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Model Railroading > Trimming your KD trip pins?


Date: 10/27/24 07:25
Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: calsubd

Do you or don't you? , I'm thinking on my unit trains, your thoughts are appreciated,TIA, Ed

Ed Stewart
Jacksonville, FL



Date: 10/27/24 08:07
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: nydepot

I do on all. If you don't have magnets under the track, no need for them. 



Date: 10/27/24 08:17
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: BAB

I am in On30 with san juan equipment they came out with a scale coupler and went with that along with cutting them off.  Side note these were supposed to be magnetic so bought 2 dozen of them and they will not magnetically uncouple no matter how I try to do it. Answer from SJ sorry about that. Trying to find a pic for them is a problem as every one I could find sort of worked at the best some hit the round file.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/24 08:18 by BAB.



Date: 10/27/24 09:26
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: railstiesballast

I am leaning towards cutting them off as I rarely use the imbedded magnets for switching (I use a stick).
All my trip pins are filed to about a 45 degree bevel on the bottom to minimize the risk of them catching on road crossings and closure rails.
OT, but I also paint them a medium gray-brown for an older rusty coupler, with an occasional orange rust dry brushed streak for fresh wear or all rust-orange on a very few for a new whole coupler.



Date: 10/27/24 11:45
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: sp8234

Yes on unit trains but have now gone to 3D Printed couplers on them for a more prototype look.
I haven't broken a coupler, Yet & my trains are about 30 cars long. 
 

Tim Hanesworth
Santa Rosa, CA



Date: 10/27/24 12:04
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: TCnR

Another vote for trim and use a uncoupling stick of some sort, amazes me how many people apply their OCD to a freight car and then overlook the extra brake hose.

Good to hear about the revival of Sargent's couplers but timing was never right for me.



Date: 10/27/24 13:11
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: WrongWayMurphy

Yup, chop chop



Date: 10/27/24 16:07
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: PHall

Yep, chop it, grind off the remains and hit it with the rust paint.



Date: 10/27/24 16:09
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: joliver2k

I will clip the Kadee pins when I can replace them with reasonable mating air lines. That empty space doesn't get it.  Dangling non-mating lines look bad. Maybe a flexible magnetic setup, have not seen a great one yet.

Regards,
Jeff Oliver



Date: 10/27/24 21:22
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: funnelfan

I like to do switching operations, and having a skewer stick around the ends of highly detailed cars sometimes results in undesired removal of details. Well placed uncoupler magnets in yards and industry spurs can minimize the use of skewer sticks. There is nothing much more enjoyable working a yard ladder with magnets on the yard tracks for hands free car sorting. I wonder if those advocating for the pin removal have never had such a experiance?

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR



Date: 10/27/24 21:54
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: grahamline

Trimming is the fashion now, but our club is dedicated to monthly car/card TWC ABS CTC operation and all that stuff.  The pin is a handy test tool to visually check the reliable coupler swing needed in switching scenarios, as well as a check on correct coupler height using the various coupler gages.  So we're with Ted. Lots of skewers come into play. Reliable function is more important than the cosmetics.



Date: 10/27/24 22:27
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: TCnR

It's a big hobby, there's lots of ways to do the same idea, it's good to talk about it and understand what other people in the hobby are looking for.

Some Layout Owners and Clubs have very strict car standards and operator rules, other Layouts ... not so much. Some Layouts are all operations and no classification, some layouts are switching and no place for a yard, some bigger layouts depend on the yardamasters crunching out perfect trains and car cards, it all depends... or maybe not so much of that either.



Date: 10/28/24 07:44
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: MrMRL

I've probably mentioned it before, but I lean towards either Kadee (whisker/semi-scale) #158, Kadee (double-shelf/semi-scale #119, or the more recent "lower-shelf/semi-scale" Kadee #120 couplers for my modern (post 1980s) HO equipment. Now if my models come with factory applied trainline hoses, I automatically snip off the magnetic trip pins below the coupler base. If not, I trim them back to the face of the Kadee knuckle, to mimic "air hoses", until I'm able to upgrade them with Hi-tech Details rubber trainline/air hose upgrades. That's just my preference, no magnets for me, a BBQ skewer works just fine to replicate "pulling the pin".


~ Mr. MRL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/24 07:45 by MrMRL.



Date: 10/28/24 08:50
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: aehouse

I leave them in to simulate air hoses. Never have, or will, remove or trim them.

Art House



Date: 10/28/24 10:36
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: grahamline

It's the nature of the hobby that everyone can do pretty much what they want. 
Our group runs op sessions as long as six hours (with time out for lunch) with 900+ cars available and probably 45 to 48 train movements. As a result we're pretty Draconian about back-to-back wheel measurements, coupler height and swing, consistent weight and all the other standards some people can't abide. 
The cars and locomotives live on the layout. People who want to run their own trains bring them down on one of the 300 other days when there isn't an operating session scheduled.  Then, for the most part, they take them home. We don't have secure storage space.
Having taken part in "run what you brung" sessions, frankly, they can be great or they can be a nightmare of trains breaking in two, cars derailing, decoders and locomotives that aren't tuned to the DCC system.  Sucks the fun right out of it.  Some guys can bring down 30-40 car trains that run perfectly for hours.  Others can't make it from Town One to Town Two.  This probably ought to be a thread of its own.



Date: 10/28/24 13:01
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: mcdeo

Cut them off. As mentioned, if you use magnets, which I think most do not, but some still do, you don't need them. 

For unit trains as mentioned, many people go to non-operating ones, or glue the Kadees closed for stability. For switching, I too use the wood skewers. Found a bag of 100 at a restaurant supply store for only a few bucks and already cut down to about 4" long. 

Ran 4 - four hour sessions in the past 2 weeks, easy peasy to work and operate. 

Mike ONeill
Parker, CO



Date: 10/28/24 19:43
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: KA7008

joliver2k Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That empty space doesn't get it.  

YES!! Thank you for that.
I trim mine just a little to be even with the knuckle.  Fills in that void and looks like a connected air line.



Date: 10/29/24 11:54
Re: Trimming your KD trip pins?
Author: PHall

Semi OT but the one thing I wish Kadee would do is offer their couplers in a rust brown color. Would be one less thing for me to paint...



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