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I am curious to know; when 2 cars (same make/style) are coupled together, one fully loaded and the other empty, are the couplers at different heights, or are they designed with a small amount of vertical movement to accommodate height differences? Am I correct in thinking that when a car is fully loaded, the springs on the trucks will compress a couple of inches, so the car will actually be shorter? If I am wrong, please correct me. Thanks for any information and have a good day!Mykel
Mykel, Standard coupler height is 31.5" to 34.5", measured from the top of the rail to the center of the knuckle on level track, and yes the car does get lower with load. KRO52
Cool, so would 31.5" be a minimal low for couplers (loaded weights), while 34.5" be for a max height? (Kind of a minimum and maximum for standard railroads in regards to the coupler heights.) Thanks for the reply!Mykel
That's an interesting point you bring up, never thought about the coupler height on real equipment, I tend to think of models when I hear coupler height
Mykel, Min-Max would be closer to the discription, as this would meet FRA,AAR inspection rules. The min-max height allows for wheel wear, suspension wear, vertical bounce and other conditions that affect the draft system. An example would be that when the loco or car is brand new the coupler height would be at 34.5". Adjustments can be made to compensate for wear over it's lifetime to maintain the correct specs. KRO52
Mykel,The coupler height in real life does change a couple of inches depending on car loading. The couples also shift when the track goes up or down. The best way to see that is at a road crossing. At many road crossings the track rises and then drops on the other side. Sometimes at the rear of the train, expecially if they are coasting or slightly slowing the couplers on the rear cars will shift up or down.
Thanks for all the replies! Never really gave this much thought till I started trying to build cars, and of course it comes after releasing one set, but will come in handy on future sets and hopefully they will be a little more prototypical looking. Thanks again and have a good one!Mykel
