As a builder of Maine style equipment, I like to stay as close to prototype as possible. If I do this though, some cars should have knuckle couplers, and some link and pin.

So I scratched my head for a while on how to be able to run cars with either type of coupler interchangeably, anywhere in a train. Well, there is an answer, an easy answer! Being an old fogie, I remembered as a young kid playing in the railroad yards, and noting coupler knuckles with a vertical hole and a horizontal slot. Somebody explained how the old style link and pin couplers worked and how the slot and the hole allowed the link and the pin to fit into the knuckle.

I merely adapted the same idea to our model problem. With a Dremel Tool and a cutter disk, slotting the KD knuckle is quick and easy. The Ozark Miniatures links are .090" thick. Mid-level, I make a slot .100" to .110" high, across the whole front face. It's easier with the coupler box off the car, but you don't have to disassemble the knuckle or its' spring. The slot can be a little wider on the front face of the knuckle, which will give some up-and-down flexibility on rough track. You will see by playing with it, just how much slot it takes to get the link in and the pin in place, just behind the knuckle.

The KD knuckle is very thin, so a vertical hole to accommodate the pin is not possible. The answer is an adapter wire to hold it. I take a 2" piece of 16 gage,(.052"), hardware store brass spool wire, and bend a loop in one end to fit the Ozark pin, but not too loosely. Measuring .065" from the outside of the pin, I bend a 90 angle. The brass wire is only half-hard, so it will take a lot of torture.

Then I drill a 1/16" hole in the KD coupler shank just where it thins. Place the adapter wire in the hole and the loop will come out to the knuckle. Drop the pin thru the loop, it should fall tightly against the inside surface of the knuckle. If it doesn't, with the pliers, move the 90 angle forward or back. There seems to be about a .015"+- window where the loop holds the pin just right. The idea is that the loop holds the pin tight in the corner formed by the lip on the end of the knuckle.

When they are properly located, neither push nor pull will pop that pin loose. I then bend a little angle in the wire below the shank, then cut off all but about 3/16" of it. The adapter now won't fall out, but swings freely. When not in use, it usually wants to turn 90 and degrees and ride parallel with the end sill. This is OK as it won't affect the operation of the KD. Finally, paint the adapter black and it becomes real hard to see.

This process is so darned easy, that I went ahead and modified the KD's on all my rolling stock.

Dave Cummins