I’m having a tough time finding the correct couplers for a few engines (can’t find any conversion charts).[:(!] What couplers would I use for the tender of the HO IHC 0-8-0 and the pilot of the 4-8-2 (if possible). Any help is appreciated.
I had the IHC 4-8-2 Mountain but didn’t bother.
Try going to www.kadee.com/conv/list.htm and scroll down to IHC.
You can also go to www.kadee.com, scroll down to COMPANY INFO and click on “Contact us”
Then their on line e-mail form pops up.
Send it to Sam Clarke, coupler conversion specialist. This is what Sam gets paid for, let him do his job.
KD is in Washington state so there may be a time lag.
Wit a little cutting, filing, drilling, shimming, and/or ingenuity, you can get the Kadee 5/58 to fit just about anywhere, on just about any car or engine. Adding a #5 to the back of a coupler is simplicity itself: find out where the coupler goes, make sure the attachment area is flat, drill a hole for a 2-56 screw, and add the coupler. If the coupler’s too high, add splice plates of plastic until the coupler is where it’s supposed to be.
Adding a coupler to the pilot of steamers is trickier. Generally, you either have to compromise by adding a non-centering coupler, or by ruining the scale look of the pilot to get the standard dimension Kadee box to fit. I generally opt for the non-centering coupler. (the front couplers on steam aren’t used very heavily, so it’s no big deal if they’re fixed to the front)
Kadee is actually in White City, Oregon. (That nondescript patch of land between Washington state and the Nation of California.) White City is not far from Medford, in Southern Oregon. Never been there but would like to visit someday. Dan, in Oregon (That nondescript patch…)