Double headin' Steam

David, just wondering how you set up the front coupler. I'm trying to do the same thing with two 260's and I'm having a few issues. One being the first tender is being pulled off of the rails on a turn.

Thanks,

Sam

Hi Sam, sorry for the delay in responding, I don't check in as often as I should.

I mounted a small flat head screw with a head thickness and diameter the same size as the hole in the coupler drawbar to the center of the pilot and then used a styrene plastic shim on each side, with the shims also being a bit thicker than the drawbar.  The original screws clamp it all in place and the only "damage" is the small hole in the red pilot piece (as this is an MTH repro, I didn't really care about this).  The shape of the shims limits the swing of the coupler so that it can't hit the  pilotThese pictures should explain it too.

samdjr74 posted:

David, just wondering how you set up the front coupler. I'm trying to do the same thing with two 260's and I'm having a few issues. One being the first tender is being pulled off of the rails on a turn.

 

Thanks,

Sam

When you double head steam engines, the front overhang of the engine on curves can pull the front tender off the track. I tried longer and double jointed couplers to solve this, but the only thing that worked was to use wider curves.  My double headed 259e setup runs on O48 and my double headed 400e setup runs on O72.

George

David McC posted:

Hi Sam, sorry for the delay in responding, I don't check in as often as I should.

I mounted a small flat head screw with a head thickness and diameter the same size as the hole in the coupler drawbar to the center of the pilot and then used a styrene plastic shim on each side, with the shims also being a bit thicker than the drawbar.  The original screws clamp it all in place and the only "damage" is the small hole in the red pilot piece (as this is an MTH repro, I didn't really care about this).  The shape of the shims limits the swing of the coupler so that it can't hit the  pilotThese pictures should explain it too.

Ok, thanks, makes sense. I actually ended up mounting the couple directly to the leading truck with a bent piece of flat stock. So far so good but the engine is in the shop now with a faulty tach board. However when I had it on the track, running at lower speeds it worked perfectly with this set up.

George S posted:

samdjr74 posted:

David, just wondering how you set up the front coupler. I'm trying to do the same thing with two 260's and I'm having a few issues. One being the first tender is being pulled off of the rails on a turn.

 

Thanks,

Sam

When you double head steam engines, the front overhang of the engine on curves can pull the front tender off the track. I tried longer and double jointed couplers to solve this, but the only thing that worked was to use wider curves.  My double headed 259e setup runs on O48 and my double headed 400e setup runs on O72.

George

Good to know, thanks. I'm running 054 and 042 curves and unfortunately, I'm space limited to those diameters. However at lower speeds with a double jointed coupler attached to the leading truck I'm able to get it to work correctly so I think I'm set.

Hi all,

I just wanted to follow up on this and give everyone a final report. I took an old box coupler and bracket, bent it and attached it directly to the leading truck. I'm not running the cow catcher right now but will be in the near future once I modify it a little more. Anyway, here are a few pictures and video showing it in action. Thanks again for all of the help.

Sam

Hi,

Can someone please tell me the part number for the proper spring latch coupler for the front of my LTC 400e?

There is already a slot in the pilot, and a screw hole under the pilot, it looks like a very simple installation.

Any additional advice, tips, or warnings are welcome.

Thanks,

Voila...I found the right coupler on the Hennings webpage. Ordered on Monday, came today, it didn’t take long to put it on my LTC 400e Blue Comet

The Hennings part number: CP-215, Standard Latch Coupler, spring loaded.

Cost: $6 plus $4 shipping.

Thanks,

Edit - I wanted to note that this thread, ( along with a desire to run longer tinplate trains), is what inspired me to come up with a replacement pilot design.  

I recently finished the replacement pilot with coupler for my mth 263e. I need to make a few refinements before paint.  

I am hoping to make a few of these for sale if it works out nicely.