I’ve just purchased about 15 older HO boxcars, gondolas and a few tank cars from someone getting out of model trains. These cars all have the hook and horn couplers and need replacing with knuckle couplers. What type of kadee type coupler should I use? I don’t know the manufacturer of the cars. Any recomendations?
Also, I bought a used Bachmann Spectrum DASH 8-40 loco and a Athern SD40-2 that has the same issue with older style couplers. What’s the best kadee knuckle replacement for these?
We need a better description of the box cars rather than ‘old’. Do they have truck mounted or body mounted couplers? If they are truck mounted, then I recommend cutting the coupler box off of the truck and mounting a #5 coupler in its own box on the end of the boxcar. If they are body mounted, then a #5 coupler should fit into the box provided on the box car.
In terms of your locomotives, #5s should fit in the Spectrum, but a metal coupler in the Athearn unit will spell trouble down the road as the frame is live. You will have to use a plastic coupler.
Finally, a purchase of a Kadee coupler height gauge would be a good idea.
The first step is usually to try a Kadee #5 or #58. (They differ by the size of the knuckle head. The newer #58’s are smaller and closer to prototype size. They will still couple with #5’s.)
There are also corresponding “whisker” couplers from Kadee. I haven’t used these, but other seem to like the for ease of installation. The #5 and #58 couplers mount with metal leaf spring boxes.
Every model of car is different, by the way. Simple Athearn box cars are generally the easiest to convert - simply remove the mounting screw, take off the cover, replace the coupler, cover and screw, and you’re ready to go. Some cars, though, have the coupler mounted on the truck, not the car body. This is called a “Talgo” coupler. If possible, it’s better to cut that off and replace it with a body-mounted coupler. Kadee sells “draft gear boxes” which will provide a coupler pocket where one isn’t available, like on one of these old Talgos.
I used the name Kadee deliberately. There are other coupler manufacturers, but there is only one Kadee. Anyone who tries to sell you a substitute, saying “these are just as good,” is not doing you any favors.
Finally - buy the Kadee coupler gauge. It will help you set the coupler height and trip pin height correctly.
Shouldn’t be a problem if the trip pin is properly adjusted - even with the live metal frame. A better (and more realistic) option is to body mount the couplers.
The problem with metal couplers and live metal frames is that if you have two locos (Athearn BB spring to mind) that have metal couplers on metal frames is that if the two locos are coupled tail to tail (or head to head) it can cause a short circuit that will trip the DCC systems circuit breaker and could damage the decoders in question and could possibly damage the DCC system as well.
Kadee is the inventor of, and the best maker of, knuckle couplers in HO. In fact they were the only maker until their patents finally expired in the 1990’s. The clone coupler makers McHenry, Bachman and others, mostly supply couplers to rolling stock makers. The few clone couplers for sale in hobby shops usually cost as much as Kadee’s. So why not buy the best, when it doesn’t cost any more?
Kadee makes a zillion different styles of couplers to fit the zillion or more different pieces of HO rolling stock manufactured over the last 50 years. All Kadee’s intermate with each other, the different styles involve the way the coupler attaches to the rolling stock. Kadee has a list of “what fits what” on their website, and published in the big Walther’s book. When in doubt, look up your rolling stock in the list and go with the list recommended coupler.
The Kadee #5 coupler is as close to universal as it gets. Most freight cars will happily accept a #5, and a lot of other things will too. In fact, with enough shimming, filing, hacking, and Dremel work, you can get a #5 to go into anything, but I recommend sticking with the Kadee list. Cause some times all that shimming fili
Nope, it is still an issue. What does it have to do with the trip pin? Athearns are all body mounted. If you have 2 ‘live’ framed Athearns back to back you get something called a short. Shorts are bad. Shorts make Modelrailroading not fun. Shorts should be avoided all the time. I am confused by your retort.
Ah! I see! I hadn’t thought of a back to back coupling! Its been so long since I used the stock frame coupler mounting pads on an Athearn BB, I forgot about that little fly in the ointment.
If the trip pin is out of adjustment, it may touch (and short out, however briefly) on the rails as it crosses switches and crossings etc.
I meant body mounted as being mounted to the plastic (and therefore non conductive) body shell (as opposed to the metal, conductive frame).
This is all great info. Since I’m new to model railroading I’ll have to go back and check my cars to see if they have frame or truck mounted couplers and go from there. The #5 kadee seems the standard to use.
Kadee recommends a #37 (or #31 with plow) for the Bach Dash unit. There’s not much room for a standard pocket on those shells. http://www.kadee.com/conv/pdf/b37.pdf
Both the Kadee and Walthers web site have a PDf download listing what coupler to use with what manufacturer. Those cars must have a manufacturer or some identity on the bottom of them. I also thought there was a plastic shanked coupler for use in Athearn engine pockets. If I have consists that always stay together I just use a drawbar between them made of plastic painted black. Nobody has ever commented on them in over twenty five years so it can’t be too visible and it saves hobby $ for other things.
Shouldn’t be a problem if the trip pin is properly adjusted - even with the live metal frame. A better (and more realistic) option is to body mount the couplers.
-George
close quote
The problem with uninsulated metal couplers on locomotives (or metal cars) with ‘hot’ frames is the probability of creating a dead rail-to-rail short through the mated couplers. The easy answer is to use either a plastic coupler (not wonderful on a locomotive) or use a Kadee which has a plastic draft gear.
Happily for all concerned, a little filing will get a Kadee #5 with plastic box under the pilot beam of my Japanese prototype steamers. Of course, I don’t have to contend with a pilot.
Kadee has a coupler recommended for the Athearn locos. It has a plastic shank, and the normal Kadee metal coupler head. I think they are #27, 28, 37 & 38.
Let’s keep it simple. Kadee 5s or 58s for almost all rolling stock. You need a Kadee Track Gauge and coupler pockets. It there isn’t a coupler pocket on the car, then use the coupler pocket with the number 5. You will need to check the coupler to be sure that it matches the gauge. If it doesn’t, then shim (generally) or remove plastic until it does. The glad hand will undoubtedly need to be adjusted to keep the coupler from draging on the track. Support the coupler with a finger as you adjust the glad hand upward so that it doesn’t drag using a pair of pliers.
The gladhand on Kadee coupler comes set just right from the factory. If the gladhand is catching on turnouts it’s a good bet the entire coupler is too low. The Athearn blue box cars are all low, and need a #6 flat washer under each truck to bring them up to height.
The #58’s look better than #5’s, being smaller and closer to scale, but require closer attention to matching coupler heights to prevent accidental uncoupling.
I suspect this would fit Tyco and Model Power cars, too. While the couplers will still be truck-mounted, and the OP may eventually want to get rid of that, this could be used to do minimal upgrading for more operation without wasting too much time or money on cars that will probably be retired and replaced after a while. A set of these, and a few pennies for weight and there could be a lot of fun ops until the budget catches up.
