KATO Kinematic Knuckle Couplers

[carlso]

You saw my reply to the "I'm waiting for KATO to do ....." thread regarding KATO's couplers. Now I have a comment or two and request for suggestions. I have the KATO Daylight set + all the add on sets and I wanted to see them all close coupled so I purchased the kinematic knuckle sets for each car. Great, the train looks terrific close coupled and wow what a rip off. I see it that KATO snookered me and most likely others into "purchasing" something else from them to enhance the Daylight set. I don't know if they used the new style of truck mounting on any of the set subsequent to the daylights.

Now, my gripe. Today I set up the 10 car daylight consist, it looks tremendous, to run with my GS4 and found that the kinematic couplers will not couple to the KATO truck mounted coupler on the tender. I tried lifting the tender in an attempt to drop the tender coupler into the kinematic knuckle, that would not work. I tried lifting the car in an attempt to drop the kinematic coupler into the tender coupler and that would not work. I tried slamming the two together and that would not work. I found that the kinematic knuckle is so small and contour is way off to mate with KATO's "normal" coupler.

Has anybody else experienced this and if so, how did you solve the problem. Like an idiot, I through the "regular" couplers into file 13 as I replaced them with the kinematic.

Frustrated N- Scaler

Carl

[seusscaboose]

Yup


And wait until you add the 4 add on car sets (more weight) and the couplers don't hold together

When it happened to me, I went back to the original couplers


At least now the train runs

[SkipGear]

You saw my reply to the "I'm waiting for KATO to do ....." thread regarding KATO's couplers. Now I have a comment or two and request for suggestions. I have the KATO Daylight set + all the add on sets and I wanted to see them all close coupled so I purchased the kinematic knuckle sets for each car. Great, the train looks terrific close coupled and wow what a rip off. I see it that KATO snookered me and most likely others into "purchasing" something else from them to enhance the Daylight set. I don't know if they used the new style of truck mounting on any of the set subsequent to the daylights.

Now, my gripe. Today I set up the 10 car daylight consist, it looks tremendous, to run with my GS4 and found that the kinematic couplers will not couple to the KATO truck mounted coupler on the tender. I tried lifting the tender in an attempt to drop the tender coupler into the kinematic knuckle, that would not work. I tried lifting the car in an attempt to drop the kinematic coupler into the tender coupler and that would not work. I tried slamming the two together and that would not work. I found that the kinematic knuckle is so small and contour is way off to mate with KATO's "normal" coupler.

Has anybody else experienced this and if so, how did you solve the problem. Like an idiot, I through the "regular" couplers into file 13 as I replaced them with the kinematic.

Frustrated N- Scaler

Carl

You are not supposed to install them on the first car. The kinematics only work with each other. If you don't have a another kinematic coupler to connect to it, the full effect of the close coupling doesn't work and the couplers won't pivot side to side properly.

[carlso]

Thanks Tony, I guess I missed that in the instructions. My idea was to make a transition car with one regular on an end and the kinematic on the other end. I'm going to try that today. should work.

Carl

[seusscaboose]

Thanks Tony, I guess I missed that in the instructions. My idea was to make a transition car with one regular on an end and the kinematic on the other end. I'm going to try that today. should work.

Carl

this is wat i did... and you will have to "drop" the smaller coupler "into" the alrger coupler...  by lifting tghe transition car.

it's a PITA...but if you don't plan on removing the train from your track, you will be fine.

As i said, I was fine, until i started adding weight to the train via more cars.

[eja]

Curious, I went the Kato web page to see what a kinematic coupler was.  The video of the Daylight with them installed looks really good.  http://www.katousa.com/N/Daylight/pictures.html


To bad, it looks like they will not work on other Kato passenger cars.     

[peteski]

Curious, I went the Kato web page to see what a kinematic coupler was.  The video of the Daylight with them installed looks really good.  http://www.katousa.com/N/Daylight/pictures.html


To bad, it looks like they will not work on other Kato passenger cars.     

This type of coupler mounting system (where the coupler extends further when it is off-center) has been used for years in European N scale models.  Nowadays most of the European rolling stock (both freight and passenger) is equipped with Rapido couplers (yes, they are still widely used) which are mounted on a "kinematic" style arm.  FVM Hiawatha set also uses this type of coupler mount for the MT couplers used on that set.