Mixed (Manufacturer) Freight


KB02

KB02

Well-Known Member
As my layout has finally gotten to a decent useable condition (scenery is next on the bill), I am finally able to start running trains and just playing around with it. My collection of engines and rolling stock have been accumulated over 30 years and from various sources. I am finding that I am having trouble getting some of the cars to play well with others. I realize my problem is the mix of manufacturers that I have on the deck. I have Athern, Atlas, Bachmann and Sony (and possibly others). "MOST" of the cars couple together with little issue as they "MOSTLY" have similar couplers. My newer Bachmann engine and flatcar are the exception to this and will pretty much only couple to each other. As I have been working through some uncoupling issues on the layout, I have found that the slight differences in the manufacturers has been most of the causes.

Has anyone else had this issue and found a good way around it?
 
I have a lot of older equipment. Most of it came with the old horn hook plastic couplers. Anything that I ever plan on using again will get Kadee couplers if it doesn't have them already.

If you don't want to convert everything, and just want to run some trains, you could select a straight, level section of track (preferably at eye level) and test the cars to see how well the couplers line up. Different brands may have the couplers at different heights or have so much play that they won't line up correctly. Shims may help.

The newer Bachmann couplers are Kadee compatible (I think) but won't work with the older horn hook type couplers.
 
If you don't want to change out all your cars from horn hooks to the Kadee style couplers (or at least not yet) but want to run the cars, take one or two cars and put the Kadees on one end only. This will allow you to have one style one each end so you can run everything together.
 
I'd also suggest a Kadee coupler height gauge and some of their red and gray washers. Start with the cars that already have Kadee couplers or compatibles like McHenry and check their coupler heights. Add washers as needed. As cars are converted to Kadee, immediately check them against the height gauge.

I've adopted the idea of a conversion freight car. One end is Kadee, the other horn hook so I can also use those cars that haven't been converted yet. I also have a conversion diesel. The car and loco are both distinctive-an Athearn Hamm's Beer 50' insulated box car and an old AHM EL RS2 dummy loco.
 
some of the bachmann knuckle couplers use a plastic part to be the spring, where the kadees use an actual metal spring. the bachmann ones tend to lose the ability to keep the knuckle closed.
 
I have quite a few carsets that still have horn-hooks, and I do what was earlier suggested: Take one 'lead' car and convert one end to Kadee, then use that to couple to the loco/newer cars with the horn-hooks behind it. I'm slowly converting them all as time and money permit, but it's a slow process. Most of them are talgo, so it's not just slapping in a new coupler, but a body-mount box, etc (at least to do it 'right'). Some, like my Rivarossi passenger cars, will probably never get body-mount, just a conversion from horn-hook to knuckle. The Rivarossis also need their wheelsets swapped out too - they have high-profile wheels that aren't happy on code-83. So those in particular are hairy beasts to get "modernized"...
 
kjchronister said:
I have quite a few carsets that still have horn-hooks, and I do what was earlier suggested: Take one 'lead' car and convert one end to Kadee, then use that to couple to the loco/newer cars with the horn-hooks behind it. I'm slowly converting them all as time and money permit, but it's a slow process. Most of them are talgo, so it's not just slapping in a new coupler, but a body-mount box, etc (at least to do it 'right'). Some, like my Rivarossi passenger cars, will probably never get body-mount, just a conversion from horn-hook to knuckle. The Rivarossis also need their wheelsets swapped out too - they have high-profile wheels that aren't happy on code-83. So those in particular are hairy beasts to get "modernized"...
Click to expand...
That is what I did for a while, until I could finance getting new Kadees. The best thing to do is get a set amount of cars that you want to convert, and do them, and do the same until they are all converted. Go with Kadees, or the bachmann ones with the metal spring, the Mchenry's tend to lose their springs very easily.
 
I have found that most of my old cars are either not convertable or are too toy-like to run with the rest of my cars.

I've spent the last few years converting over 400 cars to Kadee #5 coupler and Intermountain metal wheels (unless the car already had metal wheels. By creating this standard, all of my cars play nice with each other. I still have about fifty cars to convert, and another 30 that I have yet to part with because they won't convert.

Any rolling stock that doesn't belong to the above standard usually lives in a train by itself (such as old Riverossi passenger cars). You could go this route if you don't want to spend a lot of money. Find the cars that work well together and keep them together.
 
I started building my layout over 25 years ago and there wasn't the selection of rolling stock that there is today and the biggest majority is Athrean blue box freight cars. Many were bought undecorated so I could custom decorate them for my freelance railroad. Most all were built as construction on the layout was going on and one of the first things that I did to them was to convert all of them to Kadee couplers. I am a bit anal about my locomotives and rolling stock and I made sude that all of the equipment met up with the Kadee coupler height gauge.

25 years later all are still in service with very little if any work having to be done with them. Years back I used to help the Model Railroad club in Great Falls operate during State Fair. Their rent for the years was to have an open house during state fair. Normally they didn't want to have long trains operating during open house because of coupler failure but they knew how I was about my couplers and it was not uncommon for me to have a 100+ car long train running, with no problems. All of my cars also had either Kadee sprung trucks with their metal wheels, or metal wheels replacing the plastic wheels.

If you take a few extra minutes and convert your couplers and pay attention to ketting you coupler height correct, you can have years of operation out of your equipment with no problems.
 
Barring the very lowest end equipment, I find good trucks, wheelsets and couplers make anything run well. After a certain point price it's more about a) does it come with those amenities already and b) detail.
 
Thanks for the responses. With a few exceptions, most of my stuff is cheap, older rollers. Almost all of them have the coupler integrated into the trucks themselves.

After looking at Kadee's website, would this be my best bet for swapping out the couplers?
http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page156.htm

156l.jpg


Looks like I could use a few trucks as well and have been looking at them, too, but for the most part, won't the above whisker coupler solve (or at least help) my issue?
 
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Yes the Kadees are the best way to go. To save on having to buy new trucks, you could snip off the talgo couplers & body mount the coupler boxes. You'll also want to change the wheelsets to metal ones if the old ones have "pizza cutter" flanges.
 
If you do keep the talgo mounted couplers, make sure you get the right replacements. Standard Kadee #5s often don't work for that. E.g. I've retained the talgos on my old rivarossi cars, and you need specific ones for that.
 
Ps - bear in mind that while talgos aren't ideal, especially for pushing, body-mount couplers will typically increase the minimum radius your cars will require.
 
Thanks again, all, for your replies on this. Looks like I've got a lot more research to do before I drop any money on this project. Thanks to your help, though, I would say I have a good start.

In the meantime, I spent a good portion of this morning mixing and matching and swapping cars on my train to get the best running condition. Even ended up shimming the trucks on one car to get it to run right. I can now make full circuits of my layout without derailing or uncoupling with almost all of my running cars attached. Ain't sick-days great? (Now if I could just get one of these sick-days without being sick).
 
"Converter" cars at each end of a block of cars is a great way to run everything without having to change out all couplers at once. Kadee #5 are the standard, or have been for many years, but I now only buy the newer "whisker" style Kadees #146 to match #5's, or #158 to match scale #58's. I use whisker types as they have superior centering action.

But whilst doing all this, just remember to keep having fun! ;)
 
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