HOn42 / HOn3.5 Coupler and Buffer 2'8" Height Gauges

Last crawled date: 4 years, 2 months ago

This is to check your HOn3.5 couplers are set to the correct Queensland Railways scale height of a 2'8" center.
Coupler Scale 2'8" Height Gauge:
Print with supports
The Coupler Height Gauge should be 10.6mm (+ or - 0.05mm), from the top of the rail to top of the Gauge
Check that it sits between the 12mm gauge track rails (as per photo)
Clean supports out of the coupler pocket (A sand paper on a narrow ice cream stick and a X-Acto style chisel blade works well)
You will need a Kadee Nr. 58 coupler with Kadee "Draft Gearbox"
Mount the Nr. 58 coupler in height gauge / box as per the Kadee instructions
The top of the Kadee "Draft Gearbox" should be just a little above the top of the coupler height gauge
Super Glue or use a M2 tape and screw to secure the "Draft Gearbox" in place
The tongue side shows the height for top of the "Draft Gearbox" on the rolling stock
Buffer Scale 2'8" Height Gauge:
The Buffer Scale 2'8" Height Gauge should be 9.34mm (+ or - 0.05mm), from the top of the rail to top of the Gauge (see the photo vernier calipers)
Check that it sits between the 12mm gauge track rails (as per photo)
this shows the height of the centre of the buffers
The Buffer Center check is not for checking the buffer length or buffer distance apart. These measurements vary depending on the prototype.
Use:
The tongue is narrower than the buffers so you can get up close to the body of the wagon and work out if you need to add or remove packing from the bogie mounts.
After this, use the coupler checker tongue to check the height and centering of the coupler mounting pad. Note: The wagon coupler mounting pad should just clear the coupler checker tongue
Mount the coupler on the wagon and check that the coupler hook is at the same height as the on on the Coupler checker.