#closecoupling @Kevin Appleby @East Coast DCC @Rob York (15/03/2025) How many of you have lots or some broken Hunt couplings? I have lots and so decided to use them instead of wasting them. For some time I’ve been wondering how to close couple my rake of Bachmann JPA cement wagons. For some strange reason they have put the NEM pocket too close to the buffers, so even the shortest Hunt coupling, the ultra close X, leaves a massive gap between wagons. I needed a coupling that was much shorter and had enough broken couplings for 6 wagons. My rake is 10 wagons. So I put the extra close XC coupling in half the wagons and glued cut down shorter couplings in the other half. Here is how I did it. The first photo shows the XC coupling and you can see how far it protrudes beyond the buffers. The second photo shows some of my broken couplings. The third photo compares a broken coupling and one which I have cut down and filed with a taper in the sides so that it fits loosely in the NEM pocket. The fourth and fifth photos show how the cut down coupling can slide in and out of the NEM pocket. To fit it correctly in the wagon and to make sure it fits the right way up, attach it to the XC coupling in the other wagon. See photo in the comments. Then slide the coupling into the NEM pocket on the other wagon and push it in as far as it will go. Position the two wagons on the track at the point of the smallest radius, so that the coupling finds its final position. Then put a small drop of superglue on the coupling and let it run into the NEM pocket. Leave it to set. The buffers are now as close as they can get. Job done. I spent a very productive two hours this afternoon doing this and the rake is now complete. The outer couplings, to the locos, are Kadee number 17’s.

Posted by Wagons Mike at 2025-03-15 23:57:03 UTC