Last night, I worked on the first of 5 of these cars. First, getting the proper empty weight (according to NMRA standards) was a bit of a challenge, but now to couplers. I decided not to use the Athearn metal spring attachment because the center post in the box is too small for the opening in the Kadee coupler, allowing too much coupler motion.
So, what have others done to make the conversion? The Kadee web page suggest either replacing the coupler box entirely (major surgery to exposed areas on the model) or using the Athearn metal attachment.
Maybe KD has changed their packaging but I never got shims with my KD#5’s, bulk or two packs. I got the couplers and extra springs in the bulk packs and the coupler draft gear boxes in the 2 packs. The washers are sold separately in two thicknesses, red and black colored.
The issue I am having is with the Athearn 2-bay 50-ton hoppers. The center post, a stepped-affair of two diameters, is too small to allow the direct drop-in or #5, #58 or #158 couplers. The coupler slops around too much to allow the car to operate that way and reliably couple to something else. Thus the question.
There are no shims that come in these coupler packets. There ARE some round adapters that come in a packet to adjust 20-series couplers, and some that come with 40-series couplers. None of these will drop into the Athearn coupler box. The red and grey shims that Kadee sells are for insertion under the car’s trucks, and these will not fit inside the Kadee coupler round hole.
For a shim to work with the Athearn coupler, it would have to be just large enough to “sleeve” around the Athearn post, AND to be just small enough to fit inside the Kadee coupler shank’s round hole.
I called Kadee yesterday and talked with their coupler-fitting guru, Sam. He agreed that there is no easy fix for this problem. He suggested drilling the thing out and installing a 2-57 screw with one of the afore-mentioned plastic parts.
For me, I drilled out the post, but then I glued-in a 1/8" styrene tube. The thickness of the Athearn box is not enough to reliably hold a threaded screw. Ream the 1/8" tube with a 2-57 thread cutter to give more surface area. I also learned that the Athearn box will not work with the #5 coupler spring. The box is too shallow. So #158s work.
Like Randy, I’m scratching my head on this one. Are these a newer version or RTR?
I haven’t had any problems dropping a #5 into any of my BB Athearn hoppers.
Also, empty weight has never been an issue (weights on slope sheets). My greatest trouble w/ these has been the 2/56 truck screw being too long. Excess tightening a bottomed screw will cause stripping.I generally glue the frame to the lattice/ ladder ends to stop any frame/ coupler box vertical movement.
These are Athearn kits bought probably 10 years ago. When I talked with Sam at Kadee, he seemed to be very familiar with this problem with older Athearn kits so I assume that what I found to be a problem is common with those kits. That’s what I know.