Did something yesterday and today I never thought I’d do. Made up two full trains with hook and loops…and track power.
Dug the old Circus carp (sp) out of the dungeon…and the circus engine.
Going to go on a display layout first of the month for 2 months.
Had to borrow some 1600 curves, as I had…three.
I had enough 1500 and straights stored away to now do a double track main loop.
Then I thought, geez, passenger train might be nice, too.
I used to have this huge stack of 42 passenger cars in the dungeon…there are 9 in that pile (not counting the V&T). In that pile were 4 Polar Express cars.
So, got a passenger train for the kids. Probably throw a Chattanooga or Tweetsie at it…maybe with an old Christmas tender shell screwed on.
I usually keep a box up hook and loops until it gets full, then I pitch them and start over. wasn’t quite to the pitch point, so had plenty.
I never pitch Aristo hook and loops until I strip them. The springs in the hook and loops are the same as in the trucks…so free repair parts.
Throw some buildings at it, dig out the old big power packs that have been stored for 20+ years…
Fun.
TOC
Curmudgeon mcneely said:
The springs in the hook and loops are the same as in the trucks…so free repair parts.
Wish I had known that. When I sold off most of my Delton stock I diligently put the hook & Loops back in the box for the next person to figure out what to do with.
The nice thing about hook n loops is they are a no fuss solid connection when you don’t have time or inclination to foodle (like public running). Another is that they are cheap as chips… many folks will send you big boxes of them for postage, to save room in their trash
Joe Zullo said:
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It’s going to be a Christmas layout, pictures will be just like Christmas, you have to wait.
Setup first or second Saturday on November.
Dug out loco #2 for the passenger train.
Version 5 Chattanooga 4-6-0. Actually, new. No marks or wear on drivers.
Hooked and looped tonight.
Track ready to go, still digging for the box with the old power packs in it…I can see it, just not there yet.
TOC
(found a new Heisler in the pile of stuff…still in the Styrofoam and bag…Lukens Steel…go figure)
I see nothing wrong with hook and loops. They are very reliable and if you double them up they will never come apart.
Bob, you are correct.
I gave all mine away and now I want to give a train to the nephew, knowing KD’s probably will not last, so now I have to go on a scrounging expedition.
Hmm… I find Kadees hold up better than the cheap hook and loops from Aristo and USAT… the hooks seem to break off… but maybe I needed a better quality of hook? LGB?
Greg
I don’t like the appearance of hook and loop and where I have encountered them they seem a little difficult to uncouple by hand.
But, the good thing about them is that there is a ready market for them in the UK so my collection, accrued as surplus from the last two years purchases, can be sold, or exchanged, at a forthcoming show.
Greg I’ve been using lgb hook and loops for 20 years and have never experienced a broken one. Can’t beat old lgb quality.
I never use them on my rr…but, when I have 45 days or more of mostly unattended running…hook and loops it is.
I have two bug maulers out…figure they’re junk after this.
Maybe candidates for a BBT chassis.
Metal wheels on all, all coupler tangs axle shaft relieved, journals greased.
Where is this going to be displayed, Dave?
Curmudgeon mcneely said:
Did something yesterday and today I never thought I’d do. Made up two full trains with hook and loops…and track power.
TOC
Hook and loops are great they work, they are cheap and you can mix and match all manufacturers versions. unlike knuckle couplers. Yes the H+K’s do look a bit weird but at 5+ feet away they blend in. I have found LGB to be the best while Bachmann has weaker springs that break down over time.
Aristo ones have strong metal springs but if you leave them outside over time they will rust away.
Uncoupling is easy with any H+K just use a popsicle stick.
If I put hook n loops on my Amtrash fleet would anyone notice the difference when they were under power down the main at a scale 700mph?
I find that hook and loops are more aerodynamic at speed, the nice flat blades help give downforce at speeds over 200 mph, like the spoiler on a NASCAR racer.
So, I would have to say yes, they probably will stay on the tracks better. Of course the sideforce taking curves will throw the passengers across the cabins with deadly force, but what the heck.
Greg
Greg Elmassian said:
I find that hook and loops are more aerodynamic at speed, the nice flat blades help give downforce at speeds over 200 mph, like the spoiler on a NASCAR racer.
Greg
Only if they’re chrome plated, Greg
That does it…
If Dave Goodson is changing over to loop & hooks, then I’m going to do it also.
Starting early tomorrow; I’m converting all 300 pieces of rolling stock. Who cares what they look like. If the L&H’s aid in stability at over 100 MPH, then that is an added bonus.
I can sell all the old Kadee’s and use the money to supplement my income.
I’ll bet, that body mounting the L&H’s will make them preform very well.
In the mean time, during conversion; we can take a break from operations, and start a new organization. We can call it; “The Society for the Care and Preservation of Loop & Hook Couplers, on Large Scale Railroads”…or in short SPLHCLSR We can even add a Chowder, and Whisky factor to the group, and add a dancing, and marching section, for those that feel left out. Meetings can be held wherever one or two members care to sit down and contemplate a loop and hook, while contemplating their place on earth, at the particular moment.
I’ll start a new thread, just for the purpose of promoting this great idea. Dave and Greg can chair the first meeting, from wherever they happen to be. Max Sarisan can be the Eastern vice chairman.
Fred Mills said:
That does it…
If Dave Goodson is changing over to loop & hooks, then I’m going to do it also.
Starting early tomorrow; I’m converting all 300 pieces of rolling stock. Who cares what they look like. If the L&H’s aid in stability at over 100 MPH, then that is an added bonus.
I can sell all the old Kadee’s and use the money to supplement my income.
I’ll bet, that body mounting the L&H’s will make them preform very well.
In the mean time, during conversion; we can take a break from operations, and start a new organization. We can call it; “The Society for the Care and Preservation of Loop & Hook Couplers, on Large Scale Railroads”…or in short SPLHCLSR We can even add a Chowder, and Whisky factor to the group, and add a dancing, and marching section, for those that feel left out. Meetings can be held wherever one or two members care to sit down and contemplate a loop and hook, while contemplating their place on earth, at the particular moment.
I’ll start a new thread, just for the purpose of promoting this great idea. Dave and Greg can chair the first meeting, from wherever they happen to be. Max Sarisan can be the Eastern vice chairman.
I actually did a body mount some h&l’s the other day. Decided I needed a Santa and Elves car…had one of those stupidly short Bach 20-foot gons left…yellow, short sided.
Had no couplers whatsoever…used as parts to keep others of their ilk functional.
Whacked a styrene spacer, drilled…used a couple of those long screws that held bug maulers together…when you cut one up for scrap, you end up with a fair amount…I have an extra large prescription bottle full of the blighters…and voila!
Took a Santa, two Elves, two package piles, and a present bag saved from scrapped…Bach Christmas Handcars, mounted to a yaller sheet of some kind of plastic…glued and screwed…dropped it into the yaller gon…and there’s this Chinese Santa bug-eyeing all the kids.
Hey, I finally get to find a use for all this Circus and Polar Express stuff. Plus, I get to get rid of a whole pile of Bach hook and loops.
I have shelf space now!
I need to mail you the rest of these hook and loops, Ferd.
If nothing else, you can grind them up and add them to some lamp oil…and make some of The White Kitty’s Mushroom Cloud Smoke Fluid!
I wonder if old Clay ever burned hisself up developing that stuff…