Hi all,

For those who operate:

Which couplers are you using?

How do you uncouple?

Is your layout at ground level or elevated?

What scale are your trains?

What minimum radius do you use?

Thank you!

HJ

Which couplers are you using?

Kadee = the 831, 835 and 837’s that some cal G size and a few Accucraft. I got the brake line/tail off the Kadees.

How do you uncouple?

Straight blade screwdriver.

Is your layout at ground level or elevated?

Yes, and yes

What scale are your trains?

1:21.4 or give or take a little

What minimum radius do you use?

Minimal 8ft, except in the approach to Owl’s Bend Mine, which is 6.5.

My indoor layout was designed to be operated…though not much has been done so far.

Couplers are Kadee “G” scale.

I generally uncouple with magnets though I’m known to reach under and flick the “airhose”. Some uncoupling can be done by screwdriver but much is out of reach for that type.

Layout is raised to 42" which I have found to be a tad too high for operation…hard to get over the bay window… My outdoor layout will be much lower…24" to 30". This will allow the use of the screwdriver as the standard.

Indoor is currently 1:29 50’s era US outline. I’m planning on changing it to a modern USA narrow guage…my own creation in 1:Don’t you dare put a ruler to it! My outdoor layout when complete will be modern 1:29.

Indoor minimum is 8’ diameter…outdoor will be 10’ diameter on one division and 15’ on the other.

Warren

Which couplers are you using?

 Kadee, only reasonable appearing couplers with remote uncoupling.

How do you uncouple?

 Kadee uncoupling magnets, mounted as recommended.

Is your layout at ground level or elevated?

 From ground level to 21" in the air in raised planters.

What scale are your trains?

 Most are 1:29, but have Bachmann shay and 10 wheeler, so some 1:20.3 I guess.

What minimum radius do you use?

 5' min radius on innner, outer is 7' min radius. All trains run on both.

Questions that are also relevant:

Body or truck mount:

 Changing to body mount, less couplers riding over each other in long trains, much more reliable backing of  long trains.

G scale or #1 scale:

 I use the G scale Kadees, larger, but stronger. Body mounts on USAT cars do not need shims.

Regards, Greg

My layout is still in the rebuilding process, though not much operation going on at the present. I’m trying to eliminate the mistakes I made on the first layout although I do have to say I had a lot of fun with it.

During the course of the change I switched from track power to R/C and batteries. I’m also using Temille ground throws on all my switches except the stub switches I’m building. The track is a mish-mash of Aristo, LGB, and Micro engineering aluminum, with some Llagos Creek thrown in…

http://www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/4497/layout.html

Which couplers are you using?

   Kadee's 820's and 821's, body mounted

How do you uncouple?

    either lift the cars or use a screwdriver................

Is your layout at ground level or elevated?

    mostly groundlevel, though at the driveway end it's raised about 36" and inside about 40"

What scale are your trains?

    Mostly B'mann , some 1:20 and 1:22.5

What minimum radius do you use?

    8'

[color=blue]Which couplers are you using?[/color]

Aristo Delton Classic / Bachman / USA Trains knuckles (generally compatible) - All truck mounted

[color=blue]How do you uncouple?[/color]

Modified screwdriver, letter opener and other tools to lift pin from underneath

[color=blue]Is your layout at ground level or elevated?[/color]

Both

[color=blue]What scale are your trains?[/color]

I’m with Ric at 1:21.4 +/- .00007598726

[color=blue]What minimum radius do you use?[/color]

R1 (2Ft Rad.) Indoors in yard. 10 Ft. Minimum outdoors. Some equipment restricted from R1 territory.

JR

I use the Aristocraft Knuckle couplers which I uncouple by hand .

I have some 5’ curves, mostly using 8’ curves with some 10’ curves.

Just about all of my rolling stock is 1/29 with a few Bachman cars thrown in.

My outdoor railroad is ground level, indoor railroad is about 50" high.

Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Hi all,

For those who operate:

1. Which couplers are you using?

2. How do you uncouple?

3. Is your layout at ground level or elevated?

4. What scale are your trains?

5. What minimum radius do you use?

Thank you!

1. Primarily Kadee 830, 789, 835, with a few USA in custom mounts.

2. Usually use a screw driver. Haven’t had the patience to fuss with magnets outdoors.

3. Yes.

4. 1:29 with a few 1:20, a 1:24 C-16, and some 1:22.5 (I think, but who really knows)

5. Minimum radius is 10 ft. Radius, not diameter.

You are welcome

For those who operate:

1. Which couplers are you using? - Accucraft.

2. How do you uncouple? - Lift bars, or press up on the thingie the lift bar is connected to…

3. Is your layout at ground level or elevated? - both, but most of the places I switch are at ground level. I also have ground level switch throws

4. What scale are your trains? - primarily 1:20

5. What minimum radius do you use? - hard to tell with flex track. Probably about 9 feet

Thank you! - Do I win the prize?

Sorry Bruce, no prize.

Just interested to see how others do it and what is in use.

Looks like a fair bit of Kadee stuff.

Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Hi all,

For those who operate:

Which couplers are you using?

How do you uncouple?

Is your layout at ground level or elevated?

What scale are your trains?

What minimum radius do you use?

Thank you!

AC , Kadee , LGB knuckle , LGB H&L , [ Euro all H&L ]

manual uncouple , and manual track switching [ Always works , low maintaince ]

Elevated 3 feet

All the various scales of outdoor trains

5 foot min Radius

And thanks for asking HJ , the results are interesting

HJ asked:

Which couplers are you using?
[b]* Kadee ‘#1’ size, body mounted for the 2’ gauge construction RR.

• Kadee ‘G’ size, body mounted for the 3’ & SG RR.
• Link & pin with a Kadee on each end of ‘unit trains’ such as ballast, gravel and logging cuts.
• Accucraft couplers on the Accucraft cars.[/b]

How do you uncouple?
Kadee magnets and / or a homemade ‘blade on long dowel’ tool.

Is your layout at ground level or elevated?
Elevated ~16" (~40cm) above ground level.

What scale are your trains?
1:20.3.

What minimum radius do you use?
~24" (~60cm) for the 2’ gauge construction RR.
~48" (~120cm) for the 3’ narrow gauge RR.
To be determined for the SG RR

Happy RRing,

Jerry Bowers

…with some people using a mish-mash of couplers together; I have to ask what some of you consider as “Operation” ?

Or is running in circles, with no switching or dedication to real railroad practises considered “Operation” amungst typical Garden Railroaders ?

In real railroad operation, little operation could take place without standardization of couplers. Then there is the scale issue…it would be hard to see how NG equipment could be run without 3rd rail in a SG operation, let alone equipment of different scales…
It would be a bit weird to see 1:20.3 box cars in a train of 1:29 equipment, for example…and then seeing obvious NG type equipment running in SG consists…

I gues Garden Railroaders just run what they like with little care for real railroad practises, and there are few MODEL RAILROADERs out in the garden.

This is not in any way suggesting to anyone that they can’t do anything they want…just an observation.

Fred Mills said:
....with some people using a mish-mash of couplers together; I have to ask what some of you consider as "Operation" ?

Fr. Fred,

That was going to be my follow up question.

To my mind, operation is the ability to make up and break up trains at any car, and to set out and pick up cars, not necessarily on a schedule, but following the equivalent of waybills.

Regards, Greg

All of my couplers are (more or less) compatible. Some, like the Aristo Classic -> Bachmann take special technique, like closing the Aristo knuckle by hand before making the hitch. Then the USA -> A/C or Bachmann usually take a harder hit to get the pins to drop. Much of this could be solved if I did some work on the couplers to clean and lubricate them. BTW - When watching to prototype I often see coupling problems that take adjustments and several attempts. I’ve even heard them on the radio complaining about coupler height mis-matches.

My operations consist entirely of making up and braking trains with an occasional set-out somewhere on the main (I don’t have any industries built yet). Current operation are as a museum/tourist line with ‘photo freights’ and car moves staged for the paying customers.

JR

Fred asks , with some people using a mish-mash of couplers together; I have to ask what some of you consider as “Operation” ?

Or is running in circles, with no switching or dedication to real railroad practises considered “Operation” amungst typical Garden Railroaders ?]

Fred , to answer some of your questions from here in Indiana …
For the mish-mash of couplers together here , …Kadee will couple to and hold AC , LGB knuckle , LGB knuckle will couple to and hold AC and Kadee . AC will not couple to and hold to anything but another AC .

The scraps of catenary wire make wonderful uncoupleing tools for H&L couplers .

From my HO operation years , I still like to do operations on the outdoor layout , 2 small yards here , one an Inglenook yard .
And operations exatly like the NS branch here thru town …sometimes the local has no cars . So just running a locomotive , is correct , funny , but correct .
I still have pads of #19 and #31 train order tissue , Switch list cards , interchange paper work , and so on and etc .
Or I just pretend that my RC controller , is a WT , and tell em , come on back , and that’ll do . [ RR scanner talk ]
or talk to the dispatcher far far away .

My biggest critics are my Brother and my son , who both work on the railroad . But there are benifits to that also for a train fan . But they can , and do , some serious NIT PICKIN , on our model trains and the lack of cut levers and so on and on . Bit they know I do this for fun and relaxation .

Share the joy

Mish-mash? That’s my coupling technique

For me, “operation” means having a purpose for the railroad. Product from an industry is transported elsewhere. Product from elsewhere is transported to industries. Currently I have no set method to determine what gets shipped to where. At one time I used 3x5 cards to make that determination but have not made new ones for the current layout. Nor am I sure I want to continue with that method.

What really gets me around here is the way people install their Kadees. I belong to a club that has determined that Kadees are the club standard. That’s fine with me but ask one of the others in the club if they set theirs with a guage and they give you a blank stare. Their response is usually “I set mine high enough the pins don’t drag” which means about an 1/8" too high… One person uses #1 couplers body mount. “G’s” are too big and talgos don’t look prototypical, but when I back my “set by the guage” G-coupler equiped car up to his, my big unprototypical coupler will pass underneath his… So much for standards.

Fred, I will have to say that the operating session at Marty’s went successfully even though there was a mish-mash of couplers. It was a tad aggrevating at times, but it did work.

Warren

Fred when you posted Or is running in circles, with no switching or dedication to real railroad practises considered “Operation” amungst typical Garden Railroaders ?] Where you leaving out the coal trains here in the USA that slow to 5 mph and are loaded …on a big loop of track and one switch/turnout , at the mine , and travel to the power plant , and travel another closed loop of track thru one switch turnout again , to empty the coal cars , while moving 5 mph , and then return to the mine again , repeat . Easy to modelel , 2 turn around loops , and 2 turnouts , with track distance between return loops . 3 Dash 9’s , some coal cars , and a person is doing real operations . Squaw Creek , for many many years brought 28 loaded cars to the plant , and took 28 cars with them back to the mine …another great to model operation , that I watched for 37 years or so every day . Now NS and IS does the coal trains in and out . CSX does the non stop coal train at the other PP Of course the Warrick train with the 28 cars had cut levers to operate the couplers with , so they could switch trains , because there was no magnet in between the rails to uncouple with , like with Kadee couplers . Real railroad practises , as defined by whom ? Share the fun My humble attempts at modeling “outside”

[img/]

[img/]