03-04-2011, 09:38 PM
By all means use Kadee G Scale couplers. They have a good selection of couplers designed to replace the assorted so-called couplers that come with most large scale equipment. Bachmann's knuckle couplers are terrible and will come uncoupled very easily.
You can look at the assortment of Kadee couplers here http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/Gplc.htm and they also have a chart of which couplers can be used on which manufacturers equipment. Most all USA trains (1/29th scale) modern cars are designed to accept Kadee #830 couplers - body mounted - which you really want to do with all your equipment. One problem with the #830 is the spring allows too much slack action - but this can easily be cured by inserting a length of plastic rod, slightly shorter than the spring inside the spring when you assemble them.
Body mounting the couplers places the couplers at a more correct height above the rail and the Kadee couplers will couple with no effort at all. Of course you will need to be sure and use large radius curves (5ft radius/10ft diameter).
A pretty good web site that addresses a lot of things about large scale equipment is George Schreyer's Large Scale Trains Page http://www.girr.org/girr/. You'll find a wealth of information there and maybe get some ideas along the way.
Large scale is a lot of fun to operate. I don't have a garden railroad, although the wife would like to have something around her garden, but I do have an indoor 1/29th scale switching layout that I mess around with when I want a change from the HO scale or when the nieces and nephews come over. Those large cars and locomotives are very impressive!
You can look at the assortment of Kadee couplers here http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/Gplc.htm and they also have a chart of which couplers can be used on which manufacturers equipment. Most all USA trains (1/29th scale) modern cars are designed to accept Kadee #830 couplers - body mounted - which you really want to do with all your equipment. One problem with the #830 is the spring allows too much slack action - but this can easily be cured by inserting a length of plastic rod, slightly shorter than the spring inside the spring when you assemble them.
Body mounting the couplers places the couplers at a more correct height above the rail and the Kadee couplers will couple with no effort at all. Of course you will need to be sure and use large radius curves (5ft radius/10ft diameter).
A pretty good web site that addresses a lot of things about large scale equipment is George Schreyer's Large Scale Trains Page http://www.girr.org/girr/. You'll find a wealth of information there and maybe get some ideas along the way.
Large scale is a lot of fun to operate. I don't have a garden railroad, although the wife would like to have something around her garden, but I do have an indoor 1/29th scale switching layout that I mess around with when I want a change from the HO scale or when the nieces and nephews come over. Those large cars and locomotives are very impressive!
Ed
"Friends don't let friends build Timesavers"
"Friends don't let friends build Timesavers"