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Question Couplers not coupling - Car couplers look different on different cars
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Offline rg1911  
#1 Posted : 20 January 2025 05:06:14(UTC)
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rg1911

United States   
Joined: 27/11/2018(UTC)
Posts: 36
I have passenger and freight cars from the original 1956 collection and several cars and engines that I have bought recently as I work on my living room-size layout. (4'X8')

The problem is that some of the cars (old and new?) do not couple when pushed together. I am assuming that Marklin changed the couplers between my original batch and the new items, and that I would need to change the couplers on the old cars to the newer style.

However, there seem to be differences even among the new couplers. (eg: NEM 360, NEM 362, Relex) Is there a way to tell what modern couplers I need to put on the old cars? Or perhaps I should change all couplers on all cars to the same style? And if possible, I would like to avoid the short couplers; some of the curves have long passenger cars almost touching.

Is the coupler gauge a good investment?

Many thanks,
Richard
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Offline mbarreto  
#2 Posted : 20 January 2025 10:32:01(UTC)
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mbarreto

Portugal   
Joined: 18/02/2008(UTC)
Posts: 1,333
I suggest you see the video below from the 3rd Rail Youtube channel.
For relex metal couplers, the coupler gauge is a good investment.



Miguel
Best regards,
Miguel
Mostly Märklin H0.


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Offline rg1911  
#3 Posted : 22 January 2025 05:34:59(UTC)
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rg1911

United States   
Joined: 27/11/2018(UTC)
Posts: 36
Originally Posted by: mbarreto Go to Quoted Post
I suggest you see the video below from the 3rd Rail Youtube channel.
For relex metal couplers, the coupler gauge is a good investment.

Miguel

Miguel,

Thank you. I had watched that video and tagged it to watch again, which I did. With my hearing, which is not good, I had some trouble catching all the words.

I also do not know the purpose of the Zugfedern (tension springs) listing at the end. If you look up the "Order number" or the "Certain for" number, you are shown long lists of locomotives and cars. Not a tension spring or coupler found. Perhaps I just don't know the real use of the chart.

From my point of view, what I hoped for was a demonstration of changing one type of coupler for another, such as Relex, and how to tell if the different coupler would fit and work.

I will buy the gauge; it does look useful.

Cheers, Richard
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Offline marklinist5999  
#4 Posted : 22 January 2025 15:19:08(UTC)
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marklinist5999

United States   
Joined: 10/02/2021(UTC)
Posts: 3,865
Location: Michigan, Troy
It is 0 degres F. Wind chill is minus 7f. Basement temp. is 68f. I think couplers, etc. are affected by changes in humidity and temperatures. Some have oil on the guides and the viscosity also thickens when colder.
I took my Marklin SBB Giruno off the layout yesterday for the first time to clean the wheels. The uncoupling buttons did depress, but the cars didn't want to separate. After a while, one end car did, and I had help moving the remaining 6 car train from the level tracks to a long wide board. I flipped it on it's side, and eventually got them all apart. A few of the cast metal coupler guides still had some oil, but a few were dry. The wheels didn't have any visible dirt buildup, but after sitting idle for quite some time in the station, it ran a bit sluggish until it warmed up. Probaly due to thicker oil in the gear sets.
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Offline mbarreto  
#5 Posted : 22 January 2025 17:44:17(UTC)
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mbarreto

Portugal   
Joined: 18/02/2008(UTC)
Posts: 1,333
Originally Posted by: rg1911 Go to Quoted Post

Miguel,

Thank you. I had watched that video and tagged it to watch again, which I did. With my hearing, which is not good, I had some trouble catching all the words.

I also do not know the purpose of the Zugfedern (tension springs) listing at the end. If you look up the "Order number" or the "Certain for" number, you are shown long lists of locomotives and cars. Not a tension spring or coupler found. Perhaps I just don't know the real use of the chart.

From my point of view, what I hoped for was a demonstration of changing one type of coupler for another, such as Relex, and how to tell if the different coupler would fit and work.

I will buy the gauge; it does look useful.

Cheers, Richard



About hearing the video you can turn on subtitles (click on [cc]) and you should start seeing subtitles auto-translated to English. The accuracy is very reasonable in this case.
In the video the recommendation is to couple using the same time of coupler and if you have several types of coupling you better use some cars that has one type in one end and the other type in the other end. This even theoretically the Märklin couplers are compatible between the different styles.
I suggest the use of the latest couplers whenever possible, but that (for now) needs the wagons and locomotives have NEM coupler pockets.
If you need to couple wagons with NEM pockets to old wagons with RELEX metal pr plastic couplers, then you can use the 62060 (maybe there are bigger packages, I don't know. this one has 10).
If you are coupling wagons that are both metal RELEX, then use the gauge to calibrate.
The springs are used to center and align the coupler with the longitudinal axis of the wagon automatically.

Miguel


Best regards,
Miguel
Mostly Märklin H0.


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Offline mike c  
#6 Posted : 22 January 2025 17:53:54(UTC)
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mike c

Canada   
Joined: 28/11/2007(UTC)
Posts: 8,216
Location: Montreal, QC
Older Maerklin cars/coaches have bulkier metal couplers and coupling shafts that are integrated into the metal bogie. Models since the 1970s have had plastic bogies and coupling shafts. In the 1980s, most models had NEM coupling sockets and interchangeable couplings for the first time.
In the 1990s, some models started having current conducting couplers.

The older and slightly larger metal couplers may have a hard time coupling with the newer models, even though they both have the same basic design. On many older models, the coupler height was a little higher than on post-1970s models.
I try to keep my older cars together in consists and not mix them with the newer models.

Some of my newer models have current conducting couplings. I have to be very careful to ensure that these coaches are never coupled to older locomotives like my 3014 (RET800) or 3050. The metal coupler/coupling hook on those models would cause a short if they touched the current conducting ones on the coaches, as the locomotive couplers are attached to the ground/return and the current conducting couplers are connected to the live of the coaches and the slider of that consist.

This shop has a pretty good list of Maerklin coupling parts: https://www.amiba-shop.c...klin-Spur-H0/Kupplungen/
See also here: https://www.ewmb.de/?cPa...Deichsel-kupplungen.html

Regards

Mike C
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Offline rg1911  
#7 Posted : 22 January 2025 20:48:02(UTC)
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rg1911

United States   
Joined: 27/11/2018(UTC)
Posts: 36
Originally Posted by: marklinist5999 Go to Quoted Post
It is 0 degres F. Wind chill is minus 7f. Basement temp. is 68f. I think couplers, etc. are affected by changes in humidity and temperatures. Some have oil on the guides and the viscosity also thickens when colder.
I took my Marklin SBB Giruno off the layout yesterday for the first time to clean the wheels. The uncoupling buttons did depress, but the cars didn't want to separate. After a while, one end car did, and I had help moving the remaining 6 car train from the level tracks to a long wide board. I flipped it on it's side, and eventually got them all apart. A few of the cast metal coupler guides still had some oil, but a few were dry. The wheels didn't have any visible dirt buildup, but after sitting idle for quite some time in the station, it ran a bit sluggish until it warmed up. Probably due to thicker oil in the gear sets.


It's been -18F and no idea about the wind chill. Fortunately, my small (4'X8') layout is in the living room, so nothing is frozen. When it's finished, it *may* move to the basement, but there's not a lot of room there, either. Besides, I plan on watching it as much as possible.

But when I take items from the workroom, which isn't heated well, I have to let lube warm up. I wouldn't do it to the gears, but perhaps I'll see how well dry lube works on the couplers.

Your Giruno certainly is a slick-looking train. I'm working on finding engines and cars that would have been running when I lived in Switzerland (1966-1970). So far, I have one engine marked SBB, but in red, not in the green I remember, and a few passenger and freight cars.

I was thinking of getting one of those wheel-cleaning gadgets, but I have not seen any reports, pro or con, about them.

Cheers, Richard
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