09-08-2017, 04:01 PM
Kevin, that's a good idea for getting the main component of KC-type brakes at a reasonable price. If you purchased commercially-available brake gear sets, you'd pay about the same for only two of those parts, and end up with a bunch of left-over parts for which you have no need.
Kadee does offer "scale-size" draught gear boxes in their #178 package, but even those might be too large for some narrow gauge equipment. If you can design a box that would attach to the car with a single screw, you could use the unthreaded shank portion of a suitable screw as the pivot-point for the coupler, rather than including a passageway for the screw as part of the box. That would simplify the design and possibly be more durable than the printing material. If you opt for a flat-headed screw, include provision for a countersink in the design of the box lid - that way, the screw head will be virtually invisible when the car is on the layout.
I attempted to countersink for the screws on this Accurail car's couplers (this was originally one of their press-in box covers), but should have gone a little deeper...
![[Image: Tichysillmodification_zpsd589205c.jpg]](http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/doctorwayne/Freight%20Cars%20-%20Part%20II/Tichysillmodification_zpsd589205c.jpg)
....still, it looks better on the layout than a big round screw head.
Wayne
Kadee does offer "scale-size" draught gear boxes in their #178 package, but even those might be too large for some narrow gauge equipment. If you can design a box that would attach to the car with a single screw, you could use the unthreaded shank portion of a suitable screw as the pivot-point for the coupler, rather than including a passageway for the screw as part of the box. That would simplify the design and possibly be more durable than the printing material. If you opt for a flat-headed screw, include provision for a countersink in the design of the box lid - that way, the screw head will be virtually invisible when the car is on the layout.
I attempted to countersink for the screws on this Accurail car's couplers (this was originally one of their press-in box covers), but should have gone a little deeper...
....still, it looks better on the layout than a big round screw head.
Wayne