Question: I got a Life Like set for a gift and would like to expand it. I aquired some different cars to go with it but they have different couplers on them. Some horn, some knuckle. First, witch are the best to use? Second, how do you change them?
The knuckle couplers are by far the most common today. Only the cheapest “toy train” quality equipment still comes with the horn hooks. Go with knuckles.
Every make of car is going to be different. Some are easy to just pop out old and put in a replacement. Others are more difficult to convert. Here is a conversion list - http://www.kadee.com/conv/holist.pdf The Kadee site also has some conversion directions.
What type/brand of cars do you have?
There are other brands of coupler besides Kadee. For most of us, though, Kadee isn’t just the first choice, it’s the only choice.
Hopefully, the couplers on the cars you have are mounted on the car bodies, not on the trucks. The truck-mounts give inferior performance, although they are sometimes necessary to get long cars around tight curves. Still, some manufacturers continue to provide truck mounted couplers, also known as “Talgo” mounting.
Even if your couplers are truck-mounted, though, Kadee has a number of solutions for you. You can either use one of their conversion kits for these units, or cut them off completely and body-mount the couplers using a Kadee “draft gear box.”
- SORT by coupler type: a.Talgo vs. b.Body mount; c. Knuckle vs. horn hook.
2.TURN each car over.Bottom plate held on by screw? , glue? , or ? Glued covers may be damaged when ‘prying’ off. Save for last.
CHOICE of #148 drop-ins, or replacing entire coupler box and #5’s - or both. OEM products are inferior.
RECOMMENDED: Kadee coupler height gauge; KD Washers; Jewelers screw driver for 2-56 crew. Convert all Talgo & horn hooks, first. Matching coupler types means less problems).
I replace all ‘Talgo’ (truck mounted) couplers with ‘Body’ mounted #5’s and Kato trucks. Many Talgo truck makers economize with cheap plastic + (Kato trucks are #1 rollers).
Thanks everyone for your help. With everything you all mentioned and the web sites you told me about I think I have this part of this project figured out. I know now what to look for when purchasing rolling stock. I"m glad I found this site. Thanks again for allof your help. Tdriver.