i have 3 engines ,2 use tyco couplers amd the onther engine use kadee knuclkle couplers with are standard types. . should i keep my tyco cars or buy new ones. Gary D.
Gary, .[#welcome][#welcome][#welcome][#welcome]
What types of cars do you have? Some Tyco cars have potential. I have a 50 ft. wood deck Santa Fe flat car that came with a 1973 Tyco set my late father bought me. I modified the underbody and replaced the “snap in” trucks with Proto 2000 trucks and metal wheels. I’m going to body mount Kadees on her and repaint it as a “maintenance of way” car for my engine service facility.
If the cars look good to you, keep them. You can weather and dress them up. I wouldn’t buy anymore though. If price is an issue, look into MDC, Bowser, and Athearn Blue Box freight cars.
For bargain priced decent locomotives, it’s hard to beat Proto 2000.and Athearn Blue Box .
Tell us more of what you’re looking for and we can be of better help
I agree with Antonio some of the tyco cars can be upgraded with new trucks and couplers and still look OK, but I would’nt buy any more of them.
bill
IMHO any car can be up-dated and used,if you get a good deal on tyco cars,estate sales ECT,ECT go for it.My self I injoy working on old cars.[:D]
JIM
Welcome to the forum!
Tyco is no worse then some of the other brands on the lower end. Box cars= sheds, tank car=water or oil storage, flat car=crane base etc. Modify them do not tra***hem. It is called KIT BASHING and is part of the fun.
I have a Bachmann HO F9 di[esel ( Chessie) engine . I have frieght cars like box,tank,gondula,cabbose… can i convert the trucks to standard trucks with knuckle couplers… my frieght cars are in good shape too.
usher42:
You certainly can convert those freight cars. They’ll never be museum quality but I doubt that you’re running a museum either. You will want to replace the trucks and add knuckle couplers. You might also need to add weight. The NMRA standard of 1 oz plus 1/2 oz per inch of length is a good one for optimum performance.
And [#welcome]
Chuck
pull better than some of their engines. Convert them to KDs and roll 'em.
I have alot of Tyco in my collection of 400+ cars. All have been converted to body mounted Kadee couplers and most have metal wheels. On some I kept the truck sideframes and replaced the wheelsets with metal ones from Lifelike or Intermountain. If you want to replace the entire truck, you may have to fill in the large mounting holes and drill and tap 2-56 holes to mount the new trucks with screws. I have seen replacement trucks with the snap-in kingpin like Tyco uses, but the detail wasn’t much better and they had plastic wheels, which I rep;ace anyway.
I’ve got a lot of Tyco,Lifelike and other cheap cars converted to knuckle couplers.Their great cars to practice on.Save the cheap cars to try weathering techniques and kit-bashing on.Some of mine pull better than the $$$ kits I’ve bought. Remember-It’s your world, what you say goes!
First of all, HELLO! I would say if you like your Tyco’s and you don’t want to spend a small fortune on knuckle couplers do up one or two cars as “adapter cars” with the Tyco coupler on one end and the knuckle coupler on the other end. Some of those Tycos are pretty funky looking and can make up a unique train if you aren’t too concerned with being prototypical. And here is a quick tip get yourself a Micro Mark truck tuner or a Reboxx truck tuner for honing the the axle mounts, it makes a big difference in how easy the car rolls and how many cars your locos can pull.