Tandem Coupling / Double heading Steam Locomotives

[SwallowAngel]

Hey guys,

 

(Note: All the research outlined below is relatively crude, as i don´t know japanese and had to utilize google translate for most of this. It is likely that i just missed something because of that)

 

I´ve recently been pondering on buying a Kato C57 1 to add to my fleet. This is why I´ve trying to figure out, if there are alternatives to couple 2 steam locomotives together, without using the kinda ugly and un-prototypical Kato tandem coupler, which attaches to the front bogie. And thus I´ve lost my mind and free-time to trying to figure this out...

In a nutshell:

 

I did find a way to couple 2 locomotives together in an elegant and prototypical looking fashion (link to this video by shigemon). And while I found, that using the Kato Z05-0746 coupler  (originally Kato USA part 28-270) seems to be the most popular way of doing this mod, that exact part doesn´t seem to be available anywhere (quite a trend as we´ll see later). Admittedly, I couldn´t check Kato USA, as their parts-website is under maintenance and is thus not available.

 

Doing more research, I found that this mod is possible with other couplers (yay!). As seen here (video by ゆかり) and here (video by でんきちくらぶ) the mod is possible with Greenmax, other Kato (Z01-0239) and even Micro-Train couplers (though MT couplers seem to require heavy modification to the body, which I don´t want to do). However, once again, both Kato and Greenmax couplers are once again seemingly sold out everywhere. 

 

This is where my questions come in:

 

As an "alternative" I did manage to find Kato 28-235. While it does mostly contain stuff irrelevant to the topic at hand, it does seem to contain the Z01-0239 couplers I was looking for. Could anyone perhaps confirm this? I haven´t been able to find any information on the exact contents of this parts bag.

 

I also noticed how similar the greenmax couplers and the Kato 28-187 /  28-188 couplers, so could you perhaps use these as replacements?

 

Shigemon also mentioned, that you could modify z-scale couplers, does anyone know which one he meant? I personally couldn´t find any info on that front...

 

I was also wondering, if there was a way to utilize any other type of coupler (preferably Kato), so any info on that would be appreciated

 

Generally, any info on this topic would be appreciated. I haven´t been able to find a single piece information in english, which is why i am making this post

 

Thanks in advance

Edited March 28, 2023 by SwallowAngel

[disturbman]

Don't rely on shops that have an online inventory to fully gauge availability of parts like couplers. The unusual couplers are often available but only stocked irregularly by the big retailers. Write instead an email to Model Train Plus or Railgallery Rokko enquiring about Z05-0746. These kinds of parts are usually available on order for them. The headache can start once you are sure these and their alternatives are not available.