Weekend Update 8/8/2010

[MichaelT]

That's a good looking layout, Michael...  Now, put a few more lights in the room!

 ;D

What...you don't like mood lighting? HAHAHHAAHAHA

[GaryHinshaw]

I've been struggling to come up with a body-mount coupler solution that was worth the trouble. 

Have you tried Brian's method using the rectangular brass tubing?

Ed

Yes.  The 3/32x3/16 tubing makes a very nice pocket for an Accumate or McHenry.  Unfortunately there were a few issues with them that made me want to look elsewhere: 1) I don't really like those couplers enough to go to the trouble of making brass pockets  (and I don't have very good metal-working tools), and 2) with the BLMA trucks offering a lower ride height, I would need to mill out under-frame material in several cases to maintain proper coupler height (and I don't have very good metal-working tools...).  With a thinner profile, the Z option is potentially more forgiving.  The Full Throttle couplers are very nice, but not really viable en masse right now because they're only available with somewhat pricey trucks.   Oy.

Cheers,
Gary

P.S. Jan - I hauled out my Ortner hopper to experiment with.  I'll let you know if I have any ideas.

[sirenwerks]

This seems like a great opportunity for an etched product. A foldable brass pocket. Given the ease of design of such a product, I imagine frets could be customized easily for different applications/rolling stock/coupler brands. Just a thought. Why not send Bob at TrainCat a note to work out a solution? He's quick to get things like this to market.

[James Costello]

This seems like a great opportunity for an etched product. A foldable brass pocket. Given the ease of design of such a product, I imagine frets could be customized easily for different applications/rolling stock/coupler brands. Just a thought. Why not send Bob at TrainCat a note to work out a solution? He's quick to get things like this to market.

I said this the other week with Tim's rotary gon project - the kit had etched pockets!

[GaryHinshaw]

Etched pockets are definitely an interesting idea, but at this point, I'm not sure what coupler I'd want to put in them.  The ones in Tim's gons, which also caught my eye, wrap around an MT box so they won't foul the trucks.  This is a good solution for that problem, and it's worth thinking about applying it to other situations.

[Denver Road Doug]

Gary, it seems that if you can come up with a good solution using those Full Throttle couplers, maybe the demand will be there to have them made available?  I'm definitely following your progress, thanks for your efforts!