i, as a beginner was wondering what everyone has against horn hook couplers. also plastic knucle couplers, what’s wrong with them?
Alex,
Horn hooks are ugly and unprotypical looking. The plastic knuckles also don’t hold up as well as the Kadee or metal ones.
Having said that, I still have mostly plastic knuckle couplers on my rolling stock and have had no problems. However, if you have grades on your layout and like to pull heavy loads, the plastic couplers may have more tendency to break or fracture because of the strain on them.
Alex, I’m GMT -05:00. How many hours are you ahead of me in Australia, 12?
Tom
[2c] I’ve looked and looked can’t find one Class 1 RR that used them. Same for plastic. [:D][:D][:D]
Kadees [8D] currently only way to go. New 148’s are very easy to install (more so than #5’s) and spring action for coupling/uncoupling via Kadee magnetic uncouplers is excellent.
Jon
Horn Hooks? Yuk!
Plastic: Breaks and the “spring” eventually looses it’s tension and the jaw won’t shut. This leads to some really interesting wrecks and run-aways. For [2c] you save not buying KD’s it’s a poor choice.
Saying that I do find the Accurail coupler system about the best in the plastic catagory and continue to use them.
Fergie
A few of my engines have come with plastic knuckle couplers. When I leave them on, they break. They also won’t uncouple like the Kadee’s do over magnets. So now I just routinely replace them before the loco even sees tracks.
Most modeller’s try to make their models as "prototypical "as possible and the horn and hook coupler looks nothing like the real thing…they have outlandish uncoupling devises that stick out like a sore thumb and don’t work most of the time…that’s why we change them out…a #5 kadee coupler looks real and the magnets used to uncouple them are hidden from view…if you want to run hook and horn it’s your progitive, but in the name of protype operation they don’t cut the mustard…chuck
alexander,
Glad to see you asking good questions. Beleive it or not some years back Atlas made an uncoupler for the older horn hooks, this peice of track looked like a rerailer with a white ramp in the middle with 2 grooves in it. It did not work the greatest, but it did work. Horn hooks have gone to the way side, the Kadee’s and some of the other manufactures have become a norm for several years now. There are allot of MR who still use the old horn hook, its ones own choice. But if you ever convert to Kaddee’s you will be happy. They are expensive, but in the long run they are worth it.
You need to send me your address, I have some freight cars that I am going to donate to you to so I can find out what it will cost to ship to you. Let me know.
When you try to back up, a horn-hook coupler exerts sideways pressure onto your rolling stock and will cause it to derail, especially if you have those chintzy truck-mounted couplers. And horn-hooks look hideous.
I have used hundreds of McHenry, Bachmann, Kato, AccuMate, and other plastic knuckle couplers with few problems. The original McHenry and some of the cheap immitations that don’t use a metal knuckle spring are no good because they come uncoupled too easily.
Now that I’ve tried the new Kadee 148 Whisker coupler, that’s what I use whenever a standard #5 would have been used. I just hope Kadee comes out with a variety of head placement and shank lengths for them like their 30-series.
When you change (not if you change) to kadee couplers you will wish you had done it sooner. The improved performance is amazing. Try going in reverse around your layout at a normal speed through curves and switches with the horn hook couplers. (OK, now put you cars back on the track.) Of course that is not a normal thing to do but you can with the kadee couplers. I have pushed 25 cars around curves and up a long hill with no problems.
Other things you can do (besides backing up like a crazy man)
- You can uncouple anywhere on the layout (with a magnet between the rails)
- Once the cars are upcoupled you can pu***he car back as far as you need and release.
- The cars will couple at extremly slow speeds. (horn hooks tend to push cars back)
- The cars will not uncouple on tight curves.
- They just look better.
With the Kadee couplers I can operate my entire layout (13 x 17) and switch out any cars or engines while standing at the controls.
Start out with one train with Kadee couplers and a magnet between the rails. You will be amazed at what you can do.
The horn hook couplers were an attempt to standardize the industry on a coupling device on all HO equipment so that the modeler would be able to operate the piece of equipment without the need to purchase any thing else. The hobby generally wanted something more realistic with more reliable operating characteristics. Kaydee provided a more realistic, although oversized, coupler system. The ability to uncouple and “spot” a car at a remote location down a siding gave the modeler more operating posibilities. Over time a number of design modifications addressed the ability to mount Kaydees on a wide variety of equipment, as well as more prototypical size, and their rugged construction has lead to their place as a standard against whichother couplers available today are measured.
The longevity of the Kaydee’s in the hobby is a teatament to its being the answer to the long quest for a realistc looking and operating system. Like everything else in the hobby that actually operates, they require care in installation, adjustment, and occasional servicing. The debate continues about the other systems that have now emerged on equipment available to us. It is interesting to note that in Space Mouse’s tribute to John Allen, one of the critical comments about John’s modeling was his use of Baker couplers that were less than realistic looking, but had the advantage of being somewhat better from an operating stand point of a new concept in the hobby, actually “operating” the model railroad realistically.
We are fortunate that we have the fruits of the developments within the hobby of systems like Kaydee couplers, DCC , can motors , flex track and more realistic rail size, etc. that make “running” a realistic operations possible. What is the next break through on the horizon?
Will
Here is a link to the Kadee site: http://www.kadee.com/index.shtml
It has some good information.
Jim
The only reason to use hornhooks is that you can’t afford to change them. If that’s your case, make up a couple of transition cars with horn hook on one end and knuckle on the other. I would skip the plastics and go to Kadees as time and money permits.
Enjoy
Paul
Horn hooks are typically trian set quality. If you are just starting out and do not own a ton of rolling stock or motive power, consider the KADEE coupler as the ONLY coupler to use. Metal, many different versions and realativly low cost(yes there are less expensive one’s out there) are in your best interest. I know this as I had a large pile of rolling stock that had to be converted and it cost money! What I did was, as you buy a kit, buy a pack of #5 or the new #148(has built in centering springs). This way the next time you buy or convert a car or loco you still have a pair of couplers. Do this at train show’s also if you like the used stuff like I do. I did this for years. Instead of getting 2 kits, I only bought one kit, but also bought couplers. That way, I always have a set of couplers on hand.
I always liked the way horn hooks worked, but they do look like crap.
Can’t wait to try the new KD “whisker” couplers.
well I have nothing against horn-hook. Yes, they look unprototypical but I don’t mind them. BUT as I have started to purchase new motive power and rolling stock I discovered I’d need new couplers. I’ve made a few “trainsition cars” w/ a horn-hook on one end and a Kadee on the other. Kadee is the ONLY way to go. At least that’s what EVERYONE will tell you. Horn-hooks after they wear out, don’t stay coupled.
When I got into the hobby, horn hooks were the standard. Now it seems that most RTR equipment comes with KD compatible couplers. I was out of the hobby for 10 years so I’m not sure when this transition took place.
Horn hooks were okay for running trains as a unit and I did leave them on some of my passenger trains that didn’t require switching, but if you wanted to switch cars, KDs were a must. I know there were uncoupling ramps for horn hooks but they were ugly and forced you to spot the car where the ramp was. No delayed uncoupling. Now we have many companies making imitation KDs but none is close to the original in quality.
i use kadees and mchenery i do use some horn hooks but i cut them to fit my kadees i use any couplers i make them all work together.
i use kadees and mchenery i do use some horn hooks but i cut them to fit my kadees i use any couplers i make them all work together.
So i take it that i could upgrade to plastic knuckle couplers, from my horn hooks, witch would give improved performance, then uprgrade to kadees as i can afford it?
About them being ugly. you can mock my couplers, you can mock my scenery, you can mock my 2 lifelike trainset locos but i don’t give a dam’n. it is my layout, and only mine.
(i don’t mean this too be rude, i just mean i don’t care how ugly they are)
Alex,
You are absolutely correct - it’s YOUR layout. No need to get defensive. You asked us for our assessment of why we didn’t like them and we gave you our rasons.
And, yes, you can upgrade to the knuckle couplers as the monies are available. That’s how it works for most of us here. [:)]
Tom