My wife and I added 350 feet of track to our outdoor railroad, and about 60 percent is on a 2 1/2-percent grade. We envisioned two or more locomotives pulling long trains. The problem? Lack of space dictated LGB 1100 (2 foot) radius curves in three places and the new Kadee® couplers on the front of our Moguls only function on LGB 1600 (4 foot) radius curves or larger. Since we had Kadee couplers on all of our motive power and rolling stock, we had a problem.

I tried using wire, hardened clay, and just about everything else in the workshop to couple the Moguls but managed only to derail the trailing locomotive about 99-percent of the time. Finally I devised a solution involving the hook/loop design. My coupler is easy to build and involves no irreparable damage to the locomotive. It has been in use for several months and causes no problem at all, either on the grades or the 1100 curves. Here is all you do:

CONSTRUCTION

1. Solder a pair of 1/32- x 1/4-inch flat brass strips to the top and bottom of a length of 1/4- by 1/8-inch rectangular brass tubing, flush with one end of the tubing.

2. Drill a 5/64-inch hole through the center of the tubing, 1/8-inch in from the reinforced end. Then round off that end with a file or a grinding tool.

3. Drill a 1/8-inch hole through the opposite end of the rectangular tubing. It should be through the center of the tubing and 5/32-inch in from that end. Slip a 1/8-inch round, solid brass rod into the hole until it is flush with the top of the tubing. Solder the joint securely.

4. Remove the pilot from your Mogul and snap out the dummy coupler. Drill a 5/64-inch hole through the center of the draft gear casting sleeve that was holding the dummy coupler. Insert your new brass coupler into the sleeve and drop a 1/16-inch diameter screw or pin into the hole you just drilled and through the new coupler. The screw or pin need not be tight.

5. Reinstall the pilot on the locomotive. The protruding coupler pin will fit through the LGB loop coupler on the tender of your lead locomotive. I painted my coupler flat black.

A TIP

The coupler is very easy to make if you use silver solder and have a PIEZO-ELECTRIC mini torch. It burns butane, the same fuel cigarette lighters and small scale steam locomotives use. The sterling silver solder I used contains its own flux and comes in a tube with the appearance of a large hypodermic syringe. Both products are available from several mail order hardware sources. I found them at Leichtung Workshops, 4944 Commerce Parkway, Cleveland, OH 44128-5985.

If your railroad uses hook/loop couplers or if you have run into the same problems I did, you may want to try building the coupler I have described. I hope it ends your frustrations as completely is it did mine.