Picked this up today. Weird looking couplers, no springs and straight rod “brake hoses”. Spring loaded into the coupler pockets.
Cannot see any way to open the coupler pockets. Integral with the all metal underframe.
In fact, the whole boxcar seems to be made of metal.
I need to put Kadee or EZ Mate II couplers into these coupler boxes.
Anyone know how to get in there to do that?
Can you cut off the old boxes and replace them with Kadee draft gear boxes? Either screw on or glue on the new ones.
Does it look like this?
Take the truck screw out, and this part should come loose. Flip it over and you will see this (I left out the little spring):
I don’t even know if Kedee still makes #4 couplers. That is the only thing that would fit that box.
Yes, that is from an old Athearn wood and metal kit in a Red and White box, and the working knuckle coupler is from Model Die Casting (Roundhouse).
Normal stuff in the 50’s and 60’s.
I would cut the coupler pocket off the body bolster and install a Kadee pocket.
Sheldon
Does it look like this Walthers Automatic coupler #U683? Straight rod trip pin (air hose). See those tiny pins to fasten the coupler in place.
The coupler is a Devore.
Are you talking about my post? All of them I saw came in packages like this:
They did come with kits from a number of different companies.
Sheldon
Picked what up? If you need help, please supply pictures.
Is this a house car, tank car, hopper car, or passenger car?
In any case, get rid of the stock coupler boxes and install your coupler of choice in a genuine Kadee coupler box.
-Kevin
Kevin, I knew what he had from the description. #112 refers to Athearn item A112 from the late forties (if it’s in a sold red box), or early 50’s (in the deep orange and white box like I pictured).
It is a metal kit for a 40’ steel box car lettered CANADIAN PACIFIC.
They orginally came without any kind of coupler set up. But later came with the cast body bolster and intergal coupler box I posted.
The kit came with dummy couplers which were very popular at that time, but many people installed various operating couplers.
What he decribes sound like the MDC coupler I pictured.
Sheldon
OK, then since it is a house car, I understand even less why this is a problem. The simple (and overtly obvious) solution is to discard whatever the kit came with and install a Kadee whisker coupler with a #242 coupler box using a #2 wood screw.
Easy-Peasy and DONE!
-Kevin
Agreed.
I wonder where our OP is?
I’ve wondered that more than once, too, but I’m pretty sure we’ll hear from him again. [:-^]
Wayne
You guys! [(-D]
One question, Kevin, what’s a house car?
Mike.
Forgot to post the Quote first. The question was, What is a House car? It’s a Box car.
The first time I’ve ever heard a box car, called a house car. Whatever. [%-)]
Mike.
I’d expand that to being a car which has a roof and doors, which would include boxcars, stock cars, and reefers, but would not include passenger cars, which have their own terminology.
Any of those three-mentioned types converted to MoW equipment could be considered house cars, too, if they still have a roof and door(s) of some type.
Wayne
Some disassembly required.
But not as much as I ended up doing, not fully understanding how the parts go together despite having those very clear and complete photos to work from.
Ignored Rule One in model railroading. Carefully examine whatever it is you seek to improve, repair or modify BEFORE lifting a screwdriver or knife or any tool.
I could not see any seam between the end of each of the bolster castings and the rest of the underframe. The whole thing looked continuous, as a plastic moulding would be. I failed to notice that the main underframe was composed of pressed steel beams. Nicely done. The bolster/coupler castings were so exact they fit perfectly against the rest of the underframe so tightly it all looked like one casting.
Removed two screws to take off the trucks (each screw is also sprung which is a very nice detail ). Each truck had two Kadee fibre spacer washers.
The other two screws are very short and removing each yielded the dreaded clunk of a nut falling off inside the car (turns out these screw into little weight bars, also a neat touch.)
The body lifts off. The ends kind of fall off, held on only by the two wire end rungs. And still no closer to the backs of the couplers.
THEN I looked more closely and noticed the ends of the underframe including the bolsters were separate castings, as in the photo. But no sign of any fasteners. Turns out the makers exploited a handy characteristic of sheet metal: punch a hole in the sheet metal and you can create a raised sharp lip around the hole. Press a round metal anything just slightly larger than the hole into it from the punched side and the sharp edge will grip whatever that is. The bolster castings just press fit into these punched holes. The truck screws fit into the studs that press fit into the car floor. Sort of prototypical in that the trucks aren’t actually fastened into the underframe.
I pried off the bolsters very carefully r
So next time just wait for me to answer your question…
I have a number of these antiques in my roster, and similar cars from Varney and others.
A 1953 Athearn price list shows the HO 40’ box car kit at $2.50
When I started working in the hobby shop in 1970, yellow box/blue box plastic Athearn freight cars were mostly about $1.98
Athearn continued to offer the metal cars for about a decade after the introduction of the plastic cars.
Sheldon
Oh I did wait. Even with your priceless information I still managed to screw things up. Fortunately, not seriously. I did get to fully understand why someone like me might want to own one of these and update it just enough to run it with more modern models. Kadee to the rescue. Athearn still won’t use Kadee, weird.
Without your information it could have been worse. Thanks v much.
With your help I’ve preserved another little piece of modelling history.
I’m very pleased with myself.
Even though I’ve no right to be.
It is a term used to describe Boxcars, Stock Cars, and Refrigerator Cars as a group. I used the term “vans” to describe these once, and someone suggested “house” was a better term to use for a collective grouping.
-Kevin
Athearn owns McHenry Couplers, it was one of the first knock offs when the Kadee patent expired.
It is all about cost - AND, there was a time in this hobby when Kadee was not willing to supply the OEM market, I still don’t they go after that business or give any price break beyond their normal wholesale.
And here is the other thing now. I don’t like the semi scale couplers, some people love them. So if a company like Athearn supplied genuine Kadee couplers, but not the kind the modeler wanted, the consumers would complain they are paying extra for expensive couplers they don’t want.
Want the expensive couplers? Install the version you want yourself - orginal Kadee, semi scale Kadee, Sergent couplers or what ever.
Just like the trucks I put on almost everything, I put $8 worth of trucks under what started life as $2 freight cars… Most people would not pay the extra money.
Sheldon