Three link couplings

[JimRead]

Glue Hmmmmm, I think it would make things far more difficult, especially when the wagons are buffer to buffer. The right shape of coupling hook used with a slight twisting motion makes it so much easier. I've gone down to 28" radius and even with an 0-6-0 I don't get buffer locking.

Cheers - J

[Walkingthedog]

Not at all, in effect makes two links one link. Has no effect on flexibility, allows the buffers to touch when being pushed and by lifting the middle link the end link is in perfect position.

Buffer lock is rare, only happened on one wagon I have that had particularly small buffer heads. Solved that with drawing pin heads.

[JimRead]

Hello Wtd,

I think it depends on eyesight as well, I'm shortsighted and can take my specs off to easily get at that lower link. At shows I let young people have a go if they spend quite some time looking, I recall a six year old girl picked it up faster than most of the boys and came back for another go in the afternoon, she of course had a huge depth of field.

Her parents where astonished made a video and were going to buy her a trainset, why do I recall it with such clarity, she was autistic and they had never seen her concentrate on anything for such a long time.

Model railways is the one pastime where someone like me in their 70's can talk directly to someone young and not feel a generation gap. I have several pastimes

I often think about that girl and I hope she found something really geeky.

25% of employees at GCHQ are autistic and 20% at Microsoft. A Cambridge prof asked for bits old bones from anywhere in the world, she tested for DNA having tested her own, she's autistic and has traced the condition back 60k years.

Her parents who told me the above suspect an evolutionary branching, amazing stuff. Apologies for the ramble one thing leads to another.

Cheers - J

[Walkingthedog]

Not a ramble at all Jim, extremely interesting.

[Tricky Dicky]

3 link couplings need to be in the buffer beam. If they were fitted into an NEM socket under the buffer beam the bottom link would touch the sleepers when hanging down. And of course the hook needs to be sprung.

Not an O gauge modeller but on Ben Lord’s Amalgamated Wagon Works which I sometimes help operate, all his stock has the three link chains attached at the back of the hook on the buffer beam. On most of his stock Ben has replaced the last link with a slightly oversize one which makes coupling a bit easier without looking noticeably odd at first glance.

Richard

[Walkingthedog]

The chain is usually attached to the hook, but I like the idea of a larger link.