Yesterday when I got home are power was out due to a storm. Could not run the trains so I happened to install Proto wheels and Kadee couplers to a old Life Like car. Life Like and Tyco cars are pretty much the same to do, Bachmann are a little harder.
I use tester glue to hold on the pockets, if I ever get around to getting the 2/56 screws I will use them. But, the glue works well and have draged 50 cars with just the glue.
First problem I ran into was the floor of the Box Car was to low, coupler would rub on the bottom of the end of car.
I took a top of a coupler box, cut of the ears and the post that holds the coupler and sanded flat. I then glue them to the car at the mounting point where the coupler will go. Next I glued the bottom of a coupler pocket to the top I just glued to the floor and let dry for about 10 minutes.
I use rail nippers to cut the old coupler off the truck. Use a truck cleaning tool to make it a easy roller.
Installed the new wheel set. What I like about the old Tyco and LL cars is you can use Kadee washer to adjust the coupler height. Use the rail nippers to cut a slot in the washer and slip it on. You can not use the washers with Bachmann.
Install the coupler and glue on the lid and check height.
If you have tight turns, you will want to cut the ears off the coupler pockets shone above. Wheels will hit the ears in tight turns and derail the car. Ask me how I know!
Know it looks a little sloppy but works well. Plus I was doing it by candle light.
I have done around 50 car this way and they track and roll as well as the name brands I have. Don't for get to add weight.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
~G4
19 Years old, modeling the Cowlitz, Chehalis, and Cascade Railroad of Western Washington in 1927 in 6X6 feet.
Thanks guys. All suggestions taken on board and committed to paper. Where would we be without each other.
ukrailroader
Depends on how old these models are. Do they have plastic or metal frame trucks? Do you want talgo or body mount couplers?
Body mount addressed in posts above.
Talgo with plastic frame trucks are the easiest. Remove the truck from the body, then remove the wheelset under the coupler pocket. Using a small screwdriver, pull the arm down that's in the middle of the coupler (the canter pin) and pull the coupler straight out. Take an X-Acto knife and cut the tabs off on either side of the coupler opening (they limit the side to side movement of the X2F coupler). Trim the tabs off the centering spring and install a #5 coupler in the box with the centering spring on top. Get a pack of the Kadee Talgo Truck adaptors, #212, ine it up from the top and snap it into place per the instructions. Once you do a few, it will be faster to do it than it was to read this.
http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page212.htm
Talgo with the metal frames (these are the real oldies) pry the coupler box off and drill and tap the hole for a 2-56 screw. Countersink a standard #5 box for a flathead screw and just screw it fast to the coupler arm on the truck.
Chief:
If these are plastic Talgo-trucked cars, the easiest method of all is to use the Walthers Scenemaster knuckle couplers. They are designed for Life-Like but snap right into Tyco trucks. There may be two small inward-projecting tabs at the outboard end of the coupler pocket that may need to be trimmed flush with the sidewall. (Don't cut off the mounting lug or spring, of course.) You may also have to tweak the cast springs slightly so that the coupler will center.
These couplers will couple with Kadees, and they actually eliminate many of the backing-derailment problems, because there is little side-pressure and generally better pushing behavior compared to horn-hooks.
The only real trick is getting the correct length screws so they don't poke through the floor of flat on gon.
I will second Roger's suggestion. Body-mounting the couplers will give you better performance, particularly when backing up.
I usually just take my Dremel and carefully remove the coupler mount from the Tyco/Talgo trucks, and then replace them on the car after mounting the coupler. After all, these old cars are often found in yard sales and swap meets for less than the price of a new pair of trucks.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Here is a page that might interest you. It has info on changing both the truck and mounting Kadee couplers on the frame.
http://cid.railfan.net/retrucking.html
Roger Hensley= ECI Railroad - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/eci/eci_new.html == Railroads of Madison County - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/ =
depending on the car --
the simplest way will probably be to *cut off* the coupler pocket on the trucks, then body-mount the couplers of your choice (5/58 for the de-facto standard/semi scale.... or their whisker-spring counterparts, whose part numbers i forget... maybe 105/158?).
I've done a few truck-mounted KD installs (bought the sample pack from a train show one year) -- it's a lot more work for not so much improvement
-Dan
Builder of Bowser steam! Railimages Site
Simple: Go to the Kadee web site and find the conversion PDF and download it. It will show how to do it and which coupler assembly to use.
Hi guys,
Would someone be so good as to tell me how to change the Horn/Hook couplers on some old Tyco Gondolas and Flat Cars to Kadee.