Somehow, the folks who picked up the Kadee operating design when the patents ran out never have realized that the material is also important. Granted, plastic is cheaper than metal - and bathroom cup plastic is cheaper than engineering plastic.
I have a few clones in service - came with kits I kitbashed and I simply installed what was in the box. When one fails, it gets replaced with a like, serviceable Kadee.
Pastor Bob, I'll match your 20-year-old MKDs and raise you a quarter-century. Some of my cars (which will never be magnetically uncoupled) are fitted with Kadee K couplers that were surplus to Malcolm Vordenbaum's requirements when he converted his roster to MKs. I'm sure some of them are 50 years old.
Back to the clones. This quote is all I intend to add:
"Nothing has ever been made, but some person can't make it more cheaply and sell it for less. Buyers who consider price alone are that person's legitimate prey."
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Definitely Kadee's. First thing I do with a new car is replace the existing Accu-mate, McHenry or whatevers with Kadee's. They're pretty fool-proof as far as I'm concerned.
I DO have one Con-Cor dome car that is outfitted with McHenry's (with the metal spring) and it's worked okay for the time being, but that's because I've just been too lazy to go down to the LHS and pick up the appropriate Kadee conversion kit.
There's nothing quite like having a 30-car train split in half on a 2% up-grade because I overlooked replacing one of the cars with Kadee's. That can be a MESS!
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Interesting comments from Rapido Trains....My purpose in starting this thread was to hopefully elicit the responses that have come from experienced modelers and thus help the rest of us avoid a few frustrations in this area.A lot of hobby shops should check out these forums from time to time.These discussions are the best reference work currently available for this great hobby of ours
Michael
davidmbedard wrote: Throw the McHenrys out and stick with the tried and true never-bread Kadees.David B
Throw the McHenrys out and stick with the tried and true never-bread Kadees.
David B
At the risk of piling on, Kadee couplers all the way. We have them on 300+ freight cars and have been using them for well over 30 years.
We run live coal loads with 15-17 car trains of triples, quads, and bathtub style gons up and down 2% and 3% grades and have absolutely no trouble with the Kadees.
The one time we tried the McHenry couplers was on a train of 15 Stewart triple hoppers, all empties. The train kept derailing while backing through some turnouts and we couldn't figure out why. We went over all the cars and found nothing out of the ordinary. When we finally tried the only thing that was different, and went back to Kadees the problem was solved.
I don't understand the complaints several people had with the bronze centering springs though, since they didn't elaborate on the problem. Or was it the knuckle springs? When we put Kadees on a freight car or locomotive, we do a few things that I haven't seen too many other people do.
1.) We take a fine file and knock off the mold parting seam on the face of the knuckle. Then we buff it with a Bright Boy or other block of it's type. This filing and buffing is done side-to-side since that is the way the knuckle faces slide over each other when coupling.
2.) We run a file on the inside of the knuckle to knock off the parting seam too.
3.) We also run the file over the inside edge of the other side of the coupler where the outside edge of the mating coupler would touch, to take off the rough edges there. To illustrate what I mean, if you make a coupler out of your hand, the inside of your thumb is where I am referring to.
4.) Last thing is we also run a file over the leading edge of the bronze centering spring to knock the sharp edge off there. (Also on the metal coupler box cover on older Athearn cars.)
These mold parting seams and sharp edges all contribute to the couplers hanging up and not wanting to couple/uncouple. All this takes no time at all while installing couplers, but pays off big when operating with nice, smooth couplings and couplers that work the way they are intended.
Just our experience with Kadee and McHenry couplers. Your mileage may vary.
"Rust, whats not to love?"
The ONLY thing going for McHenry couplers is when they are FREE.... Remember you get what you pay for. Case in point: Intermointain cars.
Kadees are an after-market product, and cost about $0.75 apiece. Such a Deal!
The #5 'flat spring' works (when one follows the directions), otherwise get the 'Whisker' coupler. It was designed for those who find coupler assembly too much ''work''.
Kadees have always worked well for me. The knock offs are the only ones have failed, sometimes spectacularly. I buy the high detail (expensive) freight car kits and scratchbuild/bash/superdetail other cars. I'm not going to put lots of hours in a super-detailed car and then cheap out on the couplers. BTW: I like to think of myself as thrifty. If I could get quality couplers for less, I would.
I did have string of intermountain reefers head towards the floor due to the failure of a McHenry coupler on another car ahead of them in the train. They let go on a steep grade and didn't make the curve at the bottom of the hill. Not too much damage but lesson learned. I don't have those kinds of grades or couplers (McHenry) on the new layout.
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
Hi!
I've installed a lot of KDs and am a big fan. The McHenry's - when they first came out - had the selfcentering couplers that were preferrable to KDs for certain installations. However, KD now has the whisker couplers and you can get them in bulk. Now there is no reason not to use KDs, and I highly recommend them.
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Over the years, I've had McHenry, Proto, Kadee and Bachmann's couplers. They have all had one or more broken couplers EXCEPT the Kadees. Also, they don't seem to mate all that well with other mfrs and some are more tempermental than others and don't even matcch weel with their own kind. But the Kadees are like the Energizer bunny, I've had some since the 70's and never a problem (other than an occasional knuckle spring getting lost). So, if I buy something and it doesn't have Kadee, it's removed and a Kadee replaces it.
These are my experiences and my preferences. It doesn't mean they are best for everyone. I'm not looking to get into a war over this, but just responding to your question.
Ken
Hi....I would like your opinion.....I am trying to "re-coupler-ize" my fleet of AHM/IHC/etc passenger cars.....which size/number of coupler - kadee coupler - would you suggest?
Jim
I tend to be pretty cheap about this kind of thing, so I usually wait for the plastic Kadee clone coupler to break and then replace with a real Kadee. That's assuming the plastic coupler has a metal knuckle spring. Couplers with plastic slivers for springs get replaced immediately with Kadees due to the tendency of the slivers to fail in keeping the knuckles closed. I won't buy the plastic couplers outright - I'll only use them if they're pre-installed on a car I acquire.
To directly respond to the OP's question, the only strength to McHenry is that it might already be on a car when you buy it, so the model can enter service without an immediate trip to the shop. The lower cost of plastic couplers is a false savings due to the failure rate.
Rob Spangler
collectoratbest Hi....I would like your opinion.....I am trying to "re-coupler-ize" my fleet of AHM/IHC/etc passenger cars.....which size/number of coupler - kadee coupler - would you suggest? Jim
Since you have resurected this old thread with this question: The answer can be found here:
http://www.kadee.com/conv/holist.pdf
That is a chart to find about any conversion to KaDee couplers from KaDee.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Some,new Forum Members,,,,May find this interesting,,and or helpful...
Cheers,
Frank
Kadee vote from the S scale crowd, I do shun the no. 802 for the no. 5, personal choice based upon 40 plus years of Kadee usage in two scales, also a heads up to NWSL for metal wheel sets.
Dave
Kadee Rules.
Russell
csxns Kadee Rules.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
BRAKIEWalthers Protomax
ONLY THE BEST THAT I"VE USED .... KADEE SCALE SIZE, #58 WHISKER COUPLER. I REPLACE OTHER COUPLERS WITH THESE BEFORE THE CARS GO ON MY TRACK. NUFF SAID, DOC.
LOST & CONFUSED, SOMEWHERE IN ONEIDA, WI.
Yeah KADEE is better. But I got a large lot of the McHenry Knuckle Spring couplers cheap a while ago so I have both. If you mount the Mchenry's at the proper height - very important - and run only short trains, say 10 cars or less like I do since I model a shortline - they work OK. But the standard of comparison is now to the #148 Kadee Wiskers, not the #5's which is all I had when I found the McHenry's. Kadee #5 is a stronger coupler, but I like the McHenry springs much better.
The #158 Kadees are the best looking and closest to scale, but the smaller size does make them a little more trouble prone. For my money if I am starting now it would be Kadee #148's all around.