Does anyone know what Kadee couplers fit the Athearn coupler box? they have a plastic cap that pushes down over the metal frame extension to hold the coupler. kadee #5 and won’t work. Kadee #148 with metal whiskers will go in and work but the Athearn post is too little for the #148 coupler hole also the whiskers stick out of the coupler box. I would like a better coupler than the plastic centering whiskers on the Athearn couplers.
You can’t go wrong with the Kadee “what-fits-what” list which is on the Kadee website, the Walther’s website and other places. It’s printed in the big Walthers catalog. Although it is possible to warp a Kadee #5 into anything, you will save a bunch of hacking and filing and cussing by going with the recommendations in the Kadee list.
The Athearn blue box Geeps and F units call for a Kadee 30 series coupler with the round Kadee coupler box. Installation requires drilling a hole and tapping it for a 2-56 screw in the Zamac chassis. The drilling can be done by hand with a pin vise, although I will confess to using a drill press, since I have one.
You can’t go wrong with the Kadee “what-fits-what” list which is on the Kadee website
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The replies got me to thinking, A couple years ago I printed out the kadee fit list and the old brain forgot there was such a list. The list was properly filed away
The only problem is the hole in the coupler is larger than the post in the coupler box. This increases the slop between locos. I was hoping to get away from this.
Thanks
Lee
PS: It looks like the list calls for a #37 or #38. I have to do some more research , to see which is insulated.
37 and 38 are both insulated shank. 38 is centerset like a #5, 37 is underset so it raises the coupler head up above the shank mounting point - most AThearn blue boxes have the pad down too low, another old way of putting Kadees on them invovled grinding downt eh protrudign part of the coupler pad on the frame but you need to make sure it stays flat and level. And to get the height correct you end up sanding it down rather thin - it’s easier to use the underset shank couplers.
I bought both the #37 & #38. They both have a modified coupler box. Non standard. To me it looks like a #5 coupler box could be used just as easly. I will see about that in a couple days, right now the wife has me scheduled.