Coupler conversion

[Boonter]

I have on hand a variety of old, beat up rolling stock of various eras. Most of it is PRE-WAR, and I hope to keep my set up with that 'look' BUT, I'd like to have some compatability in there cars.

A. Is it feasable to convert to one coupler system with older cars ?

B. If so, what system is best to use ?

C. Is this a BAD idea ? (Most cars would be considered poor by a REAL collector)

D. Sources for conversion couplers: Reccomendations please/

[Dave Farquhar]

I'm kind of in the same boat, but I prefer to leave cars in either original or as-found condition. I don't like to change couplers unless I can easily and non-destructively change them back. (Which sometimes is possible, it just depends on the design of the cars. Flyer and Ives cars from the late '20s can be changed very easily.)

What I've done so I can run whatever I want together is to make several conversion cars--cars with one type of coupler on one side, and another side on the other. For example, I've got a Lionel 1680 tanker that came to me without couplers, so I put a tab-in-slot coupler on one side and an American Flyer link coupler on the other.

A bit of rummaging around in junk bins ought to get you some suitable candidates for conversion cars. When searching, keep in mind that a lot of Lionel's postwar cars still look OK with the prewar stuff, and some of those are very easy to change. Or if you're into scratchbuilding, scratchbuild a car body and put whatever trucks and couplers you want on it.

If I were going to standardize, I'd probably standardize on a tab-in-slot, just because nearly every manufacturer used it at one time or another, and because it's very easy to fashion your own tab-in-slot couplers with sheet metal using a rotary tool. Then you can get it to exactly the length you need.

As far as a source for parts, I've heard good things about The Train Tender, at www.ttender.com. (Haven't ordered anything from them though; my local Lionel dealer has been able to meet all my needs so far.)

I hope this helps.