I am debating if it is worth while to upgrade my ho cars to proto couplers from horn hooks. Does anyone remember what issue Model Railroader did a review on proto couplers. I don’t plan to do a lot of switching and have started to nip the horn off the couplers. Thanks.
Although costly, I would strongly reccomend replacing the horn hook couplers as you can. Not only do they look better, the prevent many derailments caused by the lateral pressure on the couplers. Once you complete converting the couplers, yoy may want to consider upgrading the wheelsets. It took me several years to upgrade my fleet.
From the magazine index above:
HO scale magnetic knuckle couplers
Model Railroader, July 2000 page 58
A survey of the current crop of couplers
( ACCUMATE, ACCURAIL, BACHMANN, COUPLER, “HEDIGER, JIM”, INTERMOUNTAIN, KADEE, MCHENRY,
PROTO2000, MR )
Whether or not to upgrade is based on two factors - One, how well do the hornhooks work for you? Two, does their unprototypical appearance bother you?
You can do a few cars to try it out. Have one or two cars as transition cars with hornhook on one end and a knuckle coupler on the other.
The article and the experiences of most people seem to be that Kadees are the best. I have used Kadees for years and been happy with them.
Enjoy
Paul
Thanks for the help guys. Phil
I use mostly Kadees, but I have a few McHenry couplers as well. Kadees cost a bit more, but I think they’re better in the long run. The only problem with them, is that they can be a pain to install on some cars–those nice Rivarossi passenger cars are one example. But there’s usually an upgrade kit for situations like that 
I would use that survey of couplers the same way most of us view MR reviews of equipment. they will mostly tell you what is right and mostly gloss over issues that concern us more than them. Most of us will tell you bite the bullet and buy Kadee couplers. The first, the best and the only one I will ever purchase. The knock offs and everything else is a knock off have a number of problems including latching problems if left in a less than tension state. never leave a train with plastic ones in a slack run in state or you will be replacing couplers.
They both have their advantages & disadvantages. The kadyee look better & are easier to switch & detach with, whereas they uncouple on grades, some long trains &, on rough routes, also freight coupler shanks vary in height causing uncoupling on curves. Hornhook couplers are ugly & hard to switch with yet they work better on small passenger trains & lighter freight trains, as well as grades, rugged routes, & long trains. Also kadyees tend
to lose springs, but they are also made of metal to handle immense weight, whereas hornhook(plastic) will break on heavy trains. Good luck!
I have run 100+ car trains with Kadee couplers. They make a height gauge. Make sure all the cars match the gauge and you should not have problems with the cars uncoupling. If you do, it’s time to fix the track.
Kaydee offers ten packs of both the “standard” #5s and the more prototypically proportioned #58s that can help with the cost of conversions. The ten packs donot include coupler pockets that the two packs have, but most “conversions” do not require a new pocket as you can use the existing one on the cars.
The transition cars, Kaydee on one end and “horn-hook” on the other, is a good way to make the transfer over to the new couplers manageable. I think you will be like the rest of us, pleased with the results of the change over to knuckle couplers.
Good luck in your modeling, and welcome to the Forum.
Will
Another thing to consider is the fact that horn hooks are being phased out. More and more manufacturers are beginning to install kadee equivalent (I guess) couplers. My fleet has served me well over the years being horn-hooks. The problem I have with them is they are becoming scarce. These ones you can find have a much bigger center hole than what my vintage 70’s tyco cars have. Good news is you can still buy some Tyco cars packages as IHC in white boxes pretty cheap at hobby stores. I need traction tires for about 20 Tyco diesels as badly as I need horn-hooks. Mine are getting pretty old.
Manofwar,
Are you military or a horse racing fan ?
When you start your conversions, you find a bunch of illustrated conversion sheets for the different kit manufacturers at the Kadee Quality Products Co. site:
http://www.kadee.com
stored as .pdf files.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543
I thought I should add this: Some of the #30-series Kadees will fit into the #5 and #20-series boxes. Just use a #5-style box (who doesn’t have a pile of these sitting around?) and centering spring. I sometimes do that if the local hobby shop is out of them.
There’s one other disadvantage of the horn-hook couplers that hasn’t been mentioned above: they’re no good for pushing the train or in a slack run-in condition (running down a grade and trying to control speed by slowing the loco). As they press together in these conditions, they have a tendency to skew or put sideways force on the car, even worse if they’re mounted talgo (truck mounted couplers). This seems to encourage derailments, especially on switches and crossings.
You’ve probably seen my posts listing the advantages of the Kadee brand knuckle couplers as compared to the others. These comments are based on my experiences with them and the other brands. Buy a Kadee Height Gauge ($4.00 in HO Scale) and one each of the #5, #42, and #47. The three will allow you to determine if you need a centered, offset high, or low shank coupler to meet the coupler height gauge correctly. Make 2 cars your conversion cars (a Kadee on one end and leave the horn hook on the other end). Then as you can afford it, pick up more couplers as you can afford it, converting more cars and locos until you’ve converted your fleet. Then as you get new cars and locos, set them up from day 1 with the Kadee’s.