Couplers for USA and Aristocraft trains

[trunstrom]

After spending two years building my basic backyard layout (roadbed and track) and collecting some nice Aristocraft and USA Trains rolling stock, my first attempts at running were discouraging. It seems that the knuckle couplers from the two manufacturers don't like to play together. There is nearly a 1/4 inch height difference causing constant uncoupling. I like the Aristocraft couplers since they seem to work much better even though they look bigger and less realistic.

Has any one succesfully converted USA cars and locos to Aristocraft couplers? (I have a pair of USA F-3's). Am I forced to use Kadee couplers with their added expense in order to solve my problem? If so is there a particular model # that works? I have Aristo freight and Heavyweight coaches, USA 1/29 and 1/24 freight cars plus the F-3's. I also have a LGB Mikado and a Accucraft (AML) K-4 Pacific.   

Thanks for any help,

Tom

[cacole]

I change every brand to Kadee couplers, and also check and adjust everything with a Kadee coupler height gauge. 

I was initially trying to mix Bachmann, Aristocraft, AMS and other brands and had too many problems with height variations and lack of compatability between brands.

Using only Kadees solved most of the problems, but you're still faced with having to make some major modifications to some of your rolling stock in order to use Kadees.

 

[dwbeckett]

cacole

I change every brand to Kadee couplers, and also check and adjust everything with a Kadee coupler height gauge. 

I was initially trying to mix Bachmann, Aristocraft, AMS and other brands and had too many problems with height variations and lack of compatability between brands.

Using only Kadees solved most of the problems, but you're still faced with having to make some major modifications to some of your rolling stock in order to use Kadees.

 

I use a mix of Kaydee's and aristocraft couplers. I run MDC, Aristocraft, USA Trains and B-Mann, I also use a convershion car when I don't have enough Kaydee's. That is a car with mixed coupler's one for the brand of car and a Kaydee or aristocraft on the other end.

Dave

[commander]

Tom,

I too, tried to match and change various types of couplers for all the brands of trains available in G scale.  For some reason, I avoided the common wisdom offered in the various forums to change everything to Kadee couplers as a standard.  I hated the cost factor, the minor modifications needed for mounting on some stock (even though instructions were available and easily accomplished from Kadee), and for some self-distructive reason... I felt I could make the various brands play well with each other.  I even decided to convert lots of USA and Aristo cars to Bachman couplers... because they were cheap, I guess. 

I bought a few used cars at a train show, which had Kadees already installed and found that they were very reliable and higher quality than any of the plastic versions.  I put things into financial perspective when I computed the costs for converting all my trains (engines and rolling stock) and saw that it was a drop in the bucket compaired to what I spent on trains, stainless steel track, expensive transformers, figures, cars, buildings, etc.    So, once I converted to kadee, all my unintentional disconnects seemed to disappear?   I really hate that I struggled for more than two years with my stubbornness to "cross over" to the Kadee clan of railroaders.  Lesson learned on my part, and I hope this information might help you with your decisions on couplers.

Regards,

Jack

Tantarra Western Railroad - Burleson, TX 

[g. gage]

Howdy Tom;

I’m an operator and use a car forwarding system for switching. I had the same frustrations you’re dealing with now. When I was in HO, Kadee couplers were my standard, it didn’t take long to do the same in “G”. I’ve found I get most satisfying operation using Kadee couplers and steel wheels on all my rolling stock. On USA and Aristo locos and most all rolling stock use Kadee 831 they screw into place. On my rolling stock I prefer the Kadee 630 body mount coupler. I cut the ears of the draft gear box and mount using the two centerline holes usually with a 0.80 spacer. I check everything with a Kadee gauge.

 

Have fun, Rob  

[spikejones52002]

Do not rely on Arsto couplers. They do not hold up to draw bar pulling power.

I have been converting all my knuckle couplers to M.T.H.  They look a lot better and handle a long train. They a lot cheaper than Kadies.

My Aristo heavy weight Passenger cars would break after 4 to 5 cars. Some could not even handle 2 cars. I spent a lot of time checking the truck wheels for easy of rolling.Once they begin to pull apart. They break easier and easier.

I began to use wire ties to keep my cars together.

I do not have any more problems. You will have to remove the trucks and do some work to get them to fit. I also removed a lot of the drawbar to get my cars closer together.

[EMD Trainman]

I did the exact opposite, I converted everything over to USA Trains couplers. For aristocraft 1:29 scale ratio trains it was easy. On the Aristocraft rolling stock, you take the screw out of the knuckle and remove the knuckle itself from the mount that bolts to the truck. So basically you have a plastic bar sticking out. Believe it or not the USA Trains knuckle coupler fits right into the Aristocraft mount with no modifcations and is even real close to the same height as the USA Trains rolling stock after it's mounted. Not all of us can run body mounted kadee couplers and converting all couplers on the trucks is also too expensive, so I stuck with USA Trains couplers realistic or not. I have run them in the last 10 years and only had 4 failures out of 115 pieces of rolling stock, I say those are good odds.