(erielack) Rapido cars revisited

["Joseph A. Braun" <joebraun_@_optonline.net>]

With further deliveries of our DLW, Erie, and EL Rapido cars on the way, I
want to share the results of my recent experimentation with different sizes
of Kadee couplers in the Rapidos.

 

Prototype streamline passenger cars generally measure from 26" to 32"
between coupled ends. The DL&W streamlined coaches had a 26" gap (1953 Car
Builders Cyclopedia, P-S plan, p. 545).

 

I posted to the List a while back that I had felt there could be an
improvement in the distance between coupled Rapido cars. Stock Rapido cars
couple with a between-car distance of .405" or a scale 35.28"  with a
noticeable gap between the diaphragms. 

 

Previously I reported that one could easily replace the stock Rapido coupler
with a Kadee Scale #58, narrowing the gap to .368" or 32.02" scale. The
improvement in appearance was significant, with just a slight gap between
the diaphragms. Operation was fine down to an estimated 30" radius. 

 

My current experimentation was with two of the new Kadee "whisker" scale
couplers, the #153 short shank and the #158 medium shank.

 

With the #153 the cars had to be coupled hard because of pressure needed to
compress the diaphragms. Aesthetically, these couplers were magnificent!!
The inter-car gap was .300" or 26.1" prototype -- just about visual
perfection!! However, there was too much pressure on the end plates of the
diaphragms to allow for any slippage during normal operation. In short, they
could not negotiate even the most gentle superelevation without wheels
lifting off the tracks.

 

If the #153s proved not good for operation, however, they did stand up for
one breed of usage: those of you who plan on using the Rapido cars for
static display will love the appearance of the cars with this accurate close
coupling. Consider changing to the #153s if you are looking to put a string
of these Rapidos on your desk or bookshelf!!

 

The whiskered #158s were pretty much like the 58s: an eminently fine
alternative to the stock Reboxx couplers.

 

Then I had a thought: combine the short shank and medium shank whisker
couplers. Using the notion of a fixed consist, I had a #158 on the
front-facing end of a Rapido car and a #153 on the rear facing end. Now the
diaphragms just barely brushed or showed a bare sliver of light. One cannot
notice the slight difference in coupler length when cars are coupled. The
end-to-end spacing was .320" or a close to prototype 27.84". I could only
test them on a minimum 48" radius but they operated fine. One would just
have to test this combination on narrower radii and on a narrow# crossover,
where a double scissors effect might snag the diaphragms. The train looked
beautifully realistic with this close coupling, especially when in motion.

 

Three further notes repeated from my previous post:

1. The Kadee draft gear box is a tad longer than the Rapido one you are
replacing. For a good fit, just use your Chopper or equivalent to take the
rear wall off the Kadee box and an equivalent amount off the lid; you might
want to just use a wide file to bevel that rear end after the surgery. The
Kadee will fit nicely and strongly with the same center screw.

2.  With a rail nipper or sprue cutter, take off the lip on the upper front
of the Kadee draft gear box so it fits flush with the Rapido car underbody.

3.  If for some reason you don't like how the Rapido rolls and suspect some
eccentric wheelsets, replace the stock wheelsets with Reboxx 36-1-0.960
wheelsets. In the Rapido cylindrical journal hole the Reboxx won't roll as
impressively freely as Reboxx normally do in conical journals -- but you'll
have smoothness and steadiness. 

 

Whatever inaccuracies these Rapido cars have from their CN prototype
origins, when you get enough cars to start to make a significantly long
train, the individual inaccuracies readily fade and you begin to see the
overall beauty of the whole train, especially when in motion (The Phoebe
Snow in a pure streamlined consist was a truly beautiful train; my favorite
photo is Al Holtz's photo in John Boehner's Vol 1, p21 with "possibly three
Pullmans", giving a good excuse to order some extra Rapidos.) I have a
single PA out right now with 5 coaches and a sleeper -- and that short
consist already looks really, really neat as it awaits delivery and
completion of the other cars!

 

Joe Braun

 

 

 



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