USA Trains American Series Woodside Reefer & body mounting Kadee centerset 789s

I chose to use the older, but still available, Kadee 789 centersets without cutting off or notching out the car’s end sill draft gear area. The Kadee 789s are physically smaller than the newer #907s but larger than the #1 scale couplers - a nice mid size alternative that I think still looks good on the car whilst affording more operational tolerance on a layout.

Illustrated below is an example American Series Woodside Reefer car fitted with body mounted Kadee 789s, whereby, the coupler shank is inserted through the car’s draft gear opening - albeit enlarged/modified. The couplers align with the Kadee 880 gauge.

In order to mount the Kadee assembly, its box & lid are also modified with coupler, springs and lid installed in situ.

For full detail, including "how to’s, see vignette (article) hosted for me by Greg E. on his Web site, title:
USA Trains American Series Woodside Reefer & Body Mount Kadee 789s

-Ted

I did something similar, using a USAT coupler. It’s right at Kadee height, and works well with Kadees. A shot of brown cammo paint from a rattle can not only weather’s the coupler, but adds enough friction to prevent inadvertent uncoupling.

Hi Steve,

Can you post picture/s of your car showing its body mounted USAT coupler?

BTW, What caused you to use paint that “…adds enough friction to prevent inadvertent uncoupling” with the USAT coupler?

Thank you,

-Ted

Ted and Steve, you guys have the same beard! (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)

Ted Doskaris said:

Hi Steve,

Can you post picture/s of your car showing its body mounted USAT coupler?

BTW, What caused you to use paint that “…adds enough friction to prevent inadvertent uncoupling” with the USAT coupler?

Thank you,

-Ted

Hi, Ted. Yes, I can post a pic or two. Probably tomorrow.

I think it was Dave Goodson that gave me the tip. It works.

Finally got it done, Ted. Here ya go…

Body Mounting USAT Couplers to USAT Woodside Reefers Click

Thank you Steve for your input.

Looking at your article with respect to choosing and using the USAT coupler rather than Kadees still seems to have drawbacks - as mentioned the projected length to make them work on curves of maybe 8 to 10 foot diameter. That said it does look simple and has little impact on the car.

As to the USAT couplers “…(opening) under the stress of a long train…”, what is the cause of this that necessitates using paint as a fix (really masking the problem)? I would think the paint could ware away and the problem return.

Anyway, the thread here is about choosing and using body mount Kadees on the car that works on 8 foot diameter curves - likely tighter, but I don’ t have that small of track to try it out.

-Ted

Ted, you did ask for the photos.

The problem with updating a 9 year old article wwith new photos is that not everything gets updated. The statement about derailing on a 6 ft curve was referring to the original placement of the coupler. Click here for old article. The placement of the coupler in the update corrects that fault. I haven’t had any problems on 6 ft diameter (3 ft radius) since changing.

The problem with uncoupling is from the vibrations activating the uncoupling mechanism, as both RIC and Dave have said. A squirt of paint from a rattle can provides just enough friction to solve this. It also helps Bachmann couplers, which I have also body mounted at Kadee height. That done, all three couplers Kadee, USAT, Bachmann (and Aristo) play nicely together. This is a hobby. Try different things, see what works. If the paint starts to rub off, so that the couplers start to open, a shot of paint (not too much) is all that is required to restore function. Maintenance.

Sorry that I stepped on your toes. I thought the thread was about going outside of the box on USAT Reefer couplers. You say is is about Kadees only. You did ask for the information.

Hi Steve;

Yes, I did ask for the pictures and no, you did not step on my toes. And thank you again for your inputs. I just wanted to make sure the thread would not go astray.

I like to use all Kadess across all brands of cars for assured interfacing and good operation. The trip pin uncoupling over the Kadee track magnet is also nice.

Whilst I know some folks found work arounds as a fix, I had trouble with different manufacturing batches of Aristo knuckles pulling apart or unlatching and every manufacturer seems to have their own propriatary take on their knuckle design and how far from the rail head they are placed. With Kadee couplers carefully mounted and distanced from the railhead, conforming to their gauge, makes for good operational consistency across all product brands.

-Ted