Oiling knuckle Couplers on the Kinematic Couplers helps stop couplers from opening. I had two couplers on my 6-83102 Southern Pacific Lines 21" Passenger cars continuing to open. The new dry knuckles locked against each other and pulled each other up and down going over switches. I oiled the new dry knuckles where they grab each other and the cars no longer uncouple. The couplers can now slide up and down past each other.
The upward movement would raise the coupler arm, but NOT the arm with the pin and magnet disk. As the coupler arm moved up, the pin arm stayed in-place, effectively uncoupling the car.
I did this two years ago with my Wabash, NYC ESE and Chesapeake and Ohio 21" passenger cars, but forgot about until today. I am getting old ... "sometimers": some times I remember, other times I don't.
I can now run my cars at Speed Step "125" without the cars uncoupling. Dry metal against dry metal does stick.
I also oiled the copper electrical contact that touches the axle on the passenger car trucks. I had severe squealing from my fourth passenger car truck. It was very loud, but has diminished since oiling the contact point to the axle and allowing it to wear down by running the car.
I have a few pictures of the 6-83110 Southern Pacific Lines Sound Station Dining Car in-progess. I painted the interior, but still need to cut the plastruct for seat backs and glue them to the back of the square boxes that act as seats. (I believe a mold release technicality kept Lionel from putting seat backs on the chairs. The dining room floor part would probably not release with seat backs molded into it.) (There are sprue remnants on the bottom of some of the table molds. I trimmed mine with an Exact Knife.)
The pictures have people roughly placed and NOT glue down yet. Tomorrow when I get my new set of Exacto Knives in the mail I will continue.
