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If you do, I would suggest to install Kadee couplers on the European equipment. Recent European equipment has normalised NEM coupler shafts. Just buy Kadee NEM-couplers which fit into these shafts and you are ready to go. Older European equipment can be converted to Kadee couplers. A few years ago I modified very easily an early ROCO diesel locomotive (the German BR215). I removed the Märklin-style coupler, filed the underside of the chassis in the coupler area flat and shimmed Kadee #5's in place. It works like a charm. I do not recommend to put one of the European style couplers onto American equipment: it takes a lot more work and why switch to an inferior system? In my humble opinion, our high-tech close coupling devices were never designed for operations but only to make passenger trains running in circles (a favorite European pastime) look more realistic. I do prefer freelancing, but I would never go so far as to mix European and American equipment on a single layout. What you can do is to design your layout in the most generic way possible (no Rocky Mountains, Tehachapi or Horseshoe Curve for instance) and use interchangeable structures. This way you can have a European layout with European equipment during one session, and a US layout with US equipment during another session. Watch out for differences in private property, railroad structures (station buildings, depots etc.), trucks, cars and trafic lights. Modern industrial property looks exactly the same on both sides of the Atlantic. You may have guessed that I was faced with the same problem as you. During business trips to the US I started looking for construction kits of modern industry buildings but I ended up with almost enough US equipment for a second layout. I use code 100 trackwork and I have good experiences with RP25 wheelsets on this track. I must admit however that I only installed simple large radius turnouts, no fancy things like double slip switches and the like. If you need more info, contact me via e-mail.
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