SPectrum Dash 8-40 ho Santa Fe Warbonnet Coupler Trouble

[smokensmiley]

I found a old new Spectrum HO Dash 8 40 Santa Fe Warbonnet 834 at a little hobbystore in Tenn that has the old HornHook couplers. I thought it would be simple enough to change them with BachmannEZ mate knuckle couplers long. The trouble is they are positioned far to low and don't line up with rolling stock and the bottom hook is hitting the rails. I need to find a way of raising the new couplers about 3/16 of an inch.
Anyone have any ideas?

Problem solved, Bachmann makes a long underset EZ MATE Coupler, works perfect. Midwest Rail in Rockford helped me out with this, when I was about to modify the train for Kadee couplers.

[Doneldon]

smokie-

Mismatched coupler height is one of the major reasons for coupler problems, and even derailments, so you need to make sure that all of your couplers are at the exact same and correct height. The NMRA (National Model Railroad Association) and Kadee both make the good coupler height gauges. I think Micro Mark might have one, too. You can use an existing car which you know is right on target for height but you risk errors if you go this route. For example, you may have all of your couplers at the exact same height, but you won't be able to use your rolling stock or locomotives on other people's layouts if your standards car doesn't have its couplers at the correct height. Once you have the gauge you are prepared to go to the next step. Fortunately, the gauge is the only specialty tool you need. There are pliers for bending the operating wires which hang below the couplers, but you can use a regular pliers almost as easily.

Very minor height problems are resolved using shims. When couplers are too low, you add washers (functioning as shims) between the car bottom and the top of your trucks. When they are too low you add shims between the car bottom and the top of the draft gear (the box into which you install your couplers). Corrections of more than a few hundredths of an inch call for more extreme action.

You can usually do that with surgery, either reductive or augmentative, but you might end up with a car that looks truly weird due to your surgery. A better solution is using Kadee couplers with offset knuckles. This means that that the knuckle (the fist-shaped, operating part of the coupler) is set either as high on its shank (the horizontal bar between the knuckle and the draft gear) as possible or as low as possible. The bonus in using Kadees is that you'll have the best model couplers made and the brand with the greatest number of specialized couplers for specific cars, locos, etc.

While all knuckle couplers work fairly well together, the most reliable operation comes from using the same make for every coupler on your pike. No, that doesn't mean you have to change all of your couplers, but it does mean that you should use the same brand when you must make a change due to a service problem. And as long as you're doing that, why not go with the best?

Coupler work is exacting but it isn't difficult. The keys are using a coupler height gauge, picking a quality coupler and remembering that you are usually working with the car upside down so it seems like everything is backwards. That is, the knuckle which is supposed to look like a right hand (from the top) will look like a left hand (from the bottom). It will be confusing the first few times you work on your couplers but automatic after that.
                                                                                                                                       -- D

[KiwiSteam]

A small trick I have done with knuckle couplers when long wheelbase units rise and fall on undulating track, making them lift out in awkward places, is to glue sequins(dress makers bling) on the decouple bar about 3/4 of coupling thickness, down from the knuckle.This stops them lifting out,can be a bit fidily to manually remove a car out of a consist though!