Acela Couplers

[RBMN #425 Fan]

Does anyone know how to install a KaDee under the nose cone on the power car?
                           Thanks a lot

[Tylerf]

Well I would think since the cone comes off leaving a perpendicular wall to the tracks, you could simply cut a rectangle the size of the kadee coupler box at the right height and glue it in there. Now if you wanted to be able to easily close the cone too that's another story, that may take some ingenuity to design....nothing comes to mind yet for me other than maybe some sort of rotating coupler.

[mlrr]

Don't cut anything or do anything to the shell if you don't have to.

In this case you don't.

Look into getting Kadee coupler #18 (http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page18.htm)  or any variant that is appropriate (raised shank or centered shank).  You'll notice that the nose cone clip and the #18 coupler have similar ends (i.e. the y-shaped clips).  You may have to file down the thickness of the shank in order to fit through the opening for the nose cone clip.

The benefit to this is that you can use the nose cone and knuckle coupler interchangeably without any further modification.  You won't be able to use the nose cone to cover up the coupler as suggested by "Tylerf" unless you modify the nose cone and as he suggests, it will take a bit more ingenuity.  

Hope this helps.  If the above sounds confusing feel free to write back and I'll try to explain in a different way.

[RBMN #425 Fan]

thanks. i just remembered i have a lot of E-Z Mate NEM couplers that kind of look like the #18