Ok, I can’t spell, but I need to replace a taglo truck horn hook coupler with a more prototypical on. Length from coupler to mounting pin is just short of 1 inch. I’ve searched for it and nothing I’ve found is even close. Anyone have a suggestion?
I think the numbers have changed since I’ve bought any but the McHenry is a good knuckle replacement for Rivarossi HO couplers:
https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/brands/McHenry-Couplers.html
The Heavyweight baggage and RPOs use the shortest, HW Pullman, coach and diner next length and the four-wheel smooth-side or corrugated the longest (MCH-52 IIRC).
Good Luck, Ed
McHenry couplers were interchangeable with Rivarossi. Horizon Hobbies bought out McHenry. Check out Athearn Couplers.
http://www.athearn.com/Search/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=couplers
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
Aging is not for wimps.
McHenry 53 for three axle trucks.
McHenry 52 for two axle trucks.
The 52 has the longer shank.
These just clip into the trucks as a direct swap in fit.
I don’t like McHenry couplers but they are by far the easiest to install. They are not durable. Buy extras.
Handy tip, refrain from just pressing the new coupler onto the pin. That sometimes breaks off that vital pin, especially on old cars. I’ve experienced that on IHC cars (which is why I know how to fit the Kadee conversion which is a far superior solution). When pressing in the new coupler put your thumbnail behind the pin while you do so. You don’t have to but eventually you’ll probably find out why I recommend that you do. It’s easier to do this with the truck off the car but after a few replacements you will find the thumbnail trick can be done with the truck on the car. Until you do the Kadee conversion you’ll be getting lots of practice replacing broken McHenrys. I also add a tiny drop of Labelle 107 oil to the coupler socket to aid in pressing it in and lubricating this pivot point. The lighter Labelle oil would probably work better and the Labelle 106 ptfe grease would work well also. Tiny amount makes the whole thing easier and the coupler swing better.
Kadee makes good conversions but you have to do some rework on the trucks to fit them. I’ve done the truck conversion on IHC cars, it’s time consuming to do accurately but very straightforward.
https://www.kadee.com/documents/ahm33.pdf
https://www.kadee.com/documents/ahm32.pdf
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7v9309M9Z5Q
Fitting Kadee body mount couplers is also a good option but even more work.
For example:
So far, I have kept the Horn-Hook couplers on my Rivarossi passenger cars. I have two sets, one heavyweight and one smooth-side streamliners.
Neither set is painted yet.
I have cut the bottom half of the uncoupling trip pin off the couplers. This horn-hook coupler is naturally resistant to vertical seperation uncoupling, which can be a problem with long cars.
I do not “operate” passenger trains. They don’t get switched around, and they do not get pushed backwards. So far, just running around in long curvy loops, the stock coupler has worked well on these models.
I think I will eventually install Precision Scale dummy couplers on the rear of the observation cars. I will put Kadee #451 swing couplers on the front head-end cars so I can swap out locomotives.
The diaphragms should do a good job of hiding the ugly couplers. That is another project.
Unless I run into problems, the stock horn-hook couplers will stay.
-Kevin
I have about a dozen cars with McHenry snap in couplers, some over twenty years and never had to replace any. They mate up with Kadee couplers nicely.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
Aging is not for wimps.
I have a set of 4 Rivarossi passenger cars. They came with large knuckle couplers, body mounted in a swing box. I replaced them with the scale-sized Kadees #58s.
They worked, but poorly. I suspect that the thinner coupler shank on the #58s were too thin for the swing boxes. They all sagged and occasionally disconnected. I think I will replace them with the slightly thicker #5s.
Or #148…
Or fit the scale coupler matching Kadee coupler boxes?
Checking the Kadee site indicates the #58 should fit the same coupler boxes as a #5 so your coupler droop is not caused by shank thickness.
Kadee says all their couplers in a list should fit each other’s coupler boxes and #58 is in the same list as a #5. That means the #148 also fits into the same boxes.
I have not seen this coupler design.
I did a quick search. It looks like this was the design used on 60 foot cars made by Rivarossi. Is this accurate?
-Kevin
Walthers heavyweights use a swing coupler box.
Did you have any problems with coupler seperation using “scale head” couplers?
-Kevin
For a while Rivarossi offered, IIRC, four cars in this line, baggage, RPO, combine and a coach. Amazing similarity to the Walthers setup. No surprise there. I’ll bet Hornby does the manufacturing for the Walthers Proto passenger cars.
IMG_8034_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Of course, these are not the original Rivarossi, made in Italy, line that the OP is asking about.
Good Luck, Ed
Great summary of the problem. it’s unlikely I will operate with these cars, so obviously the solution is not to make work ( I’ve got lots of other projects) but to modify the horn hook original couplers so they look more prototypical. They’ll sit on a holding track track in Dallas Union Terminal and just look interesting.
Thanks guys. I’m glad to have some common sense folks to put me back on track when I over think stuff during my’planning’ time. That’s between 4 and 6 in the morning. Very productive, but leaves a list of things to do that gets longer every day.
Not a bad problem to have.
Mike
I need to work on that. Some of my projects result in a lot of work and not much benefit.
Back when I was working, broke, and raising kids it was good to have “busy work” that did not cost much.
Now I am none of those things, I need to build a railroad!
-Kevin
Replacing the horn-hooks with the McHenry couplers takes about 30 seconds. You pull out the horn hooks and snap in the McHenry.
BTW this is only for the old 1960s-90s AHM/Rivarossi ‘made in Italy’ cars, the much later Rivarossi / Hornby / Walthers 60’ ‘made in China’ cars came with the coupler set-up shown in Ed’s earlier post above.