rpierce000 Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Has anyone found a good conversion for Kawaii freight cars to knuckle couplers? Thanks, Bob Link to comment
keitaro Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 kato micro trains branded couplers work fine i bought about 40 coulplers month back. all are equipped and looks beautiful. example set http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10003625 Bhort shank are good for the wagons such as http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10153789 But a long shank are better for freigths such as these where the coupler needs extra length to pop out http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10153787 some times you need to clip the wire hanging off the coupler with layouts with grades or lots of points as it can get cought or rub causing d/c or derailments. I'm sure you can get the m/t couplers in us easier than the kato rebranded ones but I am not sure on their item number etc. as a cheaper alternative http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10003622 they are okay but very weak and can uncouple a bit. Link to comment
Guest JRF-1935 Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Keitaro I have a few Taki's that I bought that have the MTL conversion knuckler couplers installed and I've had a lot of problems with these through switches, and minor "humps and bumps" and curves around the layout regarding uncoupling. I made 2 conversion cars with 1 Kato knuckle coupler/rapido, and 1 with MTL/rapido. Same results for both. The Rapidos don't uncouple but the other 2 do. Any help here? Thanks Rich C Link to comment
westfalen Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I've used Micro Trains 2004 couplers on all my Kawai four wheelers. Link to comment
keitaro Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Keitaro I have a few Taki's that I bought that have the MTL conversion knuckler couplers installed and I've had a lot of problems with these through switches, and minor "humps and bumps" and curves around the layout regarding uncoupling. I made 2 conversion cars with 1 Kato knuckle coupler/rapido, and 1 with MTL/rapido. Same results for both. The Rapidos don't uncouple but the other 2 do. Any help here? Thanks Rich C yeah the metal that sticks down catches on the plastic molds on some switches if it does not go down directly in the middle. I cut them to be shorter. the kato ones such as the cheap alternative will uncouple on heavy freights such as taki's when going on inclines some times. also make sure the couplers are same height any height variance even just 1mm out can make them uncouple on bumpy track. Always good to make sure they are flexible too when installing. Link to comment
Guest JRF-1935 Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Thanks Guys Maybe I'll try some more tweaking Rich C Link to comment
clem24 Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 as a cheaper alternative http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10003622 they are okay but very weak and can uncouple a bit. Um those you linked to are scharfenberg couplers, not entirely appropriate for freight cars. Also, these specific couplers have a *VERY* tight fit, about as tight as TN; they do not uncouple randomly. I think the couplers you're referring to are Kato 10-702, which are quite old but widely available and cheap. An even better/more reliable and better looking alternative is Kato part Z05-1376 without trip pins or 923500 from Kato USA WITH trip pins, which are the new type knuckle couplers found in their latest locos. They come packs of 10 or 5 pairs. They are a neat little piece of engineering in that the same coupler fits both body mount Kato locos and any Arnold coupler pocket. Kato Japan: http://www.e-katomodels2.com/shop/g/gZ05N1376/ Kato USA (scroll down): http://search.cartserver.com/search/search.cgi?cartid=s-1078&keywords=coupler&maxhits=25&go=Search&bool=AND&pg=3 Link to comment
keitaro Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 ahh yes you're right i grabbed the wrong link doh. Link to comment
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