MY RECOMMENDATIONS for Walthers passenger cars are:
USE KADEE 30 series couplers - because they have 3 different shank lengths ,3 different shank heights, plus each coupler box has 2 mountings. That is 15 different coupler combinatiobs without disturbing the critical truck/bolster height combination.
USE Kadee’s ‘Grease-em’ in the axle wells. It’s inexpensive Graphite and will lubricate the metal/metal without disturbing the electical flow - should you want to add lights in the future.
If you have a preference of you own, (please) state WHY.
Users of #30 couplers have a trickier time with KD’s centering spring - it takes practice - or accomplishment, if you will.
(2).Users of ‘whisker’ couplers will not have as many available adjustments, and (3). ‘scale couplers’ have less handshake over vertical deflections- letting go - plus are invisible when connected.
I use them on Observation car ends and ‘point’ engines where I can see them.
And you can mount the coupler box right side up or upside down so there are actually 4 different heights of the box possible instead of just two. Because of it’s spring configuration there is no difference on performance regardless of which mounting position is used.
This is an absolute shot in the dark, but just a thought from a pal who does larger gauges… I am a N scaler and really only have the few G Gauge pieces I was handed when my buddy got better stuff… But… He says that he replaces all of his G cauge hook and look couplers with Lionel Standard O gauge couplers… and says that you can use 027 couplers if those are what you can get hands on… … and you can mount them anywhere you want.
I find most “BIG” cars like your passenger cars show faults in couplers more then a regular box car will. My Athearn GO Transit Bombardier passenger cars had the worst couplers ever made on them. They would constantly stretch and uncouple. Once I swapped in my Kadee #5’s I’ve never had any issues with them and a side benefit was that they couple closer then they did with the old crappy ones in them.
The description in the Walthers HO scale catalog just says, “working knuckle couplers” and does not mention any brand name. That, to me, means they’re a cheap, junky, Chinese clone that must be replaced by a Kadee before use.
Dang, you all have me thinking I should seriously consider replacing most of my couplers with Kadee. Probably have around 300 (N scale) vintage Atlas cars and a smaller number of assorted other brand cars. (The number of cars I currently have with Kadees can be counted on my fingers & toes). Anyway, so is it just the couplers that get replaced or the entire wheel sets as well? And what would be a ball park figure for replacing the entire herd with Kadee couplers? Never really planned on it before reading this thread. [C):-)] Rob
Well, Im in HO Scale. Kadee has never failed in 30+ years no matter what I did to it. IF it broke, I broke it not Kadee.
Figure on 3.50 every two cars for 148’s in HO Scale and 9 dollars a set of Proto 33" wheels for 3 complete cars.
I dont do N scale and cannot tell you what it will cost with Kadee products in that scale. But at least in HO scale, Plastic couplers, wheels are thrown away on sight and replaced with Kadee and Protos or IM wheels in my home. I dont compromise.
You might catch me with a few plastic couplers, Im waiting for those to fail sometime within the first year or so so they can be replaced.
Such things have clarity in the Hobby, Kadee is quality and no I dont work for them.
Just looked at Micro-trains and it looks should run about $4.50 per car (for certain trucks if bought in bulk), while others will run a little over $5 per car. Not bad, until I started punching in the numbers on a calculator to convert my whole collection. Will have to wait a while yet, but aesthetically they do look 100% better than rapidos. Just add these conversions to my “someday goal”. (I’ve never been very patient)
I work around my patience by working in batches of 4 to 10 cars each. I think I converted about 200 cars so far. Half of which sold handsomly on ebay. I estimate I have about 50 RTR cars remaining to convert when they fail, luckly they have the newer metal spring on them and not the crappy Bachmann 1996 couplers everyone loves to el-cheapen a kit with.
You know, if I was Athearn and I sit looking at my sales figures seeing all that money going to Proto 33" wheels and to Kadee Couplers… I would want to negotiate with these two companies and include these items for a few dollars into each of thier products and build it right the first time, matching the gauges and standards out of the box. Stop wasting the customer’s time trying to save a dollar or two on a kit. The bottom line, revenue might actually improve.
Im not a tree-hugger, but our landfills are choked with these crappy plastic couplers and wheels… 500 years after we are dead and gone, the people are going to sit and ponder those items and wonder what the hell they were used for while the Prototype couplers in real life trains have long since oxidized and returned to the earth.
Convert a few cars half-way. A rapido on one end and an MT at the other. That way you can run trains with mixed couplers while you 're in the proccess of changing over, you don’t have to do it all at once, start with the ones that give you the most trouble.
Use Intermountain wheels. They roll better than Protos. Just make sure you have reliable couplers, 'cause if they let go on a grade, the cars will really take off.
Have read lots about couplers on various forums…and this one about body mounted couplers…seems as if body mounts are best…I work in N sacle…what would you suggest as a good kadee coupler for body mount…and how do I go about installing them?..relatively new so any advice will be appreciated.
translation: You want someone else to pay the $2.00 so you don’t have to?
You wan’t something for Free - So does the manufacturer! InterMoutain products come with Kadee’s. How many do you have? You get what you pay for, and vice-versa.
Buyers of Brass haven’t gotten any couplers with their expensive $200 - $600 purchases for years. It would seem that most of the complaints come from low-end buyers.
I dont mind paying the 2.00 or whatever as long they are installed correctly. In this age of 400 dollar Sound/DCC engines with dummy front couplers really piss me off.
Sometimes I think about ditching this crap and go back to O gauge where all couplers are one height and need a anchor to break.
I personally have no preference on couplers;as long as it is a knuckle coupler, it’s good!
Yes, E-Z mates and McHenrys do fail me. I really hate the new small ones they put on the Walthers Platinum Line Cabooses and the Athearn GP38’s. It’s not that they look weird or anything, but they are always a pain in the butt to couple to a E-Z mate if the coupler is just a little bit of center.
I do only buy Kadee #5’s when I go to the LHS, as they are nice, and I am not going to go the cheap way with E-Z mates.
But, as long as it’s a knuckle, I have no problem with them on my equipment. I don’t want to have to pay extra to get Kadee couplers on my cars when I don’t care.