Installing Body Mounted Kadee Couplers on LGB Housecars

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Paul Watkins
5 years ago
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1 Installing Body Mounted Kadee Couplers on LGB Housecars Steven C. Seitel Before (left) and after (right) This easy conversion replaces the stock hook and loop couplers on the LGB housecars with Kadee knuckle couplers. The improvement in realism is seen in the photo above. Preliminaries. This conversion requires only simple hand tools : A sharp hobby knife with #11 blade A fine toothed razor saw A small file Ordinary screwdrivers (1/4 flat and #1 Phillips) An accurate scale (ruler) Hand drill (eggbeater or cordless) with #37 (.104 ) drill bit A section of straight track or two Gel type superglue #4 x 5/8 sheet metal screws (4 per car) In addition, some 3/16 thick ABS or PVC plastic sheet stock will be needed to make coupler mounting pads.1 Hardwood will also work, but must be painted or sealed against moisture if the car is to be operated out of doors. 1 TAP Plastics supplies ABS in custom cut sizes. Russ Miller at the San Leandro, CA. store is especially knowledgeable about large scale model railroad requirements. Couplers, page 1

2 Couplers should all be set to the same height for reliable operation. Kadee makes a handy height gauge which really simplifies this. But if you don't have one, you can make your own from a small block of hardwood; the height of the block is 1 13/64 (1.203 ). Two Coupler Height Gauges Be aware that Kadee makes both G scale and #1 scale couplers; if you buy their height gauge (recommended), be sure you get the right gauge for the couplers you've chosen. Consult Kadee's website2 for all the options. Step by step instructions. This article illustrates installing Kadee #1906 knuckle coupler assemblies on an LGB 4067 boxcar. The method is similar for other eight wheel freight cars. 1. Devise some method to hold the car upside down. Any method that holds the car securely while inverted is fine. For boxcars, refrigerator cars, gondolas, etc., it's particularly convenient to knock together a simple scrapwood stand like this: 2 Couplers, page 2

Invert the car onto the stand. Remove the truck mounted hook and loop couplers and set them aside.

3 Shop-made scrapwood stand 2. To use it, the roof must come off. Four screws hold the roof onto the carbody, one at each end, and one at each side. Remove the screws and lift off the roof. If the doors haven't fallen off already, remove them, too. Set roof, doors, and screws aside for reassembly later. 3. Invert the car onto the stand. Remove the truck mounted hook and loop couplers and set them aside. Remove the trucks and reinstall with the coupler mounting tang directed toward the center of the car. You may cut off the tang instead if you are sure you will not want to reinstall the hook and loop couplers in the future. Couplers, page 3

4 Reversed Normal 4. Place the car on the test track. Using the height gauge and the point of a sharp hobby knife, scribe a horizontal line across the molded on coupler box. Repeat for the opposite end. This is the mounting height reference. Scribing the reference line Couplers, page 4

5. Invert the car onto the stand again. Remove the trucks and set aside.

Remove these screws and lift out the frame, noting how it fits the molded air pipes on the underside of

Saw down along the sides of the molded coupler pocket to the scribed mounting height reference line;

5 5. Invert the car onto the stand again. Remove the trucks and set aside. The black plastic frame is secured with four screws through the body bolsters. Remove these screws and lift out the frame, noting how it fits the molded air pipes on the underside of the floor. Set the frame aside. Save all the screws. Trucks and frame removed 6. Saw down along the sides of the molded coupler pocket to the scribed mounting height reference line; try not to cut any deeper. Use the razor saw to remove the part of the molded pocket that sticks up. This removes the bulk of the waste. Removing waste Vertical cuts Couplers, page 5

7. With razor saw, hobby knife, file or whatever else works for you, remove the remaining waste down

With the file, square up and smooth the opening.

Take your time to get this right. Scrape off the flash. True opening Detail of finished opening 8.

it's very close to 3/16. Hold the Kadee coupler pocket in place, tight against the front of the car.

6 7. With razor saw, hobby knife, file or whatever else works for you, remove the remaining waste down to, but not below, the scribed reference line. A sharp chisel is helpful, but not essential. With the file, square up and smooth the opening. Make it as wide as the molded coupler pocket and as deep as the scribed line. Take your time to get this right. Scrape off the flash. True opening Detail of finished opening 8. Set the frame back in place, and check the depth from reference level to the frame; in this case, it's very close to 3/16. Hold the Kadee coupler pocket in place, tight against the front of the car. The frame will have to be trimmed back about 1/8 as indicated to clear the rear boss of the Kadee coupler pocket. Reinstall the frame after trimming. Check depth Check clearance Couplers, page 6

9. Cut mounting blocks from 3/16 stock, as wide as the frame and long enough to fill the space between frame and car body.

Shove the block all the way forward and cement it to the frame with gel type superglue. Mounting block Glued in place 10.

Drill through the mounting block (but not the floor) with the # 37 bit.

Reinstall the trucks, set the car on the tracks, and verify that the knuckle is at the right height.

7 9. Cut mounting blocks from 3/16 stock, as wide as the frame and long enough to fill the space between frame and car body.3 Verify that the mounting block is the same height as the reference surface. Shove the block all the way forward and cement it to the frame with gel type superglue. Mounting block Glued in place 10. Hold the Kadee coupler pocket in place and use the sharp point of a #4 sheet metal screw to mark the mounting hole locations. Drill through the mounting block (but not the floor) with the # 37 bit. Assemble the Kadee knuckle coupler assembly and screw it to the mounting block. Mark holes Mount coupler 11. Reinstall the trucks, set the car on the tracks, and verify that the knuckle is at the right height. Reinstall the doors and roof and you're done! 3 This can be done with simple hand tools, but it's pretty tedious work. A jigsaw will speed the work considerably. If you have access to a table saw and know how to cut small plastic parts safely, you can crank out mounting blocks by the dozen. Couplers, page 7

8 Final check Couplers, page 8

40 & 50 Foot PS-1 Box Car Assembly Instructions

40 & 50 Foot PS-1 Box Car Assembly Instructions 40 & 50 Foot PS-1 Box Car Instructions Push the #2100 coupler/stirrup assembly onto the ends of the metal floor. Slide them into the slots and slightly lift the ends (wings), then press firmly on the front