# san juan coaches



## daveyb (Feb 28, 2009)

does anyone know if the corridor connections on the brass accucraft san juan coaches but up against each other,, and if not can they be made too,,,, did the prototypes but together in real life or was there a gap,,,,

and if a connection was next to rpo or baggae car did they blank the end of or leave it open????????


cheers,,,,, davey b


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

In real life there was no gap between the coaches. They would butt up against each other. The RPO car did not have doors on the end. I believe that the Post Office ruled that there could be no access to the RPO from the train while it was moving. Therefore the RPO was always right behind the engine.

The baggage car did have access to the rest of the train.

Because of the tight curves on most garden railways there is always a gap between the passenger cars. This is necessary so that the cars won't derail going around curves. This would be a real problem on my layout with 10' diameter curves. The bellows almost touch on the inside when going around a curve. I don't know what the minimum radius would have to be to keep them in contact and not derail.


Chuck


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

The couplers on the Accucraft San Juan cars are held in place by a set screw. You can make some adjustments to the distance between the cars. I do not have access to my San Juan cars now , but my best guess is that there is about a half an inch of play in the adjustment. It could be a little less. So, you can bring them as close as your layout will permit. I don't think that they will actually come in contact with the closest setting.

Chuck


----------



## daveyb (Feb 28, 2009)

cheers chuck,,, i managed to rob a bank and buy a second hand set,,,,,,

alas they are still in boxes,,,, as i need to build the line first!!!!

i imagine this will effect the radius they will go round but i will be all r5 curves so should be ok

i did think they were a bit stiff and inflexible,,, would be nice to get them working one day,,,,


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Davey:

You shouldn't have any trouble running the San Juans on R5s. That has a diameter of a little over 15'. Mine run fine on Aristo wide radius curves (10' diameter). I am using LGB R5 switches without any problems.


chuck


----------



## daveyb (Feb 28, 2009)

thats good to hear chuck,,,, i have 2 r5 points and a usa r6, its only going to be a basic squshed loop for now as im probably going to move in the reasonbly near future,,,

and it would be nice to empty some boxes!!

i might be able to find my spare bed then,,,,,,,,


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Davey:

Enjoy your San Juans. They are beautiful cars. My only recommendation for handling them is to pick them up with two hands, one hand at each end. If you use one hand in the middle like a lobster claw, you will soon be replacing the windows. They are the weakest link in the entire system. Accucraft used the minimum amount of window material and the least amount of glue. Sometimes I think that if you look at the cars, the windows fall out.


Are you from the UK? Your use of points versus switches suggests that you learned your railroading somewhere other than America. 


What kind of engine are you going to be using? 


Chuck


----------



## daveyb (Feb 28, 2009)

yes i am over the pond,,, in scotland near st andrews,,,, golf , university etc 

k28,,,,, saving for a k36,,, gonna be a long wait!!


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Davey:

You'll like your K-28. I don't know if it was my 10' diameter curves or my track work (or both), but it took me several years to be able to get it to go around my track once without derailing. The suspension is very stiff. Each axle is supported by three springs, on each side, where it goes through the frame. I ended up taking taking two springs out of each block. I left only the spring in the center. It runs much better now. You may not need the surgery if you are using R5s. 


I had mine converted to battery with an AirWire control. 

Chuck


----------



## daveyb (Feb 28, 2009)

i bench tested it round a r5 circle and had no probs,,, and its got the 2k sound board,,,, just need to decide on dcc etc,,,, i love the mth smoke chuff n puff so that may be the direction i go,,,, and having seen it installed in the hudson on here its got me thinking,,,, but who knows what systems will emerge in the near future,,,,, any one who makes a decent reasonably easy fit system is going to make a killing,,,,

also got another k28 with a bashed end,,, got to disassemble the front end and repair a few bits but thats the beauty of brass,,,,,needs a new coupler and the cowcatcher is bent but its an easy if fiddly fix,,,,,,,,


this also needs sound install,,,,


----------

