Rapido Trains canadian User Manual - Adding The Steam Connectors
4
MINIMUM RADIUS AND SWAPPING THE COUPLERS
Your model of The Canadian is capable of running out of the box on curves as tight
as 28” radius and through #6 crossovers without difficulty. It can handle 24” radius
curves, but not 100% reliably with the medium-shank couplers installed at the factory.
If your layout has curves below 28” radius, you may want to replace the installed
couplers with the long-shank ones that we have thoughtfully included in the packaging
of your train. With one long-shank and one short-shank coupler installed per car, the
train can easily handle 24” radius curves on 2% grades. With two long-shank couplers
installed, The Canadian can negotiate 22” radius curves without difficulty (though 22”
radius while cresting the top of a 3% grade is probably asking for trouble).
Replacing the couplers is easy. Place a foam cradle (available from Micro-Mark, prod-
uct #80784) or a thick-piled hand towel (not a tea towel!) folded over a couple of times
on your work bench. Place the car upside-down on the cradle, and remove the coupler
boxes from each end of the car using a small Phillips screwdriver. The coupler boxes will
snap apart quite easily, allowing you to remove the medium-shank coupler and replace
it with a long-shank coupler.
If you have 18” radius curves, you will also need to notch the bottom flange of the centre
sill on each passenger car where the wheelsets contact it. This flange is very thin and
it is very easy to notch it. While you have the car upside down to change the couplers,
turn each truck with your fingers and note where each wheelset interferes with the centre
sill. Using a #11 blade in a hobby knife, cut a shallow triangle-shaped notch in the
sill at each location. Being gentle is key here. We tried this ourselves and it took four
minutes to do the first truck and two minutes to do the second. So it should not take you
very long to get your whole train running on 18” radius curves with no problems. We
apologize that you have to do anything to the train to get it to run on tight curves, but
obviously a high-end passenger train model is designed for broad curves.
Your Canadian Pacific F9B locomotive has sprung buffer plates designed to allow close
coupling. However, on tight curves the buffer plate may interfere with the locomotive
or passenger car coupled to it. Please follow the instructions in the FP9A manual for
changing out the couplers in the F9B. Remember the white table cloth.
If you are trying to run your Canadian on Peco #1 radius curves, then — to quote Monty
Python — “you are a very silly man and I am not going to interview you.” Put your
Canadian on a display shelf and buy a model of a streetcar.
ADDING THE STEAM CONNECTORS
Inside the small parts bags (under this instruction manual in the packaging) you will
find the steam connectors (the V-shaped pieces) that you can install at each end of your
passenger cars and F9B. If you turn the model over you will see a pipe bending down
towards the rails adjacent to each coupler box. The steam connector attaches to this