Protocraft trucks excepting the gauge of course.

Jim

no bearings in the one set I got

SCOTT KAY,

Thank you for the Glacier Park email,again. Tried a new message & it went through fine this time. Am using yahoo,so after everything bad I keep hearing about them,must assume it had something to do with them on the 1st try.

Thanks again.

Al Hummel

Engineer-Joe posted:

big train posted:

Joe,

Look at Bill Davis/American Scale Models for 5'-0" gauge 100 ton roller bearing trucks.  He's got several styles and I believe they are very similar to the Protocraft trucks excepting the gauge of course.

Jim

no bearings in the one set I got

Do you mean no rotating end cap bearings or no actual ball bearings in truck side frames ?

American Scale Models trucks do not have ball bearings in the truck side frames, they just use a bronze bearing (bronze is porous so it holds oil well and makes for a good friction type bearing material) which is similar to the style of bearing that Atlas O and Lionel use.  The Protocraft trucks have actual ball bearings, similar to the type found in the link below, pressed into the truck side frames and do roll noticeably better than the bronze bearing style trucks.  Not to say that the solid bearing trucks don't roll well, because they do roll nice, it is just that the ball bearing trucks still roll better.  

Both trucks do have actual external rotating bearing caps, though.

http://www.onlinebearingstore.com/fr-series.html

Scott

That cannot be the deal breaker?

It is not a deal breaker for me, I have trucks from all manufacturers .   I will say that if you are an operations-oriented modeler, then the Protocraft trucks almost roll "too good".  By that I mean, if you spot a car equipped with Protocraft ball bearing trucks at a warehouse loading dock door and it is not PERFECTLY flat at that location, then the Protocraft-equipped car will spot itself next to the warehouse door that is flat (or even follow you back to a level spot on the mainline whether you want it there or not ).

Scott

I suspect we'll hear more on the shelf couplers by the end of the month.  Looking forward to them once they arrive.

Obviously KD would be the ideal mfg to produce O scale shelf couplers as they have both types SE & SF available in their HO line and if done in O would be far more realistically priced for large purchases, apparently they have not expressed any interest so far, I have not seen any website yet that is considering doing these, am I missing something?

Engineer-Joe posted:

Couplers used on tank cars that have shelves or pieces of steel to prevent them from coming uncoupled. I believe they act to keep the couplers level? Try and google it for the real thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tightlock_coupling

 

Got it now.  Thank you very much.  Never too old to learn.

hibar posted:

Obviously KD would be the ideal mfg to produce O scale shelf couplers as they have both types SE & SF available in their HO line and if done in O would be far more realistically priced for large purchases, apparently they have not expressed any interest so far, I have not seen any website yet that is considering doing these, am I missing something?

No doubt Kadee would be the ideal mass producer of these couplers, much like they have done in other scales.  However, also like other scales, you'll find other companies that target more realistic operation or accuracy in their couplers, such as Sergent Engineering.  Protocraft also offers E style couplers in O Scale with a more prototypical appearance, operation and gearbox.

Keep your eye out as Jimmy Booth has been working on these so they could be under Hi-Tech Details or Glacier Park Models or even something else.  I haven't seen all the details, but I know it's coming soon!

Very much looking forward to these new couplers!

KD offers "E" style couplers in their O gauge 740 series now. Sergent does not offer any O Scale couplers.

hibar posted:

KD offers "E" style couplers in their 740 series now.

And has for a few years.

hibar posted:

KD offers "E" style couplers in their O gauge 740 series now. Sergent does not offer any O Scale couplers.

Yep, just was an example of a company that despite Kadee offering mass market scale head E style couplers went ahead and offered a more accurate coupler in HO, even some 1/64th couplers as well.   Never hurts to have options, Kadee's are great use them now on most of my stuff, and yes the 700 series is my preference.

John,

These will be in kit for at least at the start. No price list yet.

Al Hummel

To All Us Modern Era Modelers from 1975 on,

The couplers Jimmy Booth is bringing out are Protocraft in design,the only difference will be the E couplers with a double safety shelf,(SE),are for use on tank cars and the lower shelf coupler,(SBE),are for use on all other equipment.  There's also an H Tightlock coupler for use on passenger cars. They can be uncouplerd with cut levers or with a magnetic tool that's offered from Protocraft.

I have some of the Protocraft E couplers and they work great with the Kadee couplers on an MTH car,what number those are I don't know,and the newer Atlas couplers. Older Atlas couplers work with the Protocraft too, but require some "5 fingure assist."

Kadee keeps saying the shelf coupler's on their "to do list," but other things are ahead of that project. In HO,the 119 Kadee dbl shelf coupler's lower shelf isn't designed like the Prototype in configuaration, and the reason that was given to me back then, was that to have the prototype design for the shelf required a coupler design like the Sergent Coupler. So I'm thinking the O Scale coupler will use the same design. I'm glad Mr. Booth's coupler is making it onto the market 1st. I'm a "hands on" modeler that likes to do things as much like the Prototype train crews as possible,so these will be the ultimate in realism for me and others like me.

Al Hummel

JGTRH62,

My pleasure to pass on what little I know ASAP. Been following what started as "hoped for couplers," years ago and what started REALLY taking shape last May when Jim Lincoln sent me these couplers in the following link. https://www.dropbox.com/s/brli...8%2011.27.03jpg?dl=0. They should be really great. Don't know the price yet,but being offered as kits,should keep the cost within modelers' reach. That's what Jim Lincoln said last year, that this should make shorter runs possible. Protocraft offers assembled E couplers at about $5.99 per coupler They sell them at 5pr for around $59.99 plus shipping. Since I'm broke for now,I figure to place couplers in key places until funds pick up from sales of my HO&N scales. In an 8 car grain train,I might put a coupler on each end of the train&1 or 2 in the middle of it. The old Atlas couplers that have to be "slammed" together to couple,will get replaced ASAP,then 3 rail cars that have to be converted over to 2rail trucks and couplers such as MTH boxcars. The newer Atlas couplers couple much more freely next to Kadee,of which I only have a few. If I outfitted all my cars and diesels assuming the couplers cost $7.00 per coupler,I end up with $1680. That's a LOT of selling HO&N.

Will post more as I hear it.

Al Hummel

@hibar posted:

Earlier last fall Wasatch sent out an E mail for one last run of these trucks, their builder in Korea was willing to do one last run. I have not heard anymore on this project and I am on the mailing list.

My apology if I never answered.  I did a run of the 100 ton trucks and the reason they look like the Protocraft trucks is because I produced the Protocraft Trucks for Norm with OCS !   I’m doing one last run of passenger car trucks with OCS NOW, no freight trucks.