over this and next year i’ll convert my roll. stock from the old “horn-hook”
couplers in favor of “knuckle” couplers my question is are all HO scale kaydee’s compatible do they fit the same mounts and do they all hitch to each other. their conversion guide says:(i only listed two of my loco’s)
Atlas U33c 38 or 454 style
Athearn GP38-2 37 style
could you shed some light on the issue. also would they hitch properly to another knuckle, say Bachmann EZ mate?
I’ve been doing the same with a fleet of vintage rolling stock from the 60’s. What I’ve found is that the Kadee guides are geared towards modern cars. The old Talgo truck-mounted couplers on my Mantua hoppers don’t work with the suggested Kadee replacements - I suspect the Talgos were changed after mine were made. Likewise, who has ever heard of a manufacturer called Crown, which made cheap cars in Hong Kong back when Hong Kong was cheap?
So, I regard each new coupler upgrade project as an “engineering challenge.” Most involve cutting or grinding something with a Dremel, preferably coupler pockets, occasionally my fingers. My hint for the evening - Lowe’s has a cheaper Dremel starter kit than Home Depot. The Dremel is such a great tool that I would advise anyone doing a lot of coupler replacements to get one.
What I’ve ended up with is a big package of Kadee #5’s, a package of Kadee draft gear boxes, and a bag of 2-56 screws. My toolkit, besides the Dremel, is a couple of screwdrivers, wire-cutters and pliers, plus a drill and 2-56 screw tap. Add to that a Kadee coupler gauge and you’re on your way. I just splurged for the Kadee trip-wire adjustment pliers, too.
And I have managed to install Kadee couplers, with full range of motion and correct height, on every car and loco I’ve tried. It can be done.
If you have a copy of the Walthers HO scale catalog, Kadee lists all of their couplers and will tell you which to use with the items that you are wondering about. Most Athearn engines, if not all of them, will accept a #5 coupler. The #5 is probably most universal coupler that Kadee has to offer. I have cars from several different manufacturers, inluding Athearn, MDC, Walthers and Accurail and I have been able to use Kadee #5’s with all of them. And yes, Kadee couplers will mate with any other coupler that is similar to it.
CANADIANPACIFIC2816
THINK 'Body’ mount’s…and Talgo mount’s. Never the twin should meet -
-unless you have a 'Conversion Car (one end Talgo - one end Body mount).
WHY? the dynamic’s are different and cause derailment’s. BETTER to convert all to Body mount’s. Talgo’ s are compromises made for toy RR’s with ‘toy like’ curves.
In general I like the #5’s for freight and #30 series for my passenger cars.
Kadee has recommended replacement’s: http://www.kadee.com/conv/ho.htm
The best way to align the couplers and insure they are mounted at the proper height and trip pin clearance is (yes, I KNOW I’ve said this a hundred times) get and use the Kadee gauge. We’re only talking $4.00 here folks, it’s not some huge expensive item. Install a #5 and check it against the gauge. Look at the plan views of the couplers (I prefer the 40 series metal couplers) If the #5 lines up right and gives a proper distance between cars, leave it on. If not, get the offset head or long or short shank coupler to line it up properly with the mount you’re using.
Other nice things to have, making the job easier: coupler pocket shims, .010 and .015 inch washers, and a pair of trip pin bending pliers
First thing I would never use anything than a Kadee!! #5’s work on almost all rolling stock, I have also had some real good luck with #78’s the draftgear box is alresdy assembeled and they are also proper scale size, so they look great on any locomotive.
On the Athearn GP38-2 and similar, I’ve found that filing the frame down a bit is necessary, otherwise, the couplers come out high against the gauge. A no. 5 can then be screwed onto the frame using a Kadee box. Provides insulation, and proper functioning. Some people use a body mount method, where a pad is built up on the shell, and the lug on the frame is removed. I have no experience with this method.
The knuckle types should all couple up to each other. Whether they stay coupled after more than one use…[:0]
As the old Kadee ads said, “The Standard by Choice”[:D][;)]
sounds like replacing couplers can sometimes be a big deal , for now i’ll convert all my loco’s so thay can be used in combonation with any other loco’s i purchase. maybe i’ll just make a few conv. cars rather than switching everything. i’ll try to get plenty of new roll. stock this next year(2006) as i have enough loco’s (to run the railroad)
Thanks everyone looks like Kadee #5 for me.
5 Kadees mounted directly on Athearn engines can cause shorts between units as the frames are part of the electrical circuitry.
This very subject is being discussed on another forum here under : “do you cut the trip pins off couplers?” by espee3004, -----again with the “bamboo skewers” Let’s get a movement to invent a decent workable coupler, please.
I’d echo the advice to get a height gauge - I’ve never had a problem with trip pins hitting switches when the coupler is at the right height. Also be sure to use the plastic #30 series couplers on Athearns - it’ll stop shorting. If you look a little further on the Kadee site you’ll find printable diagrams showing how to fit the couplers too - these are very handy indeed as they also list tools you need (there’s a drill and tap set they offer that will be needed for Athearn BB locos to drill and tap the mounting pads). Hope this is of help!
i don’t understand what you mean athearn b-b’s “shorting” out ,my gp38-2 has frame mount couplers
Actually, it is fairly straight forward and after you have done 2 or 3, you will find that it is not really a hard job at all. Yes check and see what the recommended coupler is for the unit. Absolutely get the KaDee track guage! It is well worth the money and can be used for some other things like holding track in place while soldering. Does a good job as a heat sink with that task too. I keep some of the common sizes in stock at all times. Almost all the time, the #5 fits perfectly. Good luck, and have fun!
Check out the Kadee starter set, which has a bunch of different coupler types and the height gauge and I think a few other useful tools.
There’s a reason Kadee makes so many couplers: it’s called lots of car manufacturers. When I started Kadee made the 4/5, 6, 7, 8 and 10. (The 10 is now the 5.) 6 7 and 8 were essentially the same mount with different lengths. Either the 7 or 8 came with an offset shank. And the uncoupling system was mechanical.
On my Walthers Budds I’m getting rid of those stock knuckle couplers and switching over to Kadees.
They’re great cars, but it is a tad frustrating that almost no 2 cars match up height-wise when coupling! One coupler is usually either too high or too low.
\ i now know almost all my rolling stock takes a #28
My solution to the Talgo problem is once again to use the Dremel. I cut the coupler mounting off the truck, and then body-mount a new coupler using a draft-gear box and a 2-56 screw. That’s where the drill-and-tap comes in.
I do have some long passenger cars which would never negotiate my 18-inch radius curves unless I kept the truck-mounted couplers. For those, I just drilled out the pre-exisiting hole from the old coupler, and put on a draft-gear box and a #5. Another note about truck-mounted couplers - if you use metal wheels, then the whole truck will be electrically connected to one rail or the other (assuming it’s a metal truck, of course.) So, you need to insulate your couplers just like on a locomotive.
I also use the draft gear box when I mount a coupler on a locomotive. The plastic box provides complete insulation, and lets you use a nice metal #5 rather than a less rugged piece of plastic.
I’m sure someone has already mentioned it but it’s worth repeating. Go to Kadee’s site and print out the conversion book. They’ve done a lot of the thinking for you.
Thinking makes my head hurt 
The power pick up from one rail passes through the frame to the motor. A metal coupler mounted on the frame will have this same rail power in it. If one puts two of these locomotives together they will share the electricity through the couplers. If both frames happen to be picking up power from the same rail it is great. If one of them is from the opposite rail - short circuit right through their couplers.
Not really, especially with all the new styles of Kadees on the market now.
It would be really silly to force yourself to use a #5 (or #45) for everything. I’ve seen people file, cut, wedge, shim, fill spending hours just trying to fit a #5. I go get a #32, #46 or whatever the appropriately fitting coupler is and bolt it on and go.
There was a thread about two months ago where someone at a hobby shop told this person that putting Kadee couplers on a certain model was impossible. I just had the sneaky suspicion that this LHS person was a #5 only type person, so I went and pulled that particular model off my shelf, called up the Kadee web site (almost the most time consuming part of the project), grabbed the recommended couplers off my workbench, and TA DA - total time of 45 minutes I had Kadees installed on this “impossible” model.