Rivarossi (AHM) Passenger Car Coupler Question

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I would like to install Kadee couplers on some older Rivarossi heavyweight passenger cars that I have with truck mounted couplers. Kadee calls for using their #505 coupler conversion kit. I can’t tell, though, by the drawing on their website exactly how you attach the new coupler boxes. The cars have six wheel trucks. Has anyone ever used these? Just wondering how they work before I order a bunch. Any help will be appreciated.

And, yes, yes, yes, I realize that there are many new more accurate models being made, but I want to run these on a display layout and not worry that they could get damaged or grabbed by viewers. Plus, I gave up on trying to get some newer cars I own to take the sharp curves on the layout.

Jim

2

I have not used the kadees you mentioned. Even with those kadees, full length cars may not do well on very tight radius curves.

Athearn cars are shorter, and still look authentic. They do better on short radius curves. You may want to consider swapping your cars for Athearns.

3

The conversions work well. They are still truck mounted, the Kadee tongue just replaces the original with a box for the Kadee coupler. They screw to the original trucks after some cutting. The kits have adjustment for height depending on what size wheels are used.

4

Thanks for the help! I couldn’t tell by the info Kadee gives if you use the exisiting coupler arm (tongue) or if they provide a replacement. And, I didn’t want to install them and then find out they didn’t work well since, as I said, it’s for a display layout that needs to run without a lot of attention.

The unrealistic appearance of them going around such tight curves doesn’t really matter as the curves are hidden from view.

Jim

5

Yes, they are truck mounted conversions. Cutting and filing is necessary, but there are screw adjustments built into the finished design so the length can easily be adjusted. You cannot “convert back”. The couplers work OK. I found them to be a bit low, but generally they are only coupling to each other. If you upgrade the wheel sets to 36" it helps.

6

I think you’re much better off using Jay-Bee coupler mounting pads and Kadee body mounted couplers instead of those conversion kits. The conversion is nothing more than a long piece of plastic designed to extend the coupler mounting out to the end of the car so a regular Kadee coupler box can be mounted on it. They tend to sag and cause the couplers to droop too low. You still have a truck mounted coupler which tends to push sideways on the wheels and derail the cars if you ever try to back them up.

7

If you want the easy way out you might want to look into the McHenry conversions for Rivarossi cars.

They have a snap in replacement that I have used and I find that they worked very well.

CN Charlie

8

The Kadee conversion kits use the original “tongue” on the Rivarossi truck, and allow for different heights, dependent on wheel size, and also allow you to adjust how far the coupler extends beyond the car’s end. They recommend replacement of the stock wheels with Kadee 36" wheels to obtain proper car and coupler height. If you install the larger wheels, you’ll need to trim the brakeshoe castings moulded on the truck sideframes.

With a few details, plus some added weight, the Rivarossi cars, in my opinion, are perfectly acceptable:

Coach

Pullman:

Diner:

Pullman:

They’re also great fodder for kitbashing, like this ex-diner:

…ex-coach:

…or ex-combine:

Wayne