colesdad I have some older rolling stock items that have the couplers in the trucks. Looks as though they would slide in to the opening, with a plastic "wing" type flexible tab. Do I have to replace the whole truck to be able to convert to knuckle couplers. I bought a set of N0. 5 couplers from local HS, but it doesn't look like these are going to work. Thanks for the help
I have some older rolling stock items that have the couplers in the trucks. Looks as though they would slide in to the opening, with a plastic "wing" type flexible tab. Do I have to replace the whole truck to be able to convert to knuckle couplers. I bought a set of N0. 5 couplers from local HS, but it doesn't look like these are going to work.
Thanks for the help
If you REALLY want to, you can put the Kadee couplers right into that type coupler pocket, Kadee makes an adaptor for the talgo trucks, type #212
http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page146.htm
They come with instructions.
If you decide to go with body mounting, you should already have the box you need, it's included with the #5 couplers.
Regardless of which way you go, you'll need the Kadee coupler height gauge.The conversion charts are just a guideline and not an absolute. Always check the coupler for proper knuckle height and trip pin clearance.
http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page120.htm
Take the shell off the car. This will expose the base. You'll see the truck mount popping up above the truck. Squeeze the sides together and it will slide out.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
How do those trucks come off, one car has screws to remove, but the others do not. They seem to be "snapped" into the recieving hole, but not to easy to pull them off. Any tips.
From your description, these are similar to the old LifeLike trucks.
The first step is to remove the trucks from the car, and then cut off the whole coupler pocket. Go back to your LHS and get a package of Kadee "Draft Gear Boxes." These are the correct mounting boxes for the #5 couplers you've already got. Assemble one box (two parts. "Assemble" is kind of a big word for that activity) and position it on the underside of the car body. You can glue the box in place, but I find it's better in the long run to mark the place where the screw hole in the center of the box meets the car body, remove the box and drill a small hole. To really do it right, get a 2-56 drill tap and a 2-56 screw, and mount it that way.
Put the truck back on the car, do the other end and you're almost ready to go. You should get the Kadee coupler height gauge at your LHS, too. This will let you fine-tune the position of all your couplers for optimum performance.