i am trying to add body-mounted Kadee couplers to my old blue box streamline passenger cars. Can anyone tell me if I need to add a spacer to the body to mount the Kadees at the proper height?
I did not need a spacer with the standard passenger cars, but there seems to be a difference with the streamline ones. Thanks in advance for any help.
RicZ
If you are referring to the old blue box kit passenger cars, a KD will fit right in without any adjustments. OK, that was my experience with consists of heavyweights and streamline cars - but your experience may vary.
Only way to be sure is with a KD coupler height gauge - a worthy investment IMO.
You need a spacer, this company makes them:
http://jbwheelsets.com/coupler_mount.html
Not sure how you body mounted on the heavyweight cars without a spacer and got the correct height?
Sheldon
Hi there,
Body mount couplers might very much limit the radius curve your Streamline cars can handle especially if they are close coupled and your curves are even medium say 24-28". You will have few performance issues with truck mounted couplers because passenger cars are most often pulled unlike freight cars which can be switched and pushed and pulled over multiple track formations.
My recommendation is to keep your couplers as truck mounts.
Cheers from Australia
Trevor
Sorry… somehow managed to post twice… been having gremlins lately!
These are a possible option, too:
You still may have to build up (down) the floor to provide the proper coupler height and a smooth surface for the swing.
Good Luck, Ed
I used 0.060" (1.5mm) and 0.040"(1mm) styrene plates laminated as a spacer. The coupler was cut out the upper and lower shelves of #118 and shows it as a type H tightlock automatic coupler for passenger cars. This is recommended by Kadee (official site). These cars operate on my railroad tracks, including #6 turnouts.
Kotaro Kuriu
I have some Rivarossi coaches. They came with swing-mounted coupler boxes which allow the cars to operate on 18 inch radius curves.
I use the coupler pads I recommended above, with #36 Kadee couplers, on Athearn and ConCor 72’ cars.
This is a long shank coupler with a wide swing.
I also use American Limited diaphragms and set the coupler back for close coupling.
Personally I have large radius curves, 36" minimum, but these cars will run fine down to about 28-30 inch radius.
Sheldon
Sheldon,
Thanks for posting that link!
I checked it and, while I no longer own Athearn passenger cars, I still have a group of Rivarossi Budds that are equipped with the stock Talgo trucks. JB makes a mount that will work quite nicely for the Rivs!
You are most welcome, happy to help.
Sheldon
I’ve been chasing down Jay Bee coupler pads on eBay for months!!! I have no idea the company still existed and was still making them! The Internets have failed me, Atlantic, but you have not. I am so glad you posted this. Now i have no excuse not to finish my Amtrak rainbow era train.
Yes, btw, to the OP: These things work perfectly. You can make spacers but for what they cost, I think these little JB pads are worth the cost for the time they save.
Aaron
That was my understanding as well. I have used Jay Bee coupler pads on several ocassions in the past. When I could no longer find them, I made my own from styrene sheet.
Rich
Like a lot of small companies in this business, it appears they are only selling direct these days.
Sheldon
Allow me to insist on this one: The KD gauge is an absolute necessity! If you rely on other cars to adjust the height of your coupler, you might get an entire set of cars at the wrong height. This can have tremendous implications on operations, including uncoupling operations and avoidance of derailments due to sagging underpins.
Ed: thank you for posting the Kadee special extended coupler with the spring, I will look for that. Seems to be the a good solution for layouts with tighter curves…
Simon
I think I mentioned on a related post that a number of HO passenger car modelers have been recommending to go with “Whisker” type shelf couplers.
From what I’ve read, the KD shelf couplers perform well on trackage that is not level, so the chances of unintended uncouplings decrease considerably.
I operate my rolling stock on a friends layout and he has a few “dips” on his layout’s main line. Thankfully he’s gradually making the needed adjustments.
Using shelf couplers instead of fixing trackwork is like adding traction tires instead of weight to an unbalanced/light loco, and is also like adding keep alive capacitors instead of adding pickups to dead wheels; all being bandaid solutions.
That being said, I am personally guilty of the latter, Im too lazy to add pickups to brass engines 
Charles
Kadee suggests that using shelf couplers will not compensate for rough track.
They suggest the shelf effect may increase probability of derailment.
Presumably there’s a sweet spot in there somewhere that using shelf couplers on those long wheelbase cars helps.
Why, why, why, do you continue to do this?
The real statement from Sam on the Kadee website (click to make it readable):
-Kevin
Why, why do you continue to do this? Why, why,why, why?
You really should develop improved reading skills, or possibly improved comprehension skills.
Scroll down to the “However” referring to derailment and the exact statement about not compensating for rough trackage, even in quotes although from where they are quoting is unclear. The relevant passage is right before Kadee touts their uncoupling devices and tool.
Here Kadee expressly disclaims the use of these shelf couplers to compensate for rough track instead of fixing it:
https://www.kadee.com/coupler.htm
I’ll stop if you stop. You were doing really well there for a while, even recently deleting a personal attack type post. You can do it.