Couplers

[john.001]

Are all couplers equal?  That is, am I restricted to Bachmann products (rolling stock)?

[Robert1441]

John...look at this site....www.kadee.com/conv/holift.pdf
Kadee makes couplers for most any rolling stock, and loco's... most rolling stock takes a #5.
For prototypical....#58 and #158
You should get a gauge also, you may have to put a shim in or two.
Hope this helps out a little.

Robert

[Robert1441]

John...I just asked someone with more knowledge than me...he said that most replacements can be made with Kadee's 148 whisker. It will fit in the Bachmanns coupler box...but if it dose not, CAREFULLY file it down till it slips in. Also give it a good puff of Kadee Greas-em, that should do the trick!!!!

[ACY]

You can use most rolling stock, with the exception of Marklin (it is AC) and some European companies that have European style couplers. Also, I highly suggest not buying any cheap cars with Talgo trucks and truck mounted horn-hook (xf2) couplers, this includes Life-Like, Tyco, AHM, IHC, regular Model Power (not Metal train). Look for trucks with metal wheels and body mounted knuckle couplers. Also if you do chose to buy cars with xf2 couplers, you will need to make a conversion car and probably add weight to all the cars.

[Len]

Also, I highly suggest not buying any cheap cars with Talgo trucks and truck mounted horn-hook (xf2) couplers, this includes Life-Like, Tyco, AHM, IHC, regular Model Power (not Metal train). Look for trucks with metal wheels and body mounted knuckle couplers. Also if you do chose to buy cars with xf2 couplers, you will need to make a conversion car and probably add weight to all the cars.

I tend to disagree with this sentiment. There's nothing inherently wrong with these cars that replacing the wheels with Intermountain's, and body mounting knuckle couplers will not fix. It's not that hard to do, and Tyco in particular did some nice paint schemes you can't find anywhere else. If molded on detail bothers you, they're no harder to upgrade than the old 'blue box' Athearn cars.

Len

[ACY]

You can do that, I never said you couldn't, but unless you are looking for a car only made by TYCO, it is much cheaper to buy a car that comes with metal couplers and wheels and better detail in the first place. Say you pay $4 for a TYCO car, add $3 for a pair of Kadee couplers with boxes, add $3 for 4 metal wheels, and add  $2 for 2 trucks, so now what started as a $4 car is now a $12 car and for the same price or less you can buy Proto 1000, Walthers Gold, Athearn RTR, Atlas Trainman, & Bachmann Silver Series. They all have metal wheels and most of these have metal couplers, or at the very least knuckle couplers. And you can use that time you saved to work on your layout, unless you enjoy upgrading a fleet of TYCO cars, then by all means buy them if that is what you enjoy.

[CNE Runner]

I think what ACY was trying to say is that many of the less expensive cars aren't' worth the expenditure of time nor money to convert. Most Tyco cars are glued together making the addition of car weight almost impossible. I have converted many Talgo truck equipped cars with either Bachmann EZmate II or Kadee couplers...the effort required to cut off the truck mounting and gluing on a coupler draft box is rarely worth the effort. Of course you can always remove the entire truck (wheels + bolster) and replace with an after market truck...adding even more expense to the project (and, yes, you still have to replace the couplers). In summary: unless the car possesses particular appeal (to you), or is a collector's item, it rarely pays to put forth the effort. Of course who ever said model railroading was cost effective?

Good Luck with whatever course you choose,
Ray

[jward]

len,

i have to ask if you operate your trains. i am not talking about running them in circles, the tyco cars are more than adequate for that. but if you've ever tried to back them through switches into a siding or yard track you understand the shortcomings of both the x2f coupler and truck mounted couplers in general. having tthe two of them together only magnifies the problems. rerailing cars all the time isn't my idea of fun.....

these cars can be converted into decent runners, but this is not something somebody just getting into the hobby should undertake. there's alot of cutting, filing and drilling, plus the fact that the coupler height needs to be dead on in order for everything to work well. the beginner would be better off finding some old athearn freight car kits to put together until they get a feel for what's important to making your cars run well.

to answer the original poster's question....
yes, pretty much all cars with knuckle type couplers will run together. on my layout i am currently running cars by athearn, bachmann, model power, mantua, bowser and atlas. they are being pulled by locomotives from athearn, atlas, bachmann, walthers and broadway limited.....

that said, i am a big fan of the ready to roll cars. they are usually properly weighted, and have metal wheels and knuckle couplers already installed. i have to make few if any adjustments to them.....bachmann's silver series are one of my favourites. as are atlas trainman.

[john.001]

Thank you all.  As to experience - little.  The last time I was around HO was probably in 1960.  So......
And, yes, anything that is "plug-and-play" is what I'm looking for.

[Len]

len,

i have to ask if you operate your trains. i am not talking about running them in circles, the tyco cars are more than adequate for that. but if you've ever tried to back them through switches into a siding or yard track you understand the shortcomings of both the x2f coupler and truck mounted couplers in general. having tthe two of them together only magnifies the problems. rerailing cars all the time isn't my idea of fun.....

these cars can be converted into decent runners, but this is not something somebody just getting into the hobby should undertake. there's alot of cutting, filing and drilling, plus the fact that the coupler height needs to be dead on in order for everything to work well. the beginner would be better off finding some old athearn freight car kits to put together until they get a feel for what's important to making your cars run well.

My layout is predominately a switching layout, so the answer is yes I operate my trains.

I converted my first Tyco car when I was 12, so I don't think of it as all that hard to do. The "quick and dirty" method is:

Pop to trucks off the car.
Use a pair of sprue cutters to take the talgo coupler box off
Use a "Truck Tuner" http://www.micromark.com/HO-TRUCK-TUNER,8241.html to clean out the journals.
Pop in some Intermountain wheels (the bulk box of 100 brings the price down)
Install a KD #5 coupler box and coupler (trim the side 'ears' off, they'll interfere with the wheels)
Reinstall the trucks by popping the peg back in it's hole.

Slightly refined method:

Pop the original truck off and install the coupler box as above.
Fill the truck mounting holes with JB Weld Kwik epoxy (let it cure overnight)
Use an emery board to smooth the cured epoxy flush with the bolster.
Drill a hole in the center of the filled in bolster with a #50 drill bit in a pin vice.
Tap the hole for a 2-56 screw (tap & drill available from KD, Micro-Mark, or Micro-Fasteners)
Install the truck & wheels of your choice with a 2-56 screw of the appropriate length.

It's not all about the money. It's a hobby, and I enjoy turning a so-so 'toys' into smooth operating rolling stock for my layout. I also found doing such conversions when I was younger helped me develop skills that were useful for more complicated tasks as my interests, and layout, grew.

Len

[Doneldon]

john.001-

There's a lot of good information here and I won't try to correct or dispute any of it. I will add, however, that while all of the knuckle couplers will generally work together, the best situation is to have all couplers of the same brand.  Model Railroader has checked out this very matter a few times and they consistently find this to be true.  In particular, they have found that backing with different coupler brands isn't quite as reliable and that coupling different brands on curves can even be described as unreliable. That's not to say any single brand is inferior; it just means that one consistent brand works best.  And, further, my experience tells me that Kadee makes the best couplers and the most versatile pocket and shank shapes for optimal installations.

So, I recommend Kadees exclusively, or another brand exclusively, over a "mixed consist."
                                                                                                                                   -- D