Replacement Coupler Question

[jonathan]

Folks,

Just suffered through a surprise birthday party.

On the bright side, my brother presented me with a Genesis SP F-7A, the "Black Widow".  He got a good eBay deal apparently. It's my first sound on board locomotive.  It runs well, and the included remote control allows me to operate the bell, horn, coupler clank, etc.  OK, maybe the dark side ain't so bad.

Anyway, the stock couplers are, shall we say, less than ideal.  The coupler heads rub against the shell and are a little low, making it difficult to couple any cars to it.  Before I go shopping and buy the wrong couplers, I'm hoping someone has had experience with one of these and can recommend a good replacement coupler.  I will be looking for a Kadee of some sort.  Just want to bring home the right ones the first time if possible.  Thanks.

Regards,

Jonathan

[richg]

I looked at the Kadee site but did not see anything like your loco. Below is a link the "might" help. There are some Athearn's listed that might have a similar construction.

http://www.kadee.com/conv/hocc11.htm

Rich

[OldTimer]

All the Genesis F-units take a Kadee #36 on the front of the A-unit and a #38 on the back of the A-unit and both ends of the B-unit.
OldTimer

[jonathan]

Thanks, rich and OT.

I had looked at the kadee site and thought the 36 and 38 were the right way to go.  If memory serves I think those couplers are plastic.  Maybe I read it wrong.

I had hoped someone had tried one of the whisker spring couplers and got them to work, like a 146 or 156.  Seems like a better option.  Wouldn't have to mess with the unusual spring devices. 

The written recommendation is probably the smart way to go.

Thanks again.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Len]

The 30-Series and 40-Series KD couplers are identical in design, except for the coupler boxes and coupler materials. The 30-series come with a small, roundish, coupler box and the coupler is made of plastic. The 40-series come with a rectangular coupler box, similar to the #5 box without the ears, and the couplers are made of metal.

Athearn Genesis locos have their own coupler boxes, so what comes with the coupler doesn't matter. So if you want metal couplers instead of plastic, use a #46 (metal long center shank) instead of the #36 (plastic long center shank). The #38 is a plastic medium center shank, which is the same as the #5 metal center shank coupler. Which is why there is no #48 coupler. Or you could use a #148 'whisker' coupler.

Len