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This page last updated: December 21, 2012
Both XP power supplies died on December 16, 2016
as of October 2017
Rotary Dumper Coupler Building instructions ... As of July 2017 neither Paul Mack nor Glatzl from Sergent Engineering rotary couplers are being produced and sold.
- Arduino, Delphi, free pascal, and Lazarus code is not available as this is instructions and comments only
Front to back : LBF, Intermountain, Athearn Bethgon coalporters; Walthers wood chip, LBF coalporter bashed into International Paper wood chip car. These wood chip cars have rotary couplers on both ends so they can be used connected to the locomotive - which does not have a rotary coupler. The non rotating coupler is in front on all other cars so the positioner grabs better.
- Rotary Couplers are either Kadee's modified by Paul Mack- Though it seems he has retired from modifying them; or Glatzl's no longer made so no longer sold by Sergent Engineering. Or home made atrocities.
- Paul Mack couplers are easy to use as they are direct replacements for standard Kadee couplers. Due to their scarcity they are only used on Walthers coalporters as they cannot be modified to use Glatzl rotasry couplers AFAIK.
- Glatzl's sold by Sergent Engineering are much harder to use as they require modifications to the cars - minimal for LBF-E&C coal porters - replace the stock coupler pocket with the Glatzl. They also require using a dummy coupler - the dummy couplers that came with the Walthers coal porters work the best, Sergent Engineering also sells Glatzl dummy couplers - however the arm is short and will be very hard to grab with the positioner arm.
- Home made atrocities... when they commercial couplers became extinct I was forced to make my own. October 31 2017
- Glatzl coupler modifications for :
- Walthers wood chip cars
Dremel away the coupler pocket, drill a hole for the wheel mount using the Glatzl as a guide. Cut off something from all edges of the Glatzl and screw through the hole and fasten with a nut on the inside of the car..
- Walthers coal gondolas (flat bottom)
Drill a hole though the wheel mounting hole. Cut off something from all edges of the Glatzl. Dremel away the coupler pocket and install the Glatzl using a 2-56 screw and nut on the inside of the car.
- Intermountain value line coal porter
Kinda easy - cut a little off the Glatzl wheel hole at the top and replace the coupler. Cut off the fancy bits from the stock coupler pocket-mounting plate and glue onto the car somehow.
- Athearn RTR coal porter
Hardest of them all AFAIK. Take apart the coupler stuff and glue a piece of styrene so a hole can be drilled and threaded so the Glatzl can be screwed into the car as nothing else is holding the coupler to the car and glue would probably not sustain a 110 car train. Drill a hole through the wheel hole of the standard coupler bracket so the Glatzl will be positioned correctly. Cut off all the stuff from the stock coupler so the Glatzl will fit. Cut off the fancy bits from the stock coupler pocket-mounting plate and glue onto the car somehow.
- Walthers coal porter
would be impossible AFAIK, it is a metal bar ... I guess the wheel hole could be drilled through and then all that metal cut off, it does not look like there is much of anything where the wheel hole would be drilled - stock mounting is into that metal bar which would be gone and beneath it is ... not much.
- When the car drops off the end of the table and lands on the Glatzl coupler and breaks the plastic pin keeping the coupler in... drill a hole where the pin was or next to it at the same distance and glue in a piece of wire - I use a paper clip, just make sure it is a smooth sided one.
- Car count by type
- Mack Modified Kadees
- 24, 1 double ended Blue Walthers coal porter
- 48, only 42 couplers -No double ended Yellow Walthers coal porter ... So I am making rotary couplers
- Need 2 couplers for double ending cars so they can hook up to a locomotive. Done.
- Need 24 more Coal porters to make 2 sets of 48, ... So I am making rotary couplers
- Glatzl couplers sold by Sergent Engineering
- 48 : 18 Red LBF; 28 Red LBF; 1 Intermountain; 1 Athearn -1 double ended per 24 cars.
- wood chip
- 11 Walthers, 1 double ended with Glatzl
- 9 modified Walthers, 1 double ended with Glatzl
- 4 mini-double modified Walthers with Glatzl
Bare metal (these have epoxy on them as they had to be redone as the nail heads were not round enough and stuck on the bottom of the channel instead of rotating completely around .. So the channel was deepened) , Epoxied
Finished with a coupler cover to hide the brass pole.
- My made rotary couplers
- 48 yellow Walthers coal gondolas -flat bottomed- 1 or more double ended there are 6 painted for double ends - no real reason to run that many... So I ordered another set of 6 to be there instead of all those doubles.
Coal porters have to have a trough ground into the metal so the coupler sits at the correct level. There is a deeper channel at the back to allow the nail to rotate.
- 24 more Coal porters to make 2 sets of 48 with 1 double ended per 24 cars.
- 2 sets of 48 to run from flood loaders to ship loading rotary dumper. 2 sets of 48 to run from ship off loading flood loader to Steel mill and Paper mill or wherever the other coal rotary dumper will be as they are different lengths and cannot dump at the same dumper. 1 double ended per 24 cars.
- Rotary Coupler Glatzl Mounting Videos...
- My made rotary couplers video on You tube
- How to make rotary couplers
- Materials
- 1/8" brass tube K&S #1145
- cut to 3/8" length, file burrs and ream inside
- 3/32" brass tube K&S #1144
- cut to 1/2" length, file burrs and ream inside
- Kadee #5 couplers
- Cut off end and dremel edges until it fits in the small brass tube
- nails 1" long with the head bigger than 1/8" so it is bigger than the brass tube. Nails do not need to be 1" long as they will be cut off, however that is the size that has a big enough head.
- cut to 1/4" .. 3/8" length, file burrs until it fits in the small brass tube
Test fit all parts to make sure the coupler and the nail can fit into the tube without knocking heads.
- Assembly
- Epoxy glue the nail inside the little brass tube and sit on the nail head to dry and avoid glue dispersal
- Put the big tube over the little tube and then glue the coupler on the inside of the little tube. Sit on the nail head to dry and avoid glue dispersal
- Dremel out a slot for the nail head so the coupler sits level.
- Glue in place, avoiding getting glue on the little tube or anywhere that would glue the coupler and keep it from rotating
Copyright © 1991..2017 by Ivan Lee Herring
