The local club requires these special couplers and wheelsets on any locos or rolling stock that run on their layout. I really don’t have any intention of doing that but does the average jo model railroader guy/gal change out the factory couplers and trucks just to run them on their own home layouts? Just curious. Thanks.
Jeff
Good operation usually means good wheels and couplers along with good trackwork.
If you have rolling stock that have plastic wheels or inferior couplers, you should consider replacing them to provide good operation even on a home layout. If your layout runs perfect all of the time, then use what you have at home.
Cheers
I model in N scale (as I believe you do also) and I change out my couplers to preferably Micro-Trains or at least Accumates on all of my locos and rolling stock if they don’t already have them. I don’t care for Rapidos. I also use Atlas code 55 track a lot, so I change out wheelsets for Micro-Trains lo profiles (I like the plastic wheelsets as it doesn’t cause any issues with my DCC setup) on all of my trucks and all of my loco’s are RP-25 compliant (a depth of flange measurement set by the NMRA).
And the answer is: Very much - YES - I always replace any other coupler with KADEE couplers and any plastic to metal wheel sets. Kadee couplers in my opinion are the best and metal wheel sets keep the track cleaner , don’t get a grimey build up of dirt on the wheel flanges, and roll many times better than plastic wheel sets. I change both wheel sets and couplers before a piece of rolling stock goes on my layout…chuck
Special couplers and wheelsets? What exactly are you talking about, and how are they any more special or better than say Kadee couplers or IM wheels??
A lot of the new ready-to-roll rolling stock and locomotives come with KD style couplers and metal wheel sets, so they are go to go right out of the box. Older kits ald locos come with the X2F (Hook & Horn) Couplers which neeed to be replaced. A few years ago I started using the palstic McHenry copulers rather than the metal KDs because they were cheeaper. They sure were!!! I had major problems with coupler failure. I do run 35+ freight trains and all cars are weighted to NMRA standards. As the plastic couplers fail I replace them with KDs.
As for wheele sets, I think it is a matter of personal preference. I think the metal wheel sets roll better. I buy them in packages of 100.
This is not the only way, but it works for me.
JIM
Jeff,
Reliable operation and compatibility are the reasons that most clubs require this. My club requires that every piece placed on the RR be registered and in the process of registration the equipment is inspected for Kadee coupler at proper height, rolling stock to be of proper weight and have metal wheels. You can run any personal equipment in any condition, but it may not be left on the layout or used for any club operations.
Even if you only run your equipment on a home layout, it is a good idea change the couplers and run metal wheels for your own personal satisfaction in its better performance. Kadee couplers set at proper height will provide more reliable operation and lessen any unwanted uncoupling. Metal wheelsets will keep your track cleaner, allow far better rolling and also add some needed weight to the car at a lower center of gravity to help in tracking and lessen detailments as well.
Many years ago, I found that changing to Kadees set at spec allowed a chance to couple and delayed uncoulpling for spotting cars or just classifying them in a yard.
Jeff,
It depends on what you mean by “special” couplers and wheelsets. I personally have put metal wheels on all of my cars and have replaced the couplers with kadee’s. I feel both make a significant difference in the operation of my trains. If a car has metal wheels, I don’t replace them unless they don’t roll freely.
I have found if you that many of the other knuckle couplers are too stiff and will occasionally cause derailments and metal wheels roll better and don’t get dirty very quickly. I have a small layout 4’ X 12’ with some 18" and grades up to 4 percent, with metal wheels and kadee’s the limiting factor on how long a train I can run is the motive power not the ability of my cars to stay on the track.
I would convert the cars that you are most proud of first, you will want to run them on the club layout. I know it was that way with me.
Mike
I am guessing the clubs requirements came from the old days when one had a choice of Kadee or Horn Hooks. A club obviously has to have all the equipment conform to a standard.
At home, it depends on a lot of things. Does one want home equipment to be compatible with the club equipment? Some people have transistion cars for hooks with a Kadee on one side and a horn on the other. How good is the track work? How good is the equipment? It would be a total waste to upgrade really junky cars. Likewise really good cars probably don’t need to be upgraded. How is the equipment going to be used? If a certain car is going to be put into a unit train then it is not important if it uncouples and recouples well.
In the current market horn hook couplers are the exception. One must asked if it is worth swaping out plastic Kadee compatible for Kadees. This is because many home layouts aren’t large enough to have some of the problems a club would have with the plastic Kadee knock offs. I mean it is hard to get a 50 car coal train on a 4x8 layout so the hooks aren’t going to stretch and break.
I will sometimes run the plastic Kadee compatible until it breaks or becomes unreliable in operation. Then I’ll do the conversion.
As for wheels, the metal wheels will roll easier than the plastic ones. Once again this isn’t so big an issue on a small home layout where a “long” train is 6-10 cars. That is a big deal in a club with long trains of 18-30 cars. The axle will actually make a huge difference on how well a car rol
[2c] Also. I change all units locos , rolling stock to Kadees. Also replace wheels with metal wheelsets. Enough said.
If the wheels are plastic I swap them for metal wheelsets from NWSL. If the couplers aren’t KD’s I put in KD’s.
Enjoy
Paul
For home use, it’s really personal perference.
Operationally, I find metal wheelsets really do work better. I use Intermountain wheels. In addition to running clearer, and more freely, the solid metal IM wheels add a nice amount of weight to the cars.
I’m slowly replaceing the KD clones with genuine KDs. The coil spring clones aren’t too bad, but the one with whisker spring don’t work worth a darn.
Nick
Jeff,
It’s WELL worth the effort. When I first got started in HO scale, everything came with the old “Horn-Hook” couplers, which worked by a spring putting tension on one side of the coupler to hold it against its mate. Then I discovered Kadee couplers, which use a spring-loaded knuckle to hold the coupler closed, and also use a separate spring to keep the coupler centered. Using the horn-hooks, I’d have derailments quite often on my old 4x8 layout. After changing to Kadees, the problem pretty much went away.
Metal wheelsets are well worth it, too…not only do they add weight (not much, mind you, but a little), but they also make a huge difference in how often you’ll end up having to clean your track. Plus they SOUND really cool running across the track, too…there’s nothing like the “SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” sound a long freight train makes at speed. [:D]
I changed my stuff when I was in the local club. I was just following the clubs standard. We have the standard of using Kadee # 5s. Also the guys that have layouts that I run on also run with #5s. So I changed to #5s. We all dont run Metal wheels thou. Some of my cars have metal wheels and some dont. Kevin
All of you are talking about Kaydee’s and if this is the same OP as over in the layouts section, he’s doing N scale. The only kaydee’s in N scale are some 20-30 years old, and likely not going to be encountered at most LHS.
I know, the OP didn’t say the scale in this thread, but I just happened to notice that it was the same person as the one that started the “New Layout” thread in the layouts section.
For me the couplers must be Kadee and the wheelsets must not be plastic. That’s my local standard.
Kadee & MicroTrain used to be the same company. But regardless of the brand name the principles are the same. Some people swap out for the “special” couplers and wheels, others don’t. The reasons they do or don’t are also various and with or without genuine merit. All comes down to personal needs, requirements, impressions, and preferences.
In my HO scale, everything gets Kadees and Metal Wheels (Usually Proto) when they are kit built or when the plastic coupler imitations fail. I finished a boxcar series and waiting on a few more kits to arrive, but they all recieved 148 whiskers, proto wheels and other tidbits when built. The plastic wheels were thrown away along with the couplers without a moment’s thought except to lament that they will sit in a landfill still in thier little plastic for a thousand years long after were dead and gone.
I always put Kadees on my cars and locos. Originally, it was #5s, but now I’m using #58s. The #5s are still on earlier cars, though.
I haven’t gone through and replaced the wheels. As I encounter problems with a car, I do that, and I put metal wheels on any new car I buy, but my “legacy” cars from 40 years ago mostly still have plastic wheels. For now, I can live with that.
Some of these cars have very strange trucks with cylindrical pins on the ends of the axles, not the standard cones. So, I either have to grind out the trucks (which I’ve done on some) or replace the entire truck (yeah, that too on some) or I can just run with the old plastic wheels.
I know. It was two sides of the same company that parted ways. Thats all ancient history now though, and there aren’t too many LHS left that would have N scale Kaydee’s any more.