Garden Railway Forum

I cannot get on with original mamod buffers and so I would like to fit centre buffers to make coupling and uncoupling easier without getting all bufferlocked.

What is the best design/source for these and what mods are needed to the loco?

I used Brandbright ones as they were the only ones I could find that were not white metal.

All I did was remove the coupling hook with a hacksaw and drill a suitable hole.

Swift 16 make cast brass couplings, they are perhaps a bit pricey but the quality of their castings is very good in my experience.

You can get centre buffers from many sources. The first thing to decide is the method of coupling you want to use. Most people go for hook and chain but I've seen chopper couplings or even a modified LGB loop and hook.

Have a look here: http://www.swiftsixteen.com/productDeta ... oductID=76

or here: http://www.ip-engineering.co.uk/acatalo ... lings.html

Personally I've used Roundhouse style centre couplings as they're pretty similar to the ones Mamod themselves fit to the Brunel and Telford locos.

This is how I've fitted them:
Unscrew the existing brass buffers and discard (or sell on ebay!).
Take off the red buffer beam overlay.
Cut off or file off the existing hook which will leave a slot in the buffer beam.
You then need to make a hole at the top of this slot, the same diameter as the retaining thread of the new replacement centre coupling. I used a very small round file.
Replace the buffer beam overlay, I used 6BA hex head steel bolts but you could use brass cheese head screws instead.
The new centre buffer can then be pushed through the slot in the overlay (you may need to carefully file if necessary), through the filed hole in the buffer beam and then the supplied nut is tightened behind it. If the slot in the buffer beam is a bit wide use a washer.

Alternatively you can use a multi height coupling instead of a Roundhouse style, but the fixing method is the same.

Many thanks for the suggestions.

Brandbright seem no longer to stock them and Swift 16 are way too pricey for my budget.

mikewakefielduk@btinterne:112271 wrote:You can get centre buffers from many sources. The first thing to decide is the method of coupling you want to use. Most people go for hook and chain but I've seen chopper couplings or even a modified LGB loop and hook.

Have a look here: http://www.swiftsixteen.com/productDeta ... oductID=76

or here: http://www.ip-engineering.co.uk/acatalo ... lings.html

Personally I've used Roundhouse style centre couplings as they're pretty similar to the ones Mamod themselves fit to the Brunel and Telford locos.

This is how I've fitted them:
Unscrew the existing brass buffers and discard (or sell on ebay!).
Take off the red buffer beam overlay.
Cut off or file off the existing hook which will leave a slot in the buffer beam.
You then need to make a hole at the top of this slot, the same diameter as the retaining thread of the new replacement centre coupling. I used a very small round file.
Replace the buffer beam overlay, I used 6BA hex head steel bolts but you could use brass cheese head screws instead.
The new centre buffer can then be pushed through the slot in the overlay (you may need to carefully file if necessary), through the filed hole in the buffer beam and then the supplied nut is tightened behind it. If the slot in the buffer beam is a bit wide use a washer.

Alternatively you can use a multi height coupling instead of a Roundhouse style, but the fixing method is the same.

Brilliant, thanks.

Managed to buy Roy Woods last four sets of steel centre buffers. Well chuffed.

Hi,

I modify the existing Mamod couplings to centre buffer. See:

www.youtube.com/embed/EZlBLMungik

Regards Tony.

Then again you could make the buffers out of wood! I did this after having had enough of 7/8" scale 'link and pin' coupling messing about. I worked out that I had saved just over £67 making the stuff myself!......

That's an idea.

Why does the Thomas Telford come with centre buffers that don't couple with any of the Mamod rolling stock?

At the moment I'm having trouble with not only my Mamod "paper clip couplings" coming apart, My Accucraft couplings won't stay linked either. The problem with the Accucraft couplings is that the hooks are too light to stay down reliably.

Grr.