Need Help .. Forney Loco Rear Coupler

[TJJTrain]

Hello and ?

I read that the 18 radius derailment problem with the On30 Forney Loco can be solved by replacing the rear coupler.

? Has anyone done this and if so what coupler did you purchase ??

thanks  !

[NarrowMinded]

I have heard of people using a long shank coupler, I tried a long drawbar connected to a bogie and it worked ok but turnouts were still an issue, I ended up bashing my forney into a 2-4-0 with tender because of the problems

Nm

[Anubis]

The only reasonable way that I could run my Forney on my 15" (yes, you read it right!) radius curves without sweeping the following cars off the rails, was to run it in reverse, where the front overhang was slightly less than the HUGE rear overhang....

Like NM, I converted my Forney to a 2-4-0 with a small tender: she is now the best-behaved loco on my tramway.

[John Tumolo]

I found that by trying the long shank coupler on the rear I was able to get around 18" curves without "throwing"  the following car off the track.  If your track is fairly level, the "long center shank" will work fine.  If you have a lot of dips and rises, you may find that the "long over shank" will work better, as the Forney is a real stiff locomotive.  I used the Bachmann E-Z Mate Mark 2-the one with the metal spring.  You may also help the situation if you attach a long shank coupler to the car you wish to have directly behind the locomotive.  I found that having one of the passenger cars first in line made life real easy.  Best of luck to you.  John Tumolo   Britcarfan@aol.com

[TJJTrain]

Thanks for the info .. will go with the coupler idea !

[lvrr325]

McHenry made some replacement couplers intended for Rivarossi/AHM HO passenger cars, which have a really long shank - there's a variety for the 6 axle cars and a variety for 4-axle cars.  I think you could drill a new hole and shorten one to work on the rear of the Forney.   Droop will be an issue if it's too long though. 

[Tomcat]

I had done the conversion with two of my Forneys: There would be no problem at all if Bachmann had chosen another way; letting the coupler swing with the trailing truck would not bring the problems we have yet here... Especially with light cars (flats, low side gons) this is a issue, the forney does shove the trailing car out of the track. As the swing of the truck is limited too, you can see the wobble of the trailing  truck before it will derail...

I have used a RIBU SKD 85503 (which is built for a HO model) plus a Kadee according to NEM 362 (Kadee 17,18,19) - depending which curve radii you are thinking about. The Kadee itself can swing a bit while the RIBU SKD 85503 gives the coupler a full swing left and right. This solved the problems. There is some work to open up a Space to build in the SKD 85503 but this is all you need and you will be fine!

Cheers, Tom