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 Posted - April 03 2014 : 9:03:39 PM
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I've recently gotten a hold of a 1973-era "Chattanooga Choo Choo" consolidation with working tender motor and smoke unit from a husband of one of my mother's coworkers. So far, I've alcohol-swabbed the contacts and gears as well as scrubbed out all the greasy gunk staining the plastic body (as well as inadvertently wiping out the number tampos on the cab ><). I got three questions:
1. How can I make a tender-mounted Kadee coupler stand higher without its release arm getting caught in the ties?
2. At the front of the engine is a pin holding down the remains of the front coupler, is there a way of removing it at all so I can replace the one up front?
3. Is there any way of safely severing the headlight wire from the tender so I can separate the locomotive and tender?
I ask because I don't want to destroy this old and very valuable locomotive, I already spent one morning re-gluing its valve gear bracket.
"And it will all be surrounded by a train"
- Walt Disney
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Posted - April 03 2014 : 10:00:31 PM
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Kadee makes an insert that allows a #27 coupler to be mounted in plastic Tyco talgo coupler boxes. http://www.kadee.com/conv/hocc_tyco.htm
It should sit at the proper height. If not, you can adjust the "brake hose" or clip it off.
You should be able to get a jewelers screwdriver under the head of the coupler pin in the front. I would use 2 on each side and gently pry it out.
You can unsolder the loco wires in the tender if you have to. They are soldered to the brush retainers, but it would make more sense to just pop out the retainers and unscrew the wiring harness for the grounded side if you're doing it to work on the loco.
The Tyco Depot
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Posted - April 03 2014 : 10:05:21 PM
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Raymond - for your Kadee tender question: First of all, is the coupler itself at the right height? (do you have a coupler height gauge?)
If the coupler itself is at the correct height, all you may need to do is bend the trip wire upwards with a pair of pliers. If the coupler itself needs to be raised to the correct height, the solution hinges on how much it needs to be raised. Sometimes, an underset shank coupler will solve the problem by raising the head.
Pictures can help with all your questions!
Note: a coupler height gauge, while helpful, is not mandatory - you can get by using a known height as a guide, like a piece of rolling stock to match up to. But...if you are going to do any work on couplers in the future, it is money well spent.
http://tycodepot.com/
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Posted - April 03 2014 : 10:59:34 PM
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I have a Chattanooga 2-8-0 that I got with Kadee couplers on it so it's definitely possible to fit Kadee couplers on it.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
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