# LGB Mallet rear coupler



## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

Could someone with an LGB Mallet please post a relatively closeup picture of the rear (LGB) coupler taken from the bottom?

My Mallet's coupler seems to be installed incorrectly and I'd like to see how it's supposed to be on there before trying to fix it. The exploded views I've seen on the Internet don't seem show it very clearly.

D


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Dan, which Mallet do you have?????


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## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

Some have a tender, some do not.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

As far as the tender goes, on the Uintah and the Sumpter Valley, it doesn't matter. They both have a truck mounted hook and loop on the trailing truck under the cab. Unlike the plain hook on the back of the Mogul. 

Chuck


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## BigRedOne (Dec 13, 2012)

Dan,

Do you mean the 0-6-6-0, such as 26850?

Are you having the problem of the train coming uncoupled?


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## Garratt (Sep 15, 2012)

German SEG style?
Uintah?
Sumpter Valley? 

Andrew


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

*Lgb 2085 d*

Sorry for the delay in replying. With three kids (8, 5, and 2) Christmas is a busy time  

It's the LGB 2085 D (the older, non-sound European Mallet). The problem seems to be that the rear loop doesn't swivel and it came without the "hook" part of the hook-and-loop, so it's derailing the LGB baggage car. Part of this is almost certainly the trackwork--there's a section that still has the press-fit brass connectors rather than split-jaws which is where this happens going forward, but it also consistently occurs when backing on track that is "good"


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

If you have the full H&L coupler on the front, try turning the engine around and coupling the front to the baggage car. Run the engine in its usual direction, now it will be going backwards. Does everything stay on the track?

If that solves the problem swap the complete coupler on the front with the one on the rear. Most LGB cars and engines come with an extra complete coupler. Check your boxes, it may be taped to the box. If you find it, you might not need to swap the couplers. All you really need is the hook and plastic spring.

Chuck

If you still have problems, we will need a little more help. Is the baggage car, 2 or 4 axle? What diameter curves are you using? How long a train are you pulling? Backing a long train through R1 curves always leads to derailments. The brass rail joiner shouldn't be a problem, unless they are very badly deformed. If that is the problem you should be having electrical conductivity problems. I have re-bent them with needle nosed pliers.

Several other comments and suggestions.

Backing a train, with truck mounted couplers, through curves and switches is always problematic. Regardless, of the diameter of the curve or switch. The larger the diameter of the curve, the longer the train that can be pushed through it, before a derailment. The forces usually encountered cause the truck coupled to the engine do derail. This can also happen in the train when the drag caused by the lead cars reaches a point when the force to derail is less than the drag of the cars being pushed.

Try, using your current coupler setup, pulling just the baggage car, in both pushing and pulling. If that works, add another car. Repeat, adding a car, until you get derailment. That will define the length of train suitable for your track.


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

chuck n said:


> If you have the full H&L coupler on the front, try turning the engine around and coupling the front to the baggage car. Run the engine in its usual direction, now it will be going backwards. Does everything stay on the track?
> 
> If that solves the problem swap the complete coupler on the front with the one on the rear. Most LGB cars and engines come with an extra complete coupler. Check your boxes, it may be taped to the box. If you find it, you might not need to swap the couplers. All you really need is the hook and plastic spring.
> 
> ...


Thanks Chuck. Once it warms up here I'll try running backwards. That might not be today though--I just looked out and it's snow flurries out there.

The baggage car is an LGB 42520 HSB two-axle car. It has metal wheels.

The curves on my layout are R5. I do have a couple of R1 switches, but this is not where the derailing occurs. The train is the Mallet, followed by the two-axle baggage car, and then three of the Harz four-axle passenger coaches (these guys are quite long, but very light even with the metal wheels)


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Are those curves LGB's R5 (about 7.5' radius) or Train-Li's (5' radius)? Either case that train should not have any problem going forward. Those are very wide radius. I thought you might have been using LGB R1 or r2.

Do the trucks on the baggage car pivot easily?

Chuck


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

*Just to close the loop on this*

I looked at the rear coupler again a little more closely and compared it to one on an LGB fright car I have. I realized that the hook part on the rear of the Mallet is not an LGB part... it has more rounded edges and a shorter "hook" part... both it and the spring generally look like cheap Chinese knock-offs  

I'll borrow an actual LGB spring and hook from the other car and see if that helps.


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## Garratt (Sep 15, 2012)

This may help.










Andrew


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

Which metal wheels?
I find the LGB rim type are very light whereas the solid metal ones give cars more weight and I back a 8 car train with dual hook and loop couplers through LGB r1 curves all the time with no derailments. Solid metal wheels with deep flanges do help a lot.


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

Dan Pierce said:


> Which metal wheels?
> I find the LGB rim type are very light whereas the solid metal ones give cars more weight and I back a 8 car train with dual hook and loop couplers through LGB r1 curves all the time with no derailments. Solid metal wheels with deep flanges do help a lot.


Thanks Dan,

These are the Piko solid 30mm wheels--fairly heavy. I'm hoping that changing out the coupler to an actual LGB unit will fix this. However, yesterday's flurries turned into actual snow overnight, so I guess it will be the weekend before I get to it.

D


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

Garratt said:


> This may help.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Andrew. That's an even clearer indication that the hook on my coupler is funky. The profile on the "engine side" of my hook is much flatter, where the one in your picture is curved back--just like the ones on other LGB items I have.

I'm wondering why someone would change out just the hook... but I guess you never can tell what crazy idea people might have. I guess I shouldn't talk, since I've had a good number of crazy ideas myself 

D


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## Garratt (Sep 15, 2012)

Dan, the couplers break sometimes. Perhaps someone has replaced it with a non original part which is a little dysfunctional in operation.
I can take a picture myself from underneath if you wish. I found the above image on e-bay.

Andrew


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## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

I am siding with Garrett, the SEG mallet should have no issues, even on R1 curves. Swapping in a proper LGB hook and loop should fix the issue. If you need one, let me know as I switched all my stock to LGB Knuckle couplers last fall. Mike


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm a little confused. Earlier you said that the hook was missing. My earlier response was based on no hook on the rear, not a different style hook.

"It's the LGB 2085 D (the older, non-sound European Mallet). The problem seems to be that the rear loop doesn't swivel and it came without the "hook" part of the hook-and-loop, so it's derailing the LGB baggage car."


Is the coupler body mounted on the engine, or is it truck mounted on the rear motor block?

If it is mounted on the frame and doesn't swivel that would be a real problem. If it is truck mounted the entire truck and coupler will swivel and follow the track. In this arrangement the coupler will not swivel.

Chuck


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

The 2085D has the coupler mounted on the motor block, not the frame.


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

chuck n said:


> I'm a little confused. Earlier you said that the hook was missing. My earlier response was based on no hook on the rear, not a different style hook.
> 
> "It's the LGB 2085 D (the older, non-sound European Mallet). The problem seems to be that the rear loop doesn't swivel and it came without the "hook" part of the hook-and-loop, so it's derailing the LGB baggage car."
> 
> ...


Sorry for the confusion  As someone suggested I might, I found a hook and spring in the box the loco came with and attached them (thus the disconnect between "it doesn't have a hook" and "the hook looks different"...) but they must have been switched out for non-LGB parts, because they had a very different profile. That was part of my bafflement--who puts something like that in the box? Maybe they were going for completeness--I bought it on eBay--so someone would think it was in better shape/more complete than it really was?

I've switched them out for LGB components, but haven't had the engine back on the track yet. First there was snow, then Christmas... it seems like life is always interfering with the important business of running trains 

The coupler body is mounted to the motor block as Dan mentioned, but the motor block swivels (the Mallet has two six-wheel motor blocks that swivel "like" trucks on rolling stock) so theoretically it should be pretty much in line with the track, even on curves.


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## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

Did the proper rear hook solve the problem? I never had issues with my 2085d on R1 curves and I pulled pretty long trains with her. I am torn between a 2019s Mogul with sound or hunting down one of those mallets, really miss the one I used to have. Running a 2018d Mogul right now here at my place. Mikie


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