I will start by stating, I don't care what the real railroads do in this case, as model railroads do not follow the same conditions as real railroads. Model railroads must fit into much smaller areas and have much more dramatic changes in curves as well as grades as the real ones do.
That being said, what is better for maintaining knuckle couplers coupled, (assuming all the other things everyone will start off by bring up like trackwork, coupler height, etc, are not a contributing factor) body mounted couplers or truck mounted couplers.
It seems like truck mounted couplers have more up and down play in them to compensate for the transitions in changes in grade and the truck mounted couplers are always pointed where the wheels are, not where the body is, but is that good or not? I know body mounted couplers are easier to adjust for coupler height than truck mounted couplers, in fact, other than using an offset coupler, I don't know another way to change the coupler height of a truck mounted coupler.
Again, please don't make your response based on what the prototype has, I want to know what works best on a model railroad in a room of a house, not a model railroad in a rented warehouse or the actual prototype!
Thanks
body vs. truck. body mount is better. way to much play in the truck mount. If you plan on backing in a yard the body mounts hold better than truck mounted.
Here's another post on this.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,16802.0.html
QuoteI don't know another way to change the coupler height of a truck mounted coupler.
Shims are used for helping correct height or loose coupler's. Kaydee sell's shims also.
Body mounted knuckles also look good and are prototype. ;D ;D ;D yea I went there.
Jerry
from an operational standpoint there is no question body mounts are far superior to truck mounts. that is why they have become standard on newer cars & locomotives. the only reason to EVEr use truck mounts is if you want to run very long cars around very sharp curves.
the big problem with truck mounted couplers comes when you try to back them. when backing, the compression force on the coupler will foore it to one side or another, this is true regardlass of which mounting is used. with body mounts, this skewing force is transferred to the car body, allowing the trucks to remain in line with the rails. with truck mounts, the force skews the truck so the wheels are no longer in line with the rails. they tend to derail when backing for this reason. all it takes is for wheel flange to find some small defect in the track like a slightly misaligned rail joint for disaster to occur. the more cars in the string you are backing, the more likely the derailment.
Wow, I never considered the problems with backing up. Point well taken. I may be now considering replacing all the truck mounted couplers with Kadee body mounts.
Thanks guys.
I would start by making all new purchases be body mounted couplers. Spend your time and money on fun stuff not coupler conversions. If you find a spare minute and have a favorite car maybe convert it to body mounted. You can religate your old stock to less active duty. If you want to tinker thats fine. If you like to buy more cars thats fine. Have fun.
on some older stock that someone had given me I used jonathans method for mounting my trucks. it works perfectly.
Jerry
I will answer the subject line. Kadee all the way if you like best for MODEL railroading.
Patience is a requirement for good coupler installations, along with the proper tools and height gauge.
Be advised, the #5 have always been over size.
Rich