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Post by markm on Jan 10, 2014 15:01:35 GMT -5
JA, It's hard to tell in the video, but it looks like the coupler at the top of the car you're picking up is missing part of the knuckle. Could that be the problem?
Mark
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Post by Rob Albritton on Jan 10, 2014 19:32:05 GMT -5
Seems someone else is having a bit of difficulties with couplers... Funny video! The reason they do not autolatch is because they are not autolatch couplers! The Hicube box cars were made before we developed the autolatch coupler. You have to pick them up and place them down over the coupler. Note the HiCubes are the ONLY rolling stock we sell that do NOT have autolatch couplers. When they are all gone, we will make more with the new coupler design, but they will have new part numbers so you can tell which is which. This is also why we have deeply discounted the HiCube box car product. If you want the autolatch function, you can buy replacement truck that do have autolatch couplers installed for a reasonable price. I'm still laughing at the video! Best, -Rob(A) AZL
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Post by ztrack on Jan 11, 2014 0:28:13 GMT -5
Too funny! I actually saw this video a while back and contacted the gentleman who posted it. I explained to him that these were not Autolatch couplers. He understood that these were phase 1 couplers. I didn't realize he kept the video online.
Oh well. Autolatch…. Autolatch…
Rob
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Post by mrja on Jan 11, 2014 8:35:51 GMT -5
Agreed... I think it is a funny video, too. I know that the hi-cubes have the original couplers and not the newer ones.
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Post by amtk908 on Jan 11, 2014 18:24:06 GMT -5
Rob & Rob,
Can you give us the number for the replacement autolatch equipped trucks for the Hi-Cubes? Is it the 90001 or the 90004 truck sets?
Thanks!
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Post by ztrack on Jan 11, 2014 21:40:54 GMT -5
90001. These are the short length couplers. Note, you get 3 sets (6 trucks) to a package.
Rob
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Post by amtk908 on Jan 11, 2014 21:44:37 GMT -5
Thanks Rob!
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Post by mrja on Jan 12, 2014 10:39:37 GMT -5
JA, It's hard to tell in the video, but it looks like the coupler at the top of the car you're picking up is missing part of the knuckle. Could that be the problem? Mark Mark... this is NOT my video.
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Post by ModelMaster on Jan 20, 2014 1:49:31 GMT -5
Ok I am new to this board and started reading this as I am thinking of AZL But now not so much , I have been reading several forums and it seems that there is no real good coupler, I was thinking of using MTL as I wish to auto couple and auto un couple. But they seem to have an issue as well,,, Would I be wrong in saying that at this point and time for z scale there is NO real good coupler for remote operation?..
The experience I have at this point is a japanese train called Tokyo Marui Pro Z PZ1-010 Entry Set EF65 Locomotive with Sleeping car, I have a marklin steam locomotive (that just died stripped warm gear) with with 5 passenger cars marklin couplers. The marklin did not like to auto couple all 5 cars, there was always 1 or 2 cars that I had to couple by hand.
Same thing for the Pro z but only on curved track they would couple on the straight track with no issue. I have looked at the couplers on the marklin they do line up and no real tweaking is needed, but yet I still have this issue with auto couple and stay coupled.and only with the 5 cars.
Reading all the problems on couplers in general seems more severe in this scale. It also makes me think that this scale is more of a novelty. I really hope not as I do love this scale, the size, the cars the locos , there is not much I don't like about it, even if I have to manually decouple. but not to stay coupled really burns me this is a deal breaker for me.
All I want to do is have at the most -10 to 12 cars on freight and 6-8 cars on passenger. Will MTL couplers for full remote operation will it do this?
would AZL locomotive (GP38-2) will it or will it not auto couple and stay coupled with 10-12 cars? (I understand manual de-couple for this line) which brings me to the next question , can I change the AZL locomotives and/or AZL cars to MTL for full remote coupling?
I have stopped buying ANYTHING Z Scale at this point because I am not sure if this is so bad a problem I cant use it. I wish to stay with Z scale because of my space issue, IT dont take a genius to figure out you can make a much bigger layout with this scale than any other such as HO or N Gauge.
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Post by ztrack on Jan 20, 2014 8:33:23 GMT -5
There dis only one coupler for remote operations and that is MTL. MTL is the only coupler on the market that is Magne-Matic. They do work very well in this role. But yes, they have their own issues. But running 10 - 12 freight cars and 6-8 passengers should be no problem.
Most uncoupling issues really breaks down to track issues. I know no one wants to admit it, but that is ofter the case. AZL couplers were designed to stay coupled. And frankly, they do. Pulling 100 car trains with AZL couplers is very common out there in the Z world. Just this weekend, I was running a 20 car train over freshly setup modules. The track at the connection points is far from level at this time. It needs shimmed and evened out. Even with dips and drops, I never had one car or train uncouple. This included one all AZL train. The other a mix of AZL and MTL rolling stock. I think this really shows the resiliency of the couplers on the market. Two hours of running, two trains, 13' feet of modules, 8 questionable track connections, not one runaway train or coupling issue.
Also you need to review what your plans are. Is is operations? Is it switching? Is it a combination? But remember something, you can mix and match equipment. AZL, MTL and Full Throttle couplers all work together. Don't this of this as an all or nothing situation. For instance, realistically, how often will you be coupling and uncoupling your passenger cars? Most folks I know assemble their passenger train and keep it as it. If you want a situation where you plan to uncouple the loco from the cars, they change out the loco and first car coupler, but you can keep the other couplers as is.
You won't know until you try it for yourself. I think you will find this is not as severe as some play it out to be. Frankly, it is a lot better than it use to be!
Rob
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Post by markm on Jan 20, 2014 11:49:06 GMT -5
Modelmaster, I've been in Z scale a long time, and really don't give much thought to couplers. Other than the Marklin style coupler, the rest work together. I will frequently run my Marklin with a transition car (MTL one end Marklin on the other). If you want to operate a switching layout, you really want the MTL coupler. I've not had any problems running 10-12 cars trains weighing upwards to 500 gr. on a 2% grade. I haven't found the auto latch coupler to be superior on the train sizes I run, but I've seen very long trains at shows run all day without issues. Check out some of the YouTube videos. While you see much discussion of couplers on the forums generally from modelers with very specific needs, it's rare to see a post from the rest of us: "Couplers working fine." IMHO it seems that as the modeler deviates from prototype layout rules, the more likely problems creep in. The WP that I'm modeling engineering was 1% grade (.5% on curves), minimum 20 degree (300mm Z scale) radius with easement and super-elevation. I don't think most modelers (myself included) can meet those standards in design.
I wouldn't dismiss Z because of couplers. For most of us they really aren't an issue.
Hope this helps,
Mark
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Post by shamoo737 on Jan 20, 2014 12:45:53 GMT -5
The art of automatic uncoupling its making sure all the equipment is working right. I wish I could say the cars and locos you buy are working perfectly when you get it, but it needs adjustment. The coupler its probably one of the parts that are not working correctly. Most of the time, I have to adjust the pin height or move the pin a little to the left or right. If you are going do switching, certified each car or loco that you plan to switch. I wouldn't do it for the whole fleet. Its time consuming and expensive. I like to use cars that have newer couplers for switching or change the couplers on older cars. For some reason, newer couplers swing better. Also lubricate the coupler box with graphite when its not working like it used to. You may also want to take the coupler apart and clean they been used for a while.
I maybe in the minority, but I love the non-autolatch couplers. I used to switch out the AZL guts with MTL guts. The autolatch couplers are harder to do the conversion.
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Post by ModelMaster on Jan 20, 2014 15:51:26 GMT -5
GREAT NEWS THANK YOU! PHEWWW next order, AZL GP 38s!!!! Z scale.
thanks guys this really helps, I guess I just got so focused on the negative side of it I never bothered to check out the positive side of couplers. I have decided to do N gauge anyway I figure why only do one gauge.
I think they are both a very good size and very easy to work on. although I do favor my Z scale. THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN!!
My wife thought I was crazy last week when I told her I wanted to take pictures of the Canadian Pacific yard, ( -45 below -54 with wind chill). lol I was thinking of my second layout z scale. duplicating the cp yard.
All the possibilities so little space! lol
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