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Accurails Accumate® Coupling System
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Proto: HO Accumate® Information:
Pushing to the final
frontiers of railroad model detailing, ACCURAIL has
developed the first HO scale magnetic coupler that is a
correctly scaled and proportioned representation of the
prototype. Previous offerings in this field have
suffered from poor appearance due to incorrect
proportions; the width and length of the coupler are
more than one third oversize, while the height is
actually undersize, in an attempt to reduce the overall
bulk of the coupler. Because of the increase in length,
model cars coupled in a train have more than the correct
amount of space between cars. In addition, the standard
mounting box that has been in use for these couplers for
over forty years is wider than a correctly scaled
replica of the car center sill, making the detailing of
this important area of the model impossible.
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The PROTO HO ACCUMATE ® is correctly sized,
and is shaped to model the appearance of the
actual AAR type E coupler. The length of the
coupler, when mounted in its own draft gear box,
is designed to provide the scale striker to
coupler pulling face distance. The draft gear
box itself is detailed to represent the
prototype sills, draft lugs, and coupler yoke.
This box is long enough to extend all the way to
the body bolster on a model of a typical car,
but can be cut shorter if need be. In this
shortened form, the PROTO HO ACCUMATE ® is
adaptable to HOn3.
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| Although the PROTO HO ACCUMATE® features a reduced profile,
this profile is designed to mate with the standard couplers used
in HO scale. While the width of the coupler shank has been
decreased to fit the narrow draft gear, a corresponding increase
has been made in the depth of each half-shank, so the resulting
shanks have 95% of the cross section, and therefore strength, of
the standard ACCUMATE |
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One of the potential drawbacks of a non-standard
draft gear box is the difficulty of retrofitting
existing equipment, and this, too, has been addressed.
The new scale width draft gear is narrow enough to fit
entirely in-between the sides of the standard coupler
box molded into the floor of most kits today, and the
PROTO HO draft gear box can be installed on the existing
surface while still maintaining the correct coupler
height. Even the location of the new mounting screw
holes has been considered, and was carefully placed to
miss any existing holes.
Click pictures to enlarge |
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Standard Accumate® Information
Introducing the patented ACCUMATE® coupler from Accurail®, the
results of eighteen months of design and development work. We
have met our goal to design a model railroad coupler that is
simple, functional, and economical to manufacture.
The ACCUMATE® consists of two shank pieces that pivot around a
common post, herein referred to as the hook, which carries the
knuckle profile, and the blade. When coupled, the hooks are
sprung into engagement, much like the common horn-hook style
coupler, the blades provide the buffing, or pushing, surface. An
interlock between the hook and blade limit their motion relative
to one another, and provide for a stable surface to be pushed
against.
The integrally molded springs are sized to bias the hook toward
the coupled position, and are located within the coupler box
where there is enough room for springs designed to operate at a
low level of strain, as in the familiar horn-hook. A stop molded
onto the blade prevents the hooks from springing past the
gathering range of the knuckle profile.
A mild steel pin is mounted to the underside of the hook so that
a magnet mounted in the track can draw it aside to effect
uncoupling. In addition, the inside of the knuckle profile is
shaped generally circular, so that a specially shaped tool, the
SWITCHMAN® can be inserted and rotated to easily spring the
couplers apart without jamming or snagging as is the case with
existing pivoted knuckle designs.
Note that the knuckle profile has NO draft angle. This is
important because this feature significantly increases the
number of cars that can be pulled in a train, as the draft angle
in operation becomes a camming angle that tends to lift one
coupler over and out of its mate. See the recent Micro Trains®
advertising in the Hobby press for a discussion of this topic
and their solution to it.
This is simply the BEST model railroad coupler design for the
serious hobbyist. Easy, reliable, hands-off uncoupling anywhere
on the layout with the use of the specially designed SWITCHMAN®
uncoupling tool, while retaining the advantages of remote
magnetic operation, too. Draft less knuckle profile allows
operation of long, heavy trains without the effects of "coupler
ride up". Mates with all brands of magnetic couplers currently
on the market
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More features of the ACCUMATE® coupler: |
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- No tiny springs or small metal stampings to lose or
destroy.
- No tiny feathers of plastic to deform when cars are left
in a compressed configuration
- They can be easily uncoupled manually with the
use of an ingenious device known as the SWITCHMAN®.
The special shape on the end of this little gem is inserted
between the knuckles, given a twist, and voila! the
cars come uncoupled. Try that with the other couplers in the
field and you're sure to be frustrated
- The ease of operation makes this coupler infinitely
easier to use than the current train-set coupler (X2F) which
is almost impossible to uncouple.
- Made of tough 21st century resins, not pot-metal!
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