Toy train operating and collecting

I have been getting my old Lionel equiptment running again and in the process have discovered that there is a lot of very good modern stuff out there that I am interested in. But my knowlege of anything but post war Lionel is almost nil. So, I have a question about couplers and hope someone can answer it. I know that there are compatiblity problems between pre war and post war Lionel couplers but will post war rolling stock couplers hook up with modern Lionel rolling stock? And how about post war Lionel and K-Line or MTH?

Thanks!

 

Mike 

"but will post war rolling stock couplers hook up with modern Lionel rolling stock? And how about post war Lionel and K-Line or MTH?"

YES.  I do find some couplers that are stuborn to close [mainly some K-Line].  

Yes, generally all Post War couplers are compatible with modern MTH, K-Line, modern Lionel, Weaver, Williams, Atlas, and other brands with compatible couplers. You should have no problems with compatibility. Your biggest coupler problems will be couplers that stop working (mostly plastic couplers, where the spring that keeps it closed stops working) -- and the other problem I've had, is some other couplers don't want to close without force.

Many thanks to the above posters for the answers. That's what I was hoping for. I have seen some older K-line stuff going for what I think are reasonable prices so I might want to pick some up. My main obstacle at this point is money but why sweat the small stuff!

 

Mike 

If you are somewhat new to the hobby stay away from Weaver as their cars gave me a royal headache trying to keep them on the track, it is a mounting issue with Weaver couplers that can make them uncompatible with any other brand.  The Weaver will hookup just fine but wait until you encounter your first corner, you will say things that are very bad!

In my opion keep Weaver cars with Weaver!!!

Lee F.

phillyreading wrote:

If you are somewhat new to the hobby stay away from Weaver as their cars gave me a royal headache trying to keep them on the track, it is a mounting issue with Weaver couplers that can make them uncompatible with any other brand.  The Weaver will hookup just fine but wait until you encounter your first corner, you will say things that are very bad! In my opion keep Weaver cars with Weaver!!! Lee F.

Never had a problem with Weaver.   Lee, are you sure you had 3 rail trucks??? 

Hey Chief,

I even asked the guy at the hobby shop in Scranton PA, near Steamtown, if they were Lionel compatible an he said they were. I guess it is just my dumb luck to have some Weaver that won't work with Lionel or K-Line or MTH.

Have bought some newer Weaver but didn't put them on the layout as yet, will try them after my painting is done.

Lee F.

I have had trouble with some of the modern Lionel couplers.  The plastic couplers with the attached plastic springs often have weak or broken springs.  I have purchased replacement couplers and springs, but the quality of the replacement parts is poor and I think I'll have the same trouble again in a few years as the springs fatigue.  Also on some modern cars, the couplers do not open far enough even with strong springs so the knuckle assembly must be files to allow more movement to allow the knuckle to open fully.  On one modern car that I like a lot and need the uncouplers to work well, I cut the old plastic couplers off and replaced it with a couple of postwar metal coupler assemblies that easily attach to the wheel axles, but are there any better solutions for this problem?

dsmith wrote:

I have had trouble with some of the modern Lionel couplers.  The plastic couplers with the attached plastic springs often have weak or broken springs.  I have purchased replacement couplers and springs, but the quality of the replacement parts is poor and I think I'll have the same trouble again in a few years as the springs fatigue.  Also on some modern cars, the couplers do not open far enough even with strong springs so the knuckle assembly must be files to allow more movement to allow the knuckle to open fully.  On one modern car that I like a lot and need the uncouplers to work well, I cut the old plastic couplers off and replaced it with a couple of postwar metal coupler assemblies that easily attach to the wheel axles, but are there any better solutions for this problem?

Lionel makes a set of replacement spring loaded trucks for O gauge frieght cars that come with couplers, sells for around $13.00 a pair at most hobby stores, will mount to most Lionel frieght cars by just removing the rivot or screw that holds the old truck on. This is what I have used in the past to help with severe coupler problems.

Lee F.

I have some old Industrial Rail hoppers that had coupler issues that made them derail on curves. Brianel explained how to fix the problem by opening up the coupler with a Dremel tool. Since then they are fine. I have some of the Industrial Rail boxcars, now made by Atlas, and have had no coupler issues to date.

Jim 

The couplers on all of the K-line scale cars I've seen absolutely won't close against any other brand couplers I've tried. This includes Lionel, postwar and modern, Atlas, Weaver, and even the electrocouplers(Lionel-made, I believe) which K-line put on their own engines.

 

ben10ben wrote:

The couplers on all of the K-line scale cars I've seen absolutely won't close against any other brand couplers I've tried. This includes Lionel, postwar and modern, Atlas, Weaver, and even the electrocouplers(Lionel-made, I believe) which K-line put on their own engines.

Yikes, and that's where I was looking to get more rolling stock.

 

Mike 

HighPlains wrote:

ben10ben wrote: The couplers on all of the K-line scale cars I've seen absolutely won't close against any other brand couplers I've tried. This includes Lionel, postwar and modern, Atlas, Weaver, and even the electrocouplers(Lionel-made, I believe) which K-line put on their own engines.   Yikes, and that's where I was looking to get more rolling stock.   Mike

Original K-Lines.  Try some new ones by Lionel.  BTW: I put a little drop of synthetic oil [with needle oiler] on the knuckle and other moving parts of my couplers.  Seems to help and especially those original K-Lines.  Ben, it does take some slamming and sometimes that doesn't work.

On one K-Line frieght car I had to replace the release button that holds the coupler until it releases with a Lionel equivilant part, something about some K-Line coupler parts that are just a little shorter than the Lionel part. For some K-Line cars I just leave them coupled all the time and never open the couplers.

Chief I did not know at the time I bought the Weaver cars that they made both 2 & 3 rail cars and the couplers were mounted differantly.  I know that Atlas makes both 2 & 3 rail versions and will ask you when ordering which style you want.

Lee F.

I know I have written about coupler issues and fixes several times, so you might try a search. I tell everyone truthfully that any coupler made by anyone can be altered so that it works flawlessly.

Although the couplers and trucks made by differing companies may on first glance, seem very similar, they are different. The plastic armature on the early K-Line Classic cars is a stiffer and slightly thicker plastic than the Lionel cars. If you place a finger on the end that attaches into the car and then gently bend the armature up and down, you will find it will work much better. You could try hitting it with heat from a blow dryer first.

On the early all-metal K-Line truck, the coupler pin on the armature is too thick to engage without the cars being slammed. If you file down the pin, these cars will couple perfectly.

Yes, the plastic armatures between K-Line and Lionel are different as are the plastic knuckles the coupler pins. Matter of fact, even the Lionel ones are different between LTI and MPC. Then you have the Korean knockoffs, which can also be different. The K-Line plastic trucks are a mixed bag... some worked perfectly out of the box and some didn't. Replace the K-Line knuckle with a Lionel one (but you need to use a Lionel pin to do this) and the K-Line plastic truck will work better.

In some cases the size of the opening of the coupler and the inner shape of the knuckle can cause problems, but this can be cured by some grinding with a Dremel, as with the Industrial Rail trucks.

From my years from working on trucks and couplers, I'd rate the truck on the K-Line Train-19 cars  the best one ever made for practicality, operation and price. With cleaning and maintenance, I'd rate the postwar Lionel staple truck a second for operation, though in looks it would fall back a little more. I'd rate the plastic postwar Lionel AAR Timken truck third. And as far modern plastic trucks go, I'd rate Weaver the highest. I've never had any trouble with either Weaver trucks or couplers, although I do again, alter the mounting to the body. I've used the Weaver plastic coupler on other locos and cars and it works flawlessly and the best by far of any modern plastic coupler. They really get a bum rap, because they are the best - as far as plastic goes.

The K-Line Husky replacement trucks are also nice, but I haven't had much time with running them. They have a hidden coupler tab, and a molded on plastic detail fascia with air hose detail. Nice looking truck though.

The trucks on the MTH Railking and Rugged Rails cars are nice looking and couple almost flawlessly as is, but the truck roll poorly when compared to others. Some of them are not blackened but painted black instead. If they rolled better, I'd rate them higher.

And derailments due to truck wobble from loose rivets can be completely eliminated by drilling out the rivet and reattaching the truck with a lock nut and truss screw. Believe me, I have no derailments ever on my layout, except for my own mistakes. On the IR cars, if you slightly shorten the truck mounting screw inside the body, you will reduce the wobble and eliminate derailments. This is true for the Lionel, K-Line and MTH cars that use a screw to hold the truck to the body.