I’M NEW AT THIS. I’M NOT SHOUTING, JUST POOR EYESIGHT. WHEN CHANGING THE COUPLERS TO RAPIDO, DO YOU HAVE TO GET THE SAME BRAND COUPLERS AS THE CAR YOUR WORKING ON, OR DO ALL THE COMPANIES COUPLER/TRUCKS ENTERCHANGE? ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANKS, RRSPIKE
N SCALE COUPLERS ARE A PAIN TO WORK ON,EVEN WITH GOOD EYESIGHT,AS FINGER SIZE ALSO IS A PROBLEM.SO WHEN I SWITCH TO MICRO-TRAINS COUPLERS,I TRY TO BUY PRE-ASSEMBLED UNITS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION RIGHT,YOU HAVE ROLLING STOCKS THAT ARE EQUIPPED WITH MICRO-TRAINS COUPLERS OR SOME OTHER BRANDS AND WOULD LIKE TO CONVERT TO RAPIDO STYLE ONES.WHAT I DON’T UNDERSTAND IS WHY?RAPIDO COUPLERS WERE THE STANDARD IN THE PAST AND ARE GRADUALLY DISAPPEARING FROM THE N SCALE SCENE AS MOST MODELLERS ARE SWITCHING THEIR STUFF TO M-T COUPLERS FOR MORE REALISTIC LOOKS AND RELIABLE OPERATIONS.ALSO,SOME LOCOS AND CARS MANUFACTURERS ARE NOW DELIVERING THEIR PRODUCTS WITH M-T COUPLERS FACTORY INSTALLED.
YOU MAY HAVE TOO MANY ROLLING STOCKS WITH RAPIDO STYLE COUPLERS SO THAT YOU WISH TO KEEP THEM TO AVOID COSTLY STANDARDIZATION OF YOUR FLEET TO MATCH THE NEW MATERIAL AVAILABLE…I UNDERSTAND THAT AS I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM.LET ME SUGGEST A WAY AROUND THIS…AS I DID…HAVE A FEW “IDENTIFIED” CARS THAT CARRY BOTH COUPLER STYLES SO THAT YOU CAN INSERT THEM IN YOUR CONVOYS AND BE ABLE TO ASSEMBLE WHATEVER CARGO LOADS YOU WISH.
IT IS MUCH EASIER TO CONVERT FROM RAPIDO TO M-T COUPLERS THAN THE OTHER WAY AROUND SINCE,AS YOU GUESSED IT,DIFFERENT BRANDS OF ROLLING STOCKS REQUIRE DIFFERENT COUPLERS AND M-T’S ARE MUCH EASIER TO FIND.HOPE THIS HELPS…AND BY THE WAY…I WASN’T SHOUTING EITHER.
I’m going the opposite direction from you–I’m swapping out Rapidos for Atlas or M-T couplers. I agree, these things are a pain to work with, simply because of the tiny pieces.
Rapido-style couplers are disappearing. More and more N scalers are switching over to either the Atlas style, Kato couplers, or Micro-Trains. However, most new Atlas cars include a pair of Rapido-style couplers. Atlas, Kato, and M-T couplers will work together, but it’s best to standardize on one. Atlas also sells trucks with their couplers already installed. These trucks will fit other manufacturer’s cars with a little modification. For example, I’ve had good luck fitting them to Bowser 3-bay hoppers by reaming out the bolster hole.
One brand of N scale coupler I’d avoid, are the ones that come with older Con-Cor rolling stock. They don’t couple with anything else.
You essentially have three major couplers in N-scale (with some others that are not so prevalent).
The oldest is the Rapido coupler. This was the standard at the beginning and took a long time to dethrone. That’s mainly because it was the only design that could be shared. Rapidos are ugly, but they usually work very well. Many still use them in longer trains as they are very strong and reliable.
The Second type is the ‘MT (Micro-trains)’ knuckle-style coupler. They have been around a long time too, but have been proprietary to MT which I think slowed their growth. But now that the offerings in N-scale have increased over the past few years, many are turning to this coupler. It’s strong, reliable, and comes with many truck styles (and colors). However, they are also pricey. If your eyesight is an issue, always buy these pre-assembled.