Spectrum Coupler Problem - Acela HHP-8 and Acela Passenger Cars

[edmondbond]

Subject: Spectrum HHP-8 Locomotive and Acela Passenger Cars Coupling â€" No Good

I have purchased four Spectrum Amtrak Acela passenger cars and two Spectrum Amtrak Acela HHP-8 locomotives.  I have successfully coupled the cars together using the EZ Mate, Mark II NEM couplers, but no luck with the HHP-8 locomotives and the cars.  The HHP-8 conforms to the NMRA Specification.  The coupler when installed on the Acela passenger cars does not conform, and vertically misaligns too high â€" it sits on top of the HHP-8 coupler. Help???

[Conrail Quality]

Do you mean the Acela passenger cars, or the Amfleet cars painted in the Acela "lava lamp" paint? The true Acela cars (the ones with the big air conditioning vents on the roof) are meant only to connect with the Acela locomotives- nothing else. If you have the Amfleets (the tube-shaped ones), then you have a problem with the coupler pocket.

Timothy

[Dr EMD]

Amfleet painted in Acela-like scheme.
(Also posted in general discussion).

[Santa Fe buff]

Why is there this topic in General discostion too? Stick to one, if it is HO, stay here, but my advice or comment is posted in Gernal Discontion.

[D.Harrison]

Subject: Spectrum HHP-8 Locomotive and Acela Passenger Cars Coupling â€" No Good

I have purchased four Spectrum Amtrak Acela passenger cars and two Spectrum Amtrak Acela HHP-8 locomotives.  I have successfully coupled the cars together using the EZ Mate, Mark II NEM couplers, but no luck with the HHP-8 locomotives and the cars.  The HHP-8 conforms to the NMRA Specification.  The coupler when installed on the Acela passenger cars does not conform, and vertically misaligns too high â€" it sits on top of the HHP-8 coupler. Help???

On the real Amtrak Northeast Corridor, the HHP-8 and the Acela passenger cars never couple together.  The HHP-8 is designed only to pull conventional passenger cars like the Amfleets and the old fashioned passenger cars from the 1950/60s.  The Acela passenger cars are found ONLY in trainsets of six pulled by Acela power cars.  THey are NEVER mixed.

They should never be mixed on the models either.  All manufacturers offer couplers like the EZ mate/Kadees  for conventional cars and locomotives.  Bachmann's Acela trainsets originally came with NEM drawbar couplers and Bachmann and other manufacturers offer NEM conversion couplers that look and operate like EZ mates and their Kadee clones.  But just because the  they both can use NEM/Kadee, still doesn't mean Acela passenger cars and conventional cars and locomotives can be coupled together.

Now you might say you don't care what the prototype does or does not do....you personally like and want to run Acela coaches with HHP-8s.   If you're gonna be that stubborn, you need to learn how to scratchbuild and adapt mismatched designs.  But the truth remains...they were never intended to couple together.

David Harrison

http://web.mac.com/msibnsf/iWeb/Acela%20Express,%20The%20Need%20For%20Speed/Acela%20Express,%20The%20Need%20For%20Speed.html

[D.Harrison]

The reason why there is a NEM/Kadee like EZ Mate coupler for the Acela is that many people have trouble coupling the NEM drawbar couplers so the adapter-like Kadee design coupler was created.  In many cases with European locomotives and cars, the coupler either makes coupling easier or allows coupling European equipment to American types.  However for the Acela, the NEM adapter couplers only makes coupling easier for Acela equipment and it was not designed to allow Acelas to be coupled to other types of models.

David Harrison