Just got the HO Empire Builder passenger set from my LHS. The cars are nice; however:
Walthers CONTINUES to put lousy McHenry couplers on their premium cars. In about half the cases, these would not couple together because of being off center. The heights were off, too. Most too low by a small amount. The dome car, too high and wouldn’t work with the others. Baggage car front, too low for an engine correctly adjusted to hold onto it.
Thrown away and replaced with KD’s. On the dome car, had to use undersets, since there is no way to adjust these trucks.
I’ve heard reasons why car makers don’t buy KD’s, but I just don’t buy it; give us a break. And institute some actual product inspection.
Every manufacture includes a very stupid Hook & Loop coupler that matches everyone else.
They can not get together and supply a knuckle coupler that works with anyone else. Most of the time they do not work with different manufacture date of there own.
The biggest U.S. supplier of “G” gauge RR equiptment can not pull a couple of cars up a slight grade without parting and quickly the pin fails altogether.
The biggest supplier of replacement knuckles looks like two snakes fighting.
Another complaint of mine is why do ALL model RR equiptment put the coupler on the trucks? NO railroad ever put the coupler on its truck.
Hal, I agree that Kadees are the best way to go. However the height issue is surely just bad design of the coupler box location rather than the fault of the coupler, you said yourself that you had to put under-set Kadees as you could not adjust the truck.
Just out of curiosity were these McHenry couplers with the metal coil knuckle spring? I have used these as a drop in replacement for some IHC horn-hooks on a cheap passenger consist I put together and these work very well. The ones with the plastic filament return spring are dreadful.
Whatever they are, probably not McHenry as Horizon owns McHenry and well, they just don’t see eye to eye. Will look when I get to the shop to see if I can identify what they are. They might very well be just a Chinese clone.
I wish the manufacturers would use KD couplers but,I don’t see that happening because the KD coupler is a AFTER MARKET coupler…I think there is 1 or 2 manufacturers that uses KDs though.
Well, Ive a stack of Kaydee 148 whiskers waiting for the crappy ones to fail. (And they will) It’s too bad the manufactors refuse to invest a few dollars and install Kaydees right from the factory.
I did notice a few RTR cars coming out of the factory that required some further adjustment to pass the coupler gauge. I dont know if we are suffering from the China Factory worker getting tired at the toys and just jamming them into the shipping containers or what… but the quality control just does not seem to be present. I have to pass or fail a car at home on the workbench.
Im beginning to discriminate in future rolling stock purchases based on what I call the “Hassle factor” the fixing of shoddy work. The less potential for it the more likely I will buy that boxcar.
I think it has to do with tight trainset radii, particularly in G scale. If the couplers were body mounted, cars would yank each other over due to all of the overhang on sharp curves without some kind of swing arm arrangement. It’s probably just cheaper and simpler to mount them on the trucks.
For the record the reason manufacturers do not use Kadees is Kadee cannot supply a large enough quantity. The are made by a rather involved process. It is not just a matter of turning up the machine faster.
I’m sure there’s truth in what you say, but if Walthers, or Stewart, or Athearn, etc… would make a call, don’t you think they could eventually “crank it up” to produce the quantity needed?
I recall buying kits in blue box for 2.00, some for 1.50 retail. Now they are about 10.00 for the exact SAME kits.
Come back and ask me about rising prices one more time. In the mean time I spend more on the couplers from Kaydee than ever before. I dont mind; I never had a kaydee fail… yet.
More than likely, the reason Walthers still uses McHeny couplers is that they still have a large supply left over that was purchased prior to McHenry selling out to Horizon.
To: jsoderq, the reason Kadee does not sell to more manufacturers is not a supply issue. We can, and do, supply tremendous amounts of couplers to several manufacturers. Our production rates for certain couplers can meet any makers requirements. (I dare not tell you how many #5 couplers we’ve produced over the years.) The biggest isssues are costs and their bottom lines. A number of manufacturers buy our couplers because they know the “majority” of modelers want to have Kadee couplers on their models. However, a number of manufacturers care only about their bottom line and not the desires of most modelers. We do, however, understand because we have to deal with our own bottom lines and that’s why we can not offer our couplers for less than it costs to make them. Also note that 100% of the products we make are made right here in our own shop in White City, Oregon, USA and we pay a decent living wage to our employees. However, we do not, and I’d guess most people don’t, know the the actual economic comparison of Pacific Rim (China) cost of living to ours.
Thats why I only buy items in kit form. That way any shoddy work you have to fix is your own, and better yet, you don’t have to pay for it.
What gets me is I am told that model train cars are coming Ready to Run because they are just to hard. The thing that insults my intelegence is the cars that are being offered, blue box style kits. Now of these were cars that were offered in kit form in the old Ambroid style I would see a legitimate complaint. But for crying out loud. Shake the box and it comes out built almost. While I am personally seeking craftsman style kits because I enjoy the challenge. Making shake the box style kits ready to run only increases the costs of said car while creating the potential for lots of frustration on the part of the modeler. I also feel that ready to run also removes alot of the core values of what this hobby is about leading to the increasing presence of people who’s layouts appear in magazines that basicly follow the priciple. “I have alot of money so I hired Joe’ Amazing Custom Layouts for Every space to build my layout for me”. I find such a thing insulting and it degrades the work of people who actually build their layouts.
Are the Walthers’ passenger cars really fitted with McHenry’s? Reason I ask, is that though I’ve had to replace all of my Walthers’ cars with Kadees as a matter of course, I’ve got another passenger train from another mfgr that I’ve outfitted with McHenry’s, simply because they fit the particular trucks, and I’ve had absolutely no problem with them.
Frankly, I really WONDER where Walthers is picking up their couplers–maybe at a Garage Sale, LOL?
Well, I have been doing G gauge out back since 1989,(and HO in the basement) and I use Kadees out tack also. And I body mount them. Takes a little more effort but it is worth it.
I do have large radius track and switches out back thanks to Llagas Creek. Also IM has been installing Kadee couplers on their HO cars for a couple of years now.
James ,I can only add right on! Your post and the one from Kadee are some of the best things I’ve read on this board. We’ve all got a right to do things the way we want, and if all you’re inclined to do is run RTR equipment, fine, but your missing one of the most interesting and rewarding parts of the hobby if you don’t build some of your own stuff.
As far as quality goes, we model railroaders are saps. How long have we put up with poor quality items that have to be corrected afte
James ,I can only add right on! Your post and the one from Kadee are some of the best things I’ve read on this board. We’ve all got a right to do things the way we want, and if all you’re inclined to do is run RTR equipment, fine, but your missing one of the most interesting and rewarding parts of the hobby if you don’t build some of your own stuff.
As far as quality goes, we model railroaders are saps. How long have we put up with poor quality items that have to
In HO, when it comes to either a kit or ready to run, I think of the purchase as merely “Parts” until it has gone through “My carshop”…period…If you put those trucks on a small mirror and tilt the mirror back and forth,and watch that junk hobble back and forth,you will quickly see the “”“qUalIty”“” of the wheelsets…At least those the wheelsets can be used in a scrapyard scene…The couplers??? most are not even good for that…I would rather see kits come without this junk at all…I would rather buy my own steel wheeled trucks and draft gear couplers…I want my HO equipment to look and run like a real car…
People have asked me on numerous occasions as what train to buy for their grandchildren…My reply is that a good quality starter set will give them everything to get started, but allot of the cheap junk has to be rebuilt to operate properly…and the track should be properly secured to a surface…I have looked at numerous starter sets in the stores and have seen couplers and wheels that have fallen off the cars…Maybe instead of starter sets, they should be called “beginners kits”
There is the old saying “ya get what ya pay for”“” well, when it comes to allot of train stuff, that is not the case…Some companies have better quality comtrol than others,Kadee couplers mounted on draft gear are my choice…and steel wheels.
The cars with the couplers mounted on the trucks --well-- they are Just like my other toy trains; my Lionel 027s, Hardly what I would call a model…