Coupler Housing for HO Yellow-Box-Era Athearn F Units

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have some older yellow-box-era Athearn dummy F units. The bases are of the older grey/silver/pewter color.

These originally connected with drawbars. I would like to convert them to couplers, although none of the coupler housings I have will fit the bases.

Was there a specific housing made for these, and are they readily available?

2

The Kadee Athearn - HO Coupler Conversions webpage states to use #252 gearboxes for the Athearn F7s…

Tom

3

Yup, that looks like it will fit.

Many thanks!

4

My first F-units were from Globe (later acquired by Athearn), and used Kadee #4s, which I believe are no longer available. I’m sure that Kadee has something else suitable for those locomotives.
However, from this photo, below, it looks like I’ve replaced it with a #5…(click on it for a larger picture)

The original paint job was Santa Fe, later re-done in CPR grey and maroon, then in this double grey and green with a freelanced roadname, still in use, although the diesels are long gone.

Here’s a different one, but in the same colours…

Wayne

5

Thank you! I assume that an expert such as you knows this, but the part of the Athearn dummy base where the coupler housings attach changed between the yellow-box rubber-band pewter(?) era and the later blue-box black-frame era.

I am not a fan of dummy units in general, but I have two of those older yellow-box-era bases from my childhood, and I really want to restore these.

I also love the look of those. You can see much more detail in the silver/grey color than you can in the black.

6

One of the old issues we had with the original Athearns is that if you used metal couplers on the locomotives, there were so many metal freight cars and underframes out there, and metal coupler draft gear housings from Kadee for things like the #4, that you could create “here today/gone tomorrow” short circuits just by putting together your consist and your train in a certain way. Typically to insulate the draft gear box on old Athearns you needed to mill way from metal, and use the nylon screws that Kadee sold.

While I prefer metal couplers for durability at least today you have plastic alternatives including from Kadee itself.

Dave Nelson

7

Thanks. My cars and engines have a combination of knuckle and horn hook couplers, so I may just use the latter. I realize that is heresy to many, but I’m too lazy to do a full conversion. :wink:

8

Shock, I have this NMRA Conversion Kit for Athearn F7s – no idea if it is complete; what you see in the photo is what’s in it:

If you think this would be of use to you, it’s yours. Send me a private message with an address and I’ll pop it in the mail.

Aaron

9

Hi Aaron, thank you for your kind offer. Based on your photo, I believe that these couplers would work on the blue-box era F7s, but not the yellow-box era, as the the metal frames changed. I believe I found the correct ones. I will reply to this thread when they arrive. Thanks again!