HO Rolling Stock Spacing

[Toolbelt]

I'm in the process of converting an old fleet of freight cars from a variety of manufacturers to Kadees, but some some of the cars seemed spaced together tighter than others. What's a good general rule of thumb for the spacing between any two cars when lashed together?

 

[santafewillie]

That can vary greatly depending on the car and coupling system. Cars equipped with cushioning couplers are normally spaced further apart. You generally can't go wrong by just replacing with a Kadee #148 whisker coupler.

 

[Toolbelt]

That can vary greatly depending on the car and coupling system. Cars equipped with cushioning couplers are normally spaced further apart. You generally can't go wrong by just replacing with a Kadee #148 whisker coupler.

I went with the 148's but on a couple of cars the coupling boxes are recessed a bit further away from the ends. On some cars I can see the coupling and some of the shafts showing, while on others, even a bit of the knuckle is covered by the car end. I haven't tried them for functionality yet as I'm in the process of upgrading the cars/locos before setting up the old layout I inherited. At worst, 2 of the cars sit 1/2" from each other when lashed.

 

[Smudge617]

Which Kadees are you using #148 ?

 

[bnsf971]

I went with the 148's but on a couple of cars the coupling boxes are recessed a bit further away from the ends. On some cars I can see the coupling and some of the shafts showing, while on others, even a bit of the knuckle is covered by the car end. I haven't tried them for functionality yet as I'm in the process of upgrading the cars/locos before setting up the old layout I inherited. At worst, 2 of the cars sit 1/2" from each other when lashed.

Not every car will take the same coupler. It will be up to you to select the proper coupler from the available choices.

 

[D&J RailRoad]

You can choose the shaft length too.

 

[Toolbelt]

You can choose the shaft length too.

yes but the correct shaft length based on what desired spacing between cars? A 1/2" spacing between cars is only a bit over 3 1/2' between cars in the real world. I haven't measured but there must be at least 4' between cars. I was wondering if there's some kind of industry standard as far as model railroading?