ovgrs - Tips - Kadee Couplers

The following pictures and instructions show how to install Kadee couplers on an Aristo-Craft boxcar.

Begin by removing the screw holding the trucks to the frame. Place the screw and the washer from under each truck in a small jar or film canister.

Remove the wheels and axles by gently spreading the side frames. Next remove the brake shoe parts (shown at the bottom of the photo). Be careful not to lose the two small springs from each. Place a small puddle of CA (super glue) on a small piece of paper. Place the end of the springs in it, and then glue the springs back in the brake shoe part.

Note: If you lose a spring, they can be replaced with the spring from a hook and loop coupler.

Remove the bolster from the side frame. Cut the coupler tabs from the bolster using a razor saw. File or sand the edges of the bolster smooth. Clean the black dust off the work area and wash your hands.

Place a little plastic compatible grease in the slots at the end of the bolster.

Note: Spread a little grease on the sides of the bolster to restore the shine removed by filing or sanding. Wipe off any excess with a tissue

Holding a side frame and bolster upside-down, insert the bolster in the slot and slide it down until it touches the bottom. Place the brake shoe holder, with the springs pointed down, behind the side frame. Angle the brake shoe holder until the springs are through the slot and their ends engage one side of the holes and pins in the bolster. Gently angle the lip on the top of the brake shoe holder down until it just clears the top of the slot. Push the lip through the slot until it just clears the other side of the side frame. Square up the brake shoe part with the back of the side frame. With any luck the brake shoe part and springs are in place. Repeat the process for the other side frame and brake shoe holder.

Note: Do not become discouraged if you do not get it together with the first try, I didn�t. With a little patience and practice however, this will become a lot easier. If metal wheel sets are being used, you may have to install the axles before adding the second side frame and brake shoe holder.

Using the slots in the Kadee wheel and coupler gauge, set the wheels to the proper track gauge.

Spread a little plastic compatible grease on the end of each axle. Insert the axles and wheels by gently spreading the side frames. Place the truck on a piece of track and test the action of the springs by pressing down on the center of the bolster.

A spacer will be required to mount the Kadee coupler at the right height. Although G gauge and Gauge 1 couplers are a different size, the procedure should be the same for both. In this example a Kadee 1820 (gauge 1) coupler will be mounted on a new “lowered floor” Aristo-Craft boxcar.

The spacer will one inch long, the distance from the ridge on the boxcar frame to the end of the frame. It will be three quarters of an inch wide, the same width as the Kadee coupler box. For this boxcar, and all other Aristo-Craft cars using this style of frame, the spacer will be three sixteenths of an inch thick. For the older style of Aristo-Craft cars, a spacer five sixteenths of an inch is required.

The spacers can be made of layers of styrene, glued together and sanded or filed smooth. In this example a three-quarter inch strip of oak was planed to the proper thickness and cut to length.

To test the thickness of the spacer, remove the long, chrome screw from the end of each car and set it aside. Fasten the spacer, up against the ridge on the frame, with a piece of thin double-sided carpet tape. Fasten the trucks to the frame, don’t forget the washer under each truck. Place the car on the track with the Kadee gauge. The coupler on the Kadee gauge should face away from the car for this test.

The bottom of the spacer should just clear the anvil like protrusion on the end of the Kadee gauge. If it hits, you are probably pressing on the roof of the car. Don’t ask me how I know. Push from the far end of the car and ensure all the wheels are on the rails. If it still hits, the spacer is too thick. If there is space between the gauge and spacer, the spacer needs to be shimmed.

When the proper thickness has been determined, remove the spacer, tape and trucks. Paint the spacer flat black, except for the bottom. When the paint has dried, epoxy the unpainted side to the frame. The spacer should be in the center of the ridge on the frame and pushed up against it.

Draw a line down the center of the spacer from front to back. From the front of the spacer, measure back one quarter of an inch on the line and drill a one sixteenth of an inch hole. If it is placed properly, the drill will pass through the spacer and the hole in the frame left by the long chrome screw. Drill another hole on the line, seven eighths of an inch back from the front of the spacer. It will pass through the spacer, the car frame and floor.

Using the screws provided by Kadee, tap threads with them through the holes in the spacer and frame. Assemble the coupler in its box. Mount it to the spacer using the Kadee screws. The screws should be tight, but not enough to affect the movement of the coupler.

Install the trucks. Congradulations, you have successfully installed a set of Kadee couplers.

To Return to Modeling Tips Index,
just click on the following link.
Modeling Tips

Comments:

Hi Paul, Thanks for the great site.Before I read your tips on body mounting Kadee couplers, I cut the tabs off the bolsters without taking the trucks apart. I wondered why you disassemble them to cut the tabs and then glue the springs back in? Is there an advantage to gluing the springs? My layout is indoors with no grades so the springs don't really compress unless a brakeman has a heavy touch.

Thanks, Tom

Hi Tom!

I take the trucks apart to make it easier to razor saw the coupler tabs off by placing them in my vise. Gluing the bottom of the springs to the brake shoe holder makes them easier to install and as they do not pop out and get lost. I have tried installing the springs with tweezers after the trucks were assembled, but became very frustrated with the process. By gluing the springs first, I can now assemble the trucks very quickly using the following method mentioned above.

Tips - Kadee Couplers - A-C Boxcars

Comments: