Need coupler advice


webby2001

New Member
Hello everyone. Newbie to the forum. I'm just a mom trying to help her 12 year old figure out what coupler he needs for this switcher.
It was given to him with no box. After some research, due to a 41018 stamp on the bottom, we believe it to be an Athearn SW7 frame from the 80's?
There are no screw holes on the bottom, which we have never come across, so I'm hoping someone here could point us in the right direction?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
I've attached a couple images for reference.
 

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Hi, welcome. It looks like it originally came with a plastic "horn hook" coupler held in place with a small metal clip like these. Link just for reference, they are surprisingly expensive for what they are. A knuckle coupler like Kadee #5 can be installed and held in place with the clip.

A common fix/upgrade is to drill and tap a hole in the frame for a 2-56 screw then install a Kadee coupler in its own box. This is important if running more than one locomotive together. The metal frame is part of the path for the electricity to get from the track to the motor and a pair of locomotives set up this way can cause a short if connected facing opposite directions. Putting the coupler in its own plastic box fixes this issue.

If there isn't a model train shop nearby, a R/C car shop will probably have tools to fix it or even a hardware store. If you need more help, just ask.
 
That does look like the Athearn coupler mount to me. It use a metal clip that snaps onto the two metal tabs on the sides of the mount. The hole in the coupler is centered over the metal post.
These are what you need: https://www.amazon.com/HO-Coupler-Cover-Metal-12/dp/B0006O7IXM
As far as the actual coupler goes, you can use Kadee knuckle couplers:

The two most commonly used are the #148 and the #5. Look at the Kadee website to see the difference.
Does he have any cars? If so what kind of couplers do they have? Do they have the X2F couplers? These are also available: https://www.amazon.com/Athearn-Horn-Hook-Coupler-ATH90601/dp/B0006O7IWI
They are "old" style couplers. Most are using the knuckle style for better looks and ease of use. If his cars have the old X2F couplers, a transition car can be made by putting a knuckle coupler on one end. Then he can use knuckle couplers on his locomotive, and still use the other cars as he slowly (as allowance money permits) converts the cars to knuckle couplers.
Welcome to the site!
 
Welcome. It's a little hard to determine by those pictures, but it appears you need an Athearn-style coupler cover. Those are small metal pieces that clip over the coupler box using the tabs on either side of the box. They look like this:

s-l400.jpg


You can use whichever type of HO coupler is compatible with the rest of your rail cars. You didn't mention whether you need horn-hook or Kadee style, but whichever you use should fit over the circle in the coupler box, then you snap the cover on top, which holds it in place.

Horn hook couplers look like this (emphasis on the head, not the circle part):

hornhook.jpg

If your other rail cars have these types of couplers, then get those. But if they look like this:

kadee.jpg

then you will need Kadee-style couplers. They are like miniature versions of real couplers. There are quite a variety of these out there ranging from Kadee, which are metal and pretty high quality, to McHenry and Bachmann EZ, which are plastic, among others.

If you have a model train store in your area, just take it in and they can help you, this is a pretty easy task. If you need to order online, look for a couple Athearn coupler covers and a small pack of whichever couplers you prefer. Almost any coupler made for HO scale should work with this.
 
Thank you all very much for your advice and expertise! We're slowly learning and the closest hobby store is about 90 minutes away from our home so we don't get there often. I do know that he uses the Kadee-style couplers on his other cars and locomotives. I think I'll order the Athearn clip and see if we can get that to work. If not, then we'll just have a good excuse to make the trip to the hobby shop.
Thanks again!
 



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