couplers

erie

New Member
On the under the tree train sets they come with what i call the old default coupler not the knuckle coupler.I want to change them over to knuckle couplers but so far alls iv found are couplers with the big hole to hold them in place.Does anybody know if they make a knuckle coupler with the small hole and where to buy them.I hope I explained it right
 

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erie

New Member
ya looked over there but to be honest this is the first time iv tryed it so i realy dont know what to look for. I upload a few pics of the engine so that mite help Its an old GP 35 runs good [atlas] Im shure it can be done Just dont know what works and what wont
 

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Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic
If you've already got a bunch of standard knuckle couplers, the Kadee #212 Talgo Adapter will let you put them in your existing coupler boxes. $2.50 for 24.
 

erie

New Member
ok ill check that out got 1 kit this weekend to do 1 eng but have a bunch of older cars to redo thank you
 

Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic
You may find in the long run that it's better just to a) scrap the truck-mounted couplers and mount them on the body, or b) just scrap the cars as you get newer ones.

The first reason is functional - body-mounted couplers cause fewer derailments, especially if you are backing a train through curves or switches. When you are backing a train with truck-mounted couplers, there's a side-force on the coupler that can cause the truck to skew and de-rail. With a body-mounted coupler, there's no force on the trucks, and they'll track properly.

The second reason is both functional and aesthetic. Firstly, if you have a car with truck-mounted couplers, chances are that the truck is mounted to the body with a split barbed pin. They are loose, and let the car wobble around on the trucks. This can lead to derailments. Secondly, these trucks tend to have cheap, 1-piece injection-moulded wheelsets. These typically have large flanges, and are sometimes out-of-round. Better cars will have the couplers mounted on the body and the trucks (with plastic wheels on metal axles) mounted with screws. In short, they'll run better and more reliably.

Also, the cheaper cars (with the truck-mounted couplers) tend to be poorly painted, with thickly applied paint and/or poor graphics. As you get more, better looking cars, you'll find the old cars really look cheezy next to the newer ones.
 

erie

New Member
Thanks I,d never had thought about what you said about the truck mounted couplers.I knew they were cheap and I was planing on replacing them as time went on .Seen an article on how to do it and want to give it a try . Bought an athearn kit the other day and seen how much better the trucks were and how much better it rolled around the tracks. But thank you for the help
 
L

lester perry

I have to agree to sqidd bait. You would probably be better of just buying new rolling stock. and if you have a car you love and just can't part with for some reason (we all do)then replace the trucks with proto 2000 trucks and use the Kadee box with #5, its not that hard but if you do it to all your existing cars it would be a lot of work and not very cost efficient.
Les
( by the way if you use proto truck make sure the track is level where you put it on because it will roll away)
 

nkp174

Active Member
I agree with Les. In general,the stuff that comes with talgo couplers is generally of a lower quality (with exceptions to certain passenger cars). I'd recommend just taking an athearn/mdc/accurail whatever car and dropping a horn hook coupler in one end and a kadee in the other. Most cars like you've mentioned are worth less than the couplers you're mounting on them. Yet, they'd work perfectly fine alongside kadee equipped cars if an idler car is used.
 

erie

New Member
Most likely will scrape them.Added up the cost of trucks and couplers and i can buy athearn kits over at the hobby shop and better quality thanks guys for the help
 
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