Kadee vs. McHenry Couplers

[orsonroy]

I've tried every coupler on the HO market with the exception of Sergeants. Kadees are bar none the best. Not only do they make the largest selection of couplers in the hobby, but they always work reliably (except when "operator error" comes into play). Their metal construction makes them extremely sturdy, and they work as shock absorbers if you happen to drop a car onto the floor (the coupler will break, but it'll usually save the model from the worst of the impact). The new Kadee #58's have been slightly redesigned to look even better than the first #58's, and they're my new standard coupler for my fleet.

The only worthwhile plastic coupler on the market are the ones by Accurail, because they rarely fail. Unfortunately, they also don't like to mate reliably with any other brand, so you'll have to convert everything to Accumates. Every other plastic coupler on the market is a piece of poo, IMHO. They break, the whisker springs don't last ONE operating session, the coupler faces will twist, contort, and fail, and they won't work well when trying to support a heavy train on a grade.

Don't cheap out and buy POS couplers. Kadees cost a whopping twice what McHenry's or other couplers cost, but will last forever. I have some Kadees running on my layout that my father installed on his freight cars in the mid-1960s, and they're still going strong.

[emdgp92]

I use mainly Kadees, with a small amount of McHenrys thrown in. The McHenrys aren't bad, but I'm not sold on them. The Kadees are more sturdy.

[Anonymous]

I have used the Mcs snap ons, on the Riv passenger cars only and they
are not the ultimate solution.

[sparkingbolt]

Hi fiatfan

You say your Kadee couplers are 20 to 30 years old? Kadee has made some subtle but significant changes on their couplers since then. They are all finished with a shiny coating that makes them slippery, thus they couple and uncouple better. And the #5 type draft gear boxes have a design that lowers friction for the delayed uncoupling action. These changes made good couplers much better. They really don't need the dry graphite lube they needed in the past

When I got back int model railroading about 3 years ago, I replaced the old Kadees on the few remaining cars I had from before with the newer Kadees. The difference is appreciable.

In all honesty, using the old Kadees as a comparison really isn't accurate. Dan

[Eriediamond]

Hey ya'll. I have just about every make (brand) of coupler and find no real problems with any of them, but then I'm not running 100 car trains either. I prefer EZ-mate II over any of them though and don't ask me why. I here from my modeling friends at my club and on these forums about Kadee brand being the best of the best and won't attempt to argue that they may be. My only draw back about Kadee is the centering spring set up they use and the trouble I have with it. Other than that, I do have high praise for Kadee, but I won't go so far as to say it's the "only" reiable coupler out there. In my opinion the key to good coupler reliability and operation is maintainence, no matter what brand it is.

[AggroJones]

I use mainly Kadee's because they are sturdy, they always open and close properly, and they line-up straight in the coupler pockets. When I don't have Kadee's on hand, I use Mchenry's until I can replace them.

[fiatfan]

Hi, Sean

I am using the McHery couplers. In my opinion, they are easier to install since they have the built in spring. I have a number of cars with Kadee couplers that I am gradually converting to McHenry. They seem to work better. Altough I must confess, the Kadee couplers are 20-30 years old. I haven't tried the new ones.

Tom

[brothaslide]

I use McHenry Couplers on my rolling stock. I like to use McHenry because they are easy to drop in and install. I have heard a number of comments about poor performance from McHenry. I wanted to hear the pros and cons for each coupler based on your personal experience. I know there was an article in MR a while back comparing all the couplers but I wanted some first hand input.

Thanks in advance,

Sean