@*?!^%& Microtrains couplers

[Sir_Tainly]

Last night I spent almost 2 hours trying to fit these damned things I had one set of medium shank truck mounted ones, that i was trying to fit to an old altals 40' and the fit is bad..the trucks ar wobbly . Anyway having finally got these how I wanted the damn car rolled of the table and broke the coupler Have glued it but the springy ness is not so good. Also tried to fit couplers to an atlas caboose using the Rivarossi adapter as recommended..has anyone got this coupler to work ???

Also looking at the 40' car the coupler boxes are visible at each end of the car? Would the short shank ones be better..or would they be too short?

Regards

Simon

 

[MCL_RDG]

"Momma said..."

Momma said there'd be days like this, days like this my momma said!

Thanks for the rant Sir. Not that I'm enjoying your misery or frustration- just sharing in the knowledge that we are not alone- when things just don't seem to go right.

Sir, place the tools on the table and step back, it's a beautiful day for a walk.

Mark

 

[Sir_Tainly]

Cheers Mark,

I did down tools..and went to bed. What was most galling was that I had had to wait weeks for these couplers to arrive LOL ..and in 24 hrs had damaged both set LOL there is a lot to be said for Kadee in HO

 

[kettlestack]

Simon, I sympathise with you having had my share of frustration with MT "assemble 'em yourself" packs.
All my N coupler troubles ended when I decided to fit MT combined truck/couplers.

Errol

 

[Sir_Tainly]

One of these was a premade truck/coupler set but it didn't sit well under the atlas 40', and by the time I had sorted this out, it rolled off the table and the coupler snapped hence I had to disassemble the ready made one and glue it.

Am going to order some replacements today

 

[kettlestack]

Courage alone is not enough ... ... Perseverance helps big time!

Errol

 

[Sir_Tainly]

As does a well stocked wallet..which is why I was annoyed because mine isn't..and certainly is not now

 

[60103]

I remember that I had a couple of cars that never sat right on the trucks. There are a couple of manufacturers who don't have the same pin sizes that MT use, and the hole in the underframe is larger than MT's.
When I started, couplers didn't come assembled. You need some tweezers that spring closed to hold them.And a long piece of fine thread through the coil spring so you can find it again.
Did you break the actual coupler bits? If you can glue that back together, you can do anything.

 

[Gavin Miller]

He heh. I loved all those snarly faces in your post

Not laughing at you. Just empathising. Bin' there, done that!

Good reason NOT to go to Z scale!

MT couplers are fiddly, but they're still the best once they're on properly.

Gavin

 

[davidstrains]

Originally posted by Sir_Tainly
One of these was a premade truck/coupler set but it didn't sit well under the atlas 40', and by the time I had sorted this out, it rolled off the table and the coupler snapped hence I had to disassemble the ready made one and glue it.

Am going to order some replacements today

I had some trouble with wobbly trucks/couplers on Atlas cars---til I read somewhere that you need to use the washer that is provided on one of the bolster pin sprues. Put 'em on and the cars work fine You might give that a try if you haven't already thrown the parts away.

 

[Sir_Tainly]

David (Canada), David (Virginia)

I noticed the pin size difference, but when using the M-T trucks with the M-T pins the trucks flop about a bit and the washer is too thick to be any use here. I think a thinner washer would be more useful, anyway I have found another solution..also fixes the problems with the caboose too. If I understand correctly the 1128 coupler is meant to replace a rapido in the same truck, so if I get a few of these I can use the atlas trucks with m-t couplers and wheels. Thus should get the exact fit with all the benefits of M-T. And yes I have glued the coupler head back on the shaft, but although it works, it sometimes sticks..and the head has a slight droop. I think I will use this truck in a scratch buil project I have with the coupl removed..and it use its brother, which is fine to couple to the train.

Gavin

Hehe I was a biit cross..even after a night's sleep and a 10km cycle ride. I hate modelling projects that try and defeat me

 

[davidstrains]

sir-

I also had some trouble with some cheap cars that I picked up at a train show. The bolster was too big for the hole in the M-T truck. Using a round file mounted in my drill I enlarged the holes to fit the truck and they work fine. I also had to use the pinhole insert on 2 Con-Cor cars because the pinhole was too big.

good luck