Couplers

[TomDiehl]

Simply put, the couplers have to be strong enough, and MOUNTED PROPERLY to pull the size trains you will be running on your layout. There's other dynamic forces to consider on a coupler, such as grades, car length, sharpness of vertical curves. Most people I've talked to stick with the Kadee brand metal couplers (#5 and the 40 series) because they are reliable and rugged. In plain English, they work. I've tried other brands myself, most recently the E-Z Mates that came with my Walther's Superliners, and they came off rather quickly when I discovered I couldn't pull an 11 car train up the helix without it uncoupling. I observed it closely, and the coupler shanks were actually bending and allowing the couplers to slip apart.

[logging]

Just reading Model Railroader I realized the load on couplers and wondered if anyone has statistics on the accumulated strain on this semingly small part on our trains? Thirty loaded cars catching up with each other, or maybe fifty. Does the coupler have to be strong enough to pull one hundred cars and with stand the shock of each car as it takes up? Any Ideas?