Couplings - Norwegian Style

[Steve Goodbody]

Hi all,

I thought the following pictures might be of interest, taken as I prepare the six wagon couplings for painting. These are to the Norwegian chopper design, as used on many narrow-gauge railroads in the UK and Europe, including the Lynton and Barnstaple railway in the UK and on which these are specifically based.

To give an idea of size, the shanks are from 1" x 1" bar and the heads are 3" x 3".

Best regards
Steve

[Andrew Pugh]

Thanks for sharing Steve. It is interesting to see other methods used to couple rolling stock together. Another picture of a pair mated together would be great to see. Are the heads offset to one side? Are they ‘automatic’ in their coupling action?

-Andrew

[Steve Goodbody]

Hi Andrew,

Unfortunately all of the couplers are now stripped for painting, however I'll take a picture of two mated couplers when everything is back together.

In answer to your questions, the heads are not offset and the couplers are not automatic. The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway's couplers, on which these are based, had a hook on one coupler and a catch on the other coupler. The catch is tightened by means of a left hand/right hand screw system shown disassembled in the middle picture. To couple, the hook is raised and then dropped over the loosened catch when the buffer heads make contact. The catch is then tightened by the screw to secure the couplers together. You can see the process starting at the 4:00 mark in the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYylX6ijm9U&t=3s

Other railways, for example the Ffestiniog, used couplers where both had a hook and a catch. In the Ffestiniog's case, the catch is a cam which is held tight by means of a weighted arm. You can see one of those being coupled in the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToPd51UXoF0

Best regards
Steve

[Chris Hollands]

This style of coupler was very common in Australia on 3'6" gauge which was in a lot of Australia at one stage .
We use to call them "meat chopper" couplings due to there action - they were self coupling due to the angle on the front of the chopper arm but the arm had to be lifted to uncouple .
Very simple and effective but they were not very robust for larger and longer trains as time went by .
In the 1950s more robust versions were built with built in adjustable mechanisms to minimize take up slack .
New Zealand still use them on there 3’6 gauge even today