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A rare species indeed. For those who know more than me on this subject, are these MTH short couplers of a special design?  I bought a used subway set a few years ago (long since gone) and the cars were coupled close together. I thought that was how they were all made and thought nothing of it.  I realized afterwards that wasn’t the case.

Here is the standard coupler set-up for my R-40 "slant" subway cars alongside some traditional sized box cars.

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I was thinking of simply using shorter couplers – either from old second-hand traditional freight cars or spare parts – so that the subway cars can be closer together, but as you can see by the photos, even if I switched this pair out, the subway cars will still be too far apart.  Is there a specific coupler length/size that I need to look for?

With the original DD-4000005 as frequently available as hen’s teeth, is doing a Kadee coupler conversation the way to go?

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John, a great idea!  If someone chose to do this how about making it having a long shank with prick punch marks spaced at 2mm intervals along the shank. That way the user could select the shank length for their specific application and drill their own mounting hole, cutting off any excess if desired. Hence one size would fit multiple applications.

Amfleet, can you post a picture of the couplers you removed from the subway cars to show how they mount? Lionel may offer something close either as is or something that could be easily modified to work.

This Lionel coupler is one that could be shortened to suit. Drill a new hole and file the V for the T bar.

Pete

Last edited by Norton
@Norton posted:

Amfleet, can you post a picture of the couplers you removed from the subway cars to show how they mount? Lionel may offer something close either as is or something that could be easily modified to work.

This Lionel coupler is one that could be shortened to suit. Drill a new hole and file the V for the T bar.

Pete

Pete, I haven't removed the couplers from the subway car.  This is what they look like:

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