Large Tension Lock Coupling, with Smaller Coupling

[Rob]

Any suggestions as regards improving an occasional issue with the large Tension Lock Coupling on a Mark 3 coach. 

All my locos (141 / 181 / 071 / 201) have the smaller type coupling & work perfectly with the similar type of smaller coupling on the rest of my rolling stock such as the MM Cravens, Tara Mines wagons, 42 Container flats etc.

Potential issues arise when the locos are coupled with the rake of Mark 3's as the large TLC coupling on the coach does not obviously sit well with the smaller coupling on the loco- the length of the 'hook' on the Mark 3 is effectively too long to sit in the coupling on the loco when reversing.

I don't necessarily want to go 'nuclear' and adapt the whole fleet into Kadee coupling for example,when everything else works really smoothly and there never are issues.

Is there any possible way the smaller coupling (like that on the MM Cravens for example) could be adapted onto the Mark 3 coach that couples onto the loco?

I don't see how, as the TLC on the Mark 3 is on the bogie whereas the smaller coupling sits on the coach / wagon itself.

Any suggestions or help from you experts would be welcomed

Rob.

 

(I did search for a similar topic before in case it was covered but could not find)

Edited February 18, 2021 by Rob
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[RobertRoche]

I think that the Mark 3 and Mark 4 coaches may be different, but this is how I changed the couplers on the Mark 4 coaches with Bachmann 36-026 couplings.

[Noel]

@Rob just a suggestion, what about converting the coupling only on the ends of the mk3 rake to a smaller TLC and leave the intermediate couplings as they are?  ie cut off the huge lima TLC and fettle in a NEM pocket in its place to take a NEM small TLC. Then MM locos could couple up to the rake of mk3s. The only problem I found with the smaller TLCs due to their size and limited vertical rubbing surface, is that reversing stock either for marshalling purposes or running can be problematic with couplings slipping up over each other causing derailments when reversing. As you know I went kadees at some cost and some surgery required, but this was more to get reliable running especially when reversing or pushing, rather than automatic uncoupling. Visually the smaller TLCs don't like as offensive as the 1980s sized Hornby and Lima TLCs, but the older massive TLCs did reverse and push much better.

Edited February 18, 2021 by Noel

[Sean]

it might be worth a try to simply remove the hook from the coach  and pull with just the loco hook pulling the coach loop.  they tend to just slot in and out on most of my rolling stock. I dont have any mk3's in particular though

[DJ Dangerous]

Can you find a similar looking bogie with a narrower Bachmann style TLC?

I have a similar problem sometimes with some of my Silver Fox Mk3's. I'm too lazy to resolve it, so I just shuffle the ones with funky TLC's into the middle of the rake.

 

 

 

Edited February 20, 2021 by DJ Dangerous