For a couple bucks more


S

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There's more chance Hillary would couple with Barak than my cars coupling with each other. I get car separation resembling cheap Tinsel Town divorces. Elizabeth Taylor would drool with envy if she were able to gawk at my train leaving cars behind!!! For a couple dollars more I might be able to entice Clint Eastwood to make another spaghetti western! And for a couple bucks more I might be able to spare myself frustration!!!

What rolling stock manufacturers market cars with metal wheels and metal couplers?

As it appears now, I am going to have to buy metal couplers for the cars I now have. A few days ago I bought a new Athearn tanker car that was nearly 25 bucks, tax included. I got the damned thing on the track and immediately experienced separation issues. Upon examining the quarter-century marvel, I saw it had plastic couplers!!! Damned family law attorneys must be in the rolling stock business!!!

I'd much rather have fewer cars of good quality than many cars that require expensive post-coupling marriage counseling!!! From now on I am going to make it a point to buy only cars that require no aftermarket tuning.



Merry Christmas,

ST
 
ST, you need to get a Kadee coupler height gauge. I don't think it's plastic coupler versus metal that's your problem, it's a mismatch in coupler height. This is caused either by the coupler itself or uneven track. You need to figure out the cause and fix it since new couplers alone are unlikely to solve the problem.

As to your other question, almost all RTR cars from the major manufacturers have metal wheel sets and some variation of the McHenry plastic coupler. I've used these with no problem for some time. They are not as durable as Kadee's but they'll do until they break. You can then easily replace them with Kadee's. I have some rolling stock that's been in service for over two years with plastic couplers and they still work fine.
 
Jim's 100% right about getting a coupler heighth gage. I have about 100 cars w/some type of plastic couplers & about 100 w/kadee metal couplers. They all match up. I spent almost 7 days redoing all of my rolling stock & engines w/Kadee's & McHenrys & I've never had any problems.

Larry
 
I've found that kadee metal couplers are more tolerant of bad track than plastic ones. The plastic ones will uncouple if the height changes too much (like a change in grades)

Also, the plastic couplers will not tolerate long/heavy trains and/or cars with wheels that have resistance. If the train is too heavy, the coupler shank may twist and uncouple. Metal couplers don't do that and they also last longer. The leaf spring plastic couplers break really easily.

If you want rolling stock that comes with metal couplers, the newer Walthers cars come with ProtoMAX couplers which are a kadee clone that's all-metal except for the trip pin. It also uses the same knuckle spring and centering spring as a kadee coupler.

If you are buying couplers to change out your current rolling stock, get kadees. They are cheaper (in price, not quality) than ProtoMAX
 
I have a consist of 35 coal cars that I pull w/3 engines that have real scale coal in them. They are all Kadee's. That's the only cars that I have all metal couplers because the McHenry's shank breaks off w/heavy loads.
diburning is right about plastic couplers, but, I have a lot of'm & so far haven't had many problems.
 
I'll cast another vote for the Kadee Coupler Height Guage. Ever since I got it and calibrated my coupler heights to it, separations are nearly nonexistant on my layout.
 
Although it would be height that's causes it most the time, for durability and ability to hold long trains. I love metal, Kadee's. I often get contracts from large layouts or clubs to replace all their couplers. I just finished one with the EEire Mad River Railroad Club, about 350 cars. Mike
 
Mike, no argument from me that Kadee is still the gold standard for couplers. If I was hauling long trains and had steep grades, I wouldn't trust those plastic shanks either. OTOH, my layout is mostly flat and a 15 car train is about my maximum. In this situation, the plastic knuckle couplers will hold up for a year or two and then I replace them with Kadee's. I certainly wouldn't advise people to rip out all plastic couplers and replace them immediately unless they were in those special situations I just listed. Regardless of plastic or Kadee, getting the heights to match and fixing uneven spots in the track will do more to increase train coupling reliability than anything else. A good coupler not properly mounted and running on bad track will still produce bad results.
 
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