I am running HO scale and would like to pick a decent type of coupler that can work with automatic unhooking devices at sometime in the future if possible.
To this point my rolling stock is rather inexpensive kit stuff and came with some kind of terrible coupler I have replaced with Model Power Magnetic Knuckler with metal springs. They are described as Center Shank-Medium. They were available at my LHS, were reasonably priced, and looked like those which were on most of the new locomotives on the shelf.
Before I get too big an investment, what should I pick?
Kadee #5s are generally the standard coupler, made of metal, and hearty. I actually like and prefer their #58s because they are closer to prototype size.
Whatever coupler you decide to choose, Kadees are worth the investment. Along with couplers, I’m a believer in metal wheel sets, too. There are a number of good brands to choose from.
Gidday Marc, while I’ve used Bachmann E-Z Mate Mk ll couplers, I’d go along with the top two recommendations, though the Kadee Height gauge also works for the Bachmann E-Z mates.
This past week I had occasion to upgrade the couplers on some of my rolling stock fleet. I had just purchased an Atlas Trainman100 ton hopper painted for my second favorite railroad, the Penn Central. The Atlas model is a good runner right out of the box but I am not a fan of the accu-mate couplers that are installed on the model. This type of coupler is a two piece design and has the tendency to fail when the slack action of the train causes the couplers to compress. This would happen when going downgrade or stopping. The result is that the coupler open and the split design will not allow the coupler to close causing a disconnect between cars. My preferred coupler is the Kadee type with a knuckle spring. Recently the Kadee patent expired and Walther’s Proto 2000 line has released a virtual copy of the Kadee #5 coupler which is known to model railroaders everywhere as “old reliable”. For today’s application I will be using for the first time the Walther’s Proto 2000 Knuckle Coupler.
The car we will be working on is an Atlas 100 ton hopper lettered for the Southern Railway. I picked up several of these cars on sale at a local hobby shop a few years ago. Here is the car on my home made test track coupled to the Kadee Height Gauge. I also
I remember in the early '70s doing my best to convert all the rolling stock to KDs. They were a tad expensive, but you really did get what you paid for. I still have many of those same cars/couplers and I can honestly say I’ve never had a KD fail.
I have tried a few other brands, and of course got them on RTR cars I bought. Sooner or later, I got rid of them for they just didn’t give the same performance as the KDs.
Oh, your comment of “kit cars” sounds like you are referring to Athearn “blue box” kits. IMHO, they are one of the backbones of the hobby, and with KDs, metal wheelsets, Dull-Cote, and some light weathering, they are great layout cars!
I use the Kadee #119 shelf coupler. It’s a full shelf coupler and can be converted to a lower shelf coupler which is what’s used on many modern cars today. To make the conversion just cut the upper shelf off. It’s as easy as falling off a log. These couplers stay coupled even on rough track which I have plenty of so I know what I’m talking about. They uncouple well over a magnetic uncoupler. I don’t use uncoupling magnets so I uncouple them with a small screwdriver which only takes a couple of seconds.
If it’s not a Kadee it’s not worth the time or money.
Even with all the advice above, you may still be considering brands other then Kadee to save some money. Let me relate a few experiences so you can benefit from my mistakes.
Couplers that have a cast in spring to close the knuckle are a failure waiting to happen. The separate coil spring that Kadee uses take a bit of skill to replace if they ever come out (not a common occurrence), but are reliable and rugged.
Years ago I bought some of the first Walthers Superliners and like to run an 11 car train of them at our club. They came with EZ Mates, so I used them. On one of our big hills (we have a 5 turn helix), the train would constantly uncouple on the upgrade. I checked coupler height, rigidity of mounting, etc, everything was good. I finally got down to observe, and when they uncoupled, the coupler shanks were actually twisting under load, allowing the couplers to lift out of each other. I replaced them with Kadee 40 series (metal couplers with different shank styles), set them to proper height, end of problem.
They may be more expensive than other brands, but I’m the type to go with what’s proven to work reliably.
Huh? The gear box for the #148 Whisker coupler works fine with the #5 and vice versa with both the #232 and #242 boxes. I’ve used both without having to change the box out.
What number coupler and box are those? With the scale head metal couplers you use the #242 or #178 gear boxes. Are you thinking of the #178? I don’t think I’ve ever used one of those.