I just round the part next to the head so it can rotate freely. Round the shank with a needle file and cut the head off. Use a drill just big enough to clear the pin you are using. The hole will go though the shank and a straight pin through the hole will hold the head onto the coupler. Drill a hole with a #73 bit into the head centered on the shank.

It helps to have a block of wood with a hole just larger than the pin. Then it is easy to press the pin out through the top of the coupler. After carefully removing the spring, I cut the trip pin just below the head of the coupler. I have only tried this with Kadee #5 couplers. I saved this from TrainOrders many years ago, but though that I had saved the photos as well, but can not find them I hope to post an update as I get further toward completion. Each of the 4 clamps will be powered by a motor inside the clamp tower which drives a lead screw to move the clamp. Well its on to the car clamps and dumper pit now. Where you may spend hours cutting pieces out of some material, I spend hours designing pieces in a 3D CAD application. For those that have said this is not scratch building I have to say, you should try it. I have found that half the fun of doing a project like this is creating the 3D models for the parts. Now with 3D printing the project is in full swing as you can see by the picture below.Įverything here is done on the printer with the exception of the base (guess I could Have done that too). It resumed again with the Walther's dumper but I quickly found out that it was better suited to being a static model especially where the car clamps were concerned. Unfortunately having to move to a new job halted the project. It got me hooked on wanting one and I started to build one out of styrene.

I finally broke down an purchased a printer and decided to do a project I have wanted to do for some time.īack in 1989 I attended the NMRA convention in Huston were I say a coal dumper made of plywood. I have been reading with interest for some time all of the things that are being created in railroad with 3D printing.

Rotary iron cad block