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Accurascale 21t Mineral Wagon coupling problems


mick
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That's right, who would have thought I'd be here with something else to moan about! Not like me is it?

Anyway, yes the Accurascale 21t mineral wagons are very nice models although I have already remarked elsewhere on the thickness of the top edge above the bodysides but that's not why I'm here.

I was having problems with derailments, especialy when the 21t minerals were coupled next to a 24.5t Accurascale hopper (another very nice model I have to say). I didn't notice this right away, in fact I haven't noticed it at all until just now, but the fitted tension lock couplings on the 21t minerals 'drive on the wrong side of the road' as to speak.

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The photo above shows a tension lock coupling on the left which I have just removed from the Accurascale 21t mineral wagon with the hook located towards the right of the coupling. The coupling alongside on the right was taken from my spare coupling box and has the hook located over to the left side - as have all my other couplings! Have I missed something? It seems so obvious a mistake that it makes me think I have but it certainly isn't an aid to trouble-free operations as when you try to couple the two types together the hooks contact each other as they fight for that central ground.

But that's not all. The 21t mineral has a very flimsy coupling arrangement in my opinion. I'm sure that if running a small number of wagons it might not be a problem but with a good number of wagons in tow it's not up to the task at all.

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The coupling arrangement hangs down from that central stem part you can see in the photo above. Excuse the photo but I have just begun weathering this particular wagon.

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In normal operation it's almost (but not quite) parallel to the track

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But the very slightest downward pressure and the darn things droops down which isn't a problem until you start to propel a sizeable number of wagons in which case it travels beneath the coupling it is pushing against and the wagon ends up on the ballast.

I would have thought that these kinds of faults/errors would be a thing of the past by now but it appears not.

Would anyone like to know why I enjoy photography so much?

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Are they kinetic couplings? Like the Oxford Rail Mk3a?

That droop is exactly what I found with the OR Mk3a. With the coach, the coupling "boomerang" was held in place by the coach seating - not the best arrangement as the seating wouldn't stop the boomerang popping up and causing the same coupling droop.

It looks like your coupling is held up at the front by a plastic piece held on by two screws. I'd have that off to see what is happening. 

There is also usually a spring at the back of the boomerang that drops off on the OR coach.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Edited by Clay Mills Junction
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1 hour ago, Clay Mills Junction said:

Are they kinetic couplings? Like the Oxford Rail Mk3a?...                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

That's probably what they call them Barry - seem to be everywhere at the moment. Just a pity that no-one seems to have perfected them yet.

How on earth can we have such intricate detail on all our models these days but still no fool-proof way of keeping them reliably coupled together? You only have to look at the 'kinetic' coupling pictured above to realise that it isn't going to stand up to propelling a sizeable number of wagons around. It wouldn't be too bad if all the wagons in our collections were as free running as the Accurascale ones are but sadly that isn't always the case.

I'll take one of them to bits tomorrow and see what I can do with it. I'd just had enough and promptly gave up this evening.

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26 minutes ago, mick said:

That's probably what they call them Barry - seem to be everywhere at the moment. Just a pity that no-one seems to have perfected them yet.

Bachmann have a decent one on their Mk2Fs.

I solved the OR Mk3a coaches problem by putting them into a fixed rake with Bachmann Class 411 drawbars. This was reliable pulled or pushed but had the obvious disadvantage of not being easily disconnected and removed from the layout. The other advantage was that they are closer coupled than standard so look a bit better too.

Those wagons look like they might need a longer drawbar to avoid buffer-lock, perhaps the bachmann 36-060 coach pipe coupling if you have any spare?

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22 hours ago, Clay Mills Junction said:

...Those wagons look like they might need a longer drawbar to avoid buffer-lock, perhaps the bachmann 36-060 coach pipe coupling if you have any spare?

I haven't experienced any problems with buffer locking. The drawbar length seems perfectly adequate for the attic layout. I would prefer a shorter length if anything.

7 hours ago, Clay Mills Junction said:

Also wonder if Hunt Couplings might have something.

They might...but I don't really want to start introducing yet another coupling type. I already have tension locks, Kadees, Roco/Hornby bar types, scale instanters to name a few.  It's also not the coupling itself that's at fault but the mechanism it's attched to.

3 hours ago, ba14eagle said:

What! Aren't you fitting them all with instanters? 😂

I haven't ruled that out Iain yet. It seems to be the only reliable way of coupling wagons from different manufacturers together. There's something really satisfying about using scale couplings.

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On 10/11/2021 at 18:13, mick said:

That's right, who would have thought I'd be here with something else to moan about! Not like me is it?

Anyway, yes the Accurascale 21t mineral wagons are very nice models although I have already remarked elsewhere on the thickness of the top edge above the bodysides but that's not why I'm here.

I was having problems with derailments, especially when the 21t minerals were coupled next to a 24.5t Accurascale hopper (another very nice model I have to say). I didn't notice this right away, in fact I haven't noticed it at all until just now, but the fitted tension lock couplings on the 21t minerals 'drive on the wrong side of the road' as to speak.

20211110_171913.thumb.jpg.d27f0a32debce138696573e3e88e4d78.jpg

The photo above shows a tension lock coupling on the left which I have just removed from the Accurascale 21t mineral wagon with the hook located towards the right of the coupling. The coupling alongside on the right was taken from my spare coupling box and has the hook located over to the left side - as have all my other couplings! Have I missed something? It seems so obvious a mistake that it makes me think I have but it certainly isn't an aid to trouble-free operations as when you try to couple the two types together the hooks contact each other as they fight for that central ground.

 

Have you advised Accurascale of this discrepancy? I am truly amazed that a company which prides itself on attention to detail could make such a basic mistake. I think you should ask them to replace all the "wrong-handed" couplings with the correct ones. I would be surprised if they didn't agree.

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13 hours ago, mick said:

I haven't experienced any problems with buffer locking. The drawbar length seems perfectly adequate for the attic layout. I would prefer a shorter length if anything.

Yes, I was just throwing ideas, not necessarily good ones. 

Also, it was dumb of me not to think of this before, the whole point of kinetic couplings is that they are close in the straight ahead and push the wagons/coaches apart on curves. So they should almost be able to touch buffers in the straight without problems on curves. 

13 hours ago, mick said:

It's also not the coupling itself that's at fault but the mechanism it's attached to.

That is true, but it also seems to me that these kinetic coupler mechanisms introduce a vertical force at the contact point and that is inherent in the design.

13 hours ago, mick said:

 

Ironically, including the kinetic mechanism must have added significantly to the development and manufacture costs.

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10 hours ago, Clay Mills Junction said:

...Also, it was dumb of me not to think of this before, the whole point of kinetic couplings is that they are close in the straight ahead and push the wagons/coaches apart on curves. So they should almost be able to touch buffers in the straight without problems on curves....

Likewise, I hadn't considered the fact that I don't really need the assistance of kinetic couplings - why should I have to put up with them? So.....

 

On 10/11/2021 at 20:37, Clay Mills Junction said:

....It looks like your coupling is held up at the front by a plastic piece held on by two screws. I'd have that off to see what is happening....

Indeed it is and it wasn't until I'd removed those screws to take a closer look that I discovered that if you tighten the screws after reassembly it clamps the kinetic mechanism and prevents it moving in the vertical plane. Yes, it also tightens the sideways movement it was designed to introduce but I can live with that. It doesn't create any additional problems for me, my wagons run just fine and I can now propel them without fear of derailments through drooping couplings. I'm pleased there's an easy solution without having to resort to butchering the darned wagons.

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