philo426 I know Horn Hook couplers are obsolete but I do use them on certain older Athearn rolling stock because they do hold the cars securely together .I put a Kadee #5 on one end and just leave the horn hook coupler on the other for the transition box car.Do any of you do the same?Also when were the horn hooks phased out?
I know Horn Hook couplers are obsolete but I do use them on certain older Athearn rolling stock because they do hold the cars securely together .I put a Kadee #5 on one end and just leave the horn hook coupler on the other for the transition box car.Do any of you do the same?Also when were the horn hooks phased out?
I used to a long time ago with Rivarossi passenger cars. Since I didn't switch my passenger cars back then, I didn't see any need to replace the truck mounted hornhooks. All my locos had been converted to KDs so I put a KD on one end of a baggage car and a hornhook on the other and the rest of the consist would have all hornhooks.
By the time I got around to starting the current layout a little over 20 years ago, knuckle couplers had become the standard and I the roadnames on my old Rivarossi passenger cars didn't fit the new layout so there was no need to have a conversion car.
Yes most of the time a conversion to Kadee #5 is standard procedure when necessary.Good thing they sell bulk packs!
philo426 Yes most of the time a conversion to Kadee #5 is standard procedure when necessary.Good thing they sell bulk packs!
I'm snooty when it comes to couplers. When I got a new piece of rolling stock, I used to use the Brand X couplers until they gave me trouble, then I'd replace them with KDs, either the old #5 or the whisker #148. Now I don't bother with a trial period. Whether kit or RTR, all rolling stock gets a KD before it goes on the layout.
philo426Also when were the horn hooks phased out?
I don't think that they were ever "phased out".
Wallthers still has them listed as available, as well as an uncoupling ramp.
I occasionally buy both kits and RTR that include hornhooks as an option. My first HO layout back in the 1960s had exclusively hornhooks and my first adult layout was the same.
I remember they used to make hornhook uncoupling ramps which would squeeze the pins together between the rails causing an uncoupling. It wouldn't work for delayed uncoupling but if you knew where you want to uncouple it was workable. I remember buying one just to try it out but can't remember how reliably it worked. I found this on ebay and I think they are for hornhooks.
Perfect Uncoupling Ramp Set of 2 Packs 407 | eBay
I wonder how many modelers have stayed with hornhooks to this day. I'm sure there are a some as indicated by the OP.
Back in the 2000s I had a generic 35 car 1940's coal drag part of which had my old Blue Box 5 pack of hoppers. I used them in a block with Kadees at either end and horn-hooks for the intermediates. I cut the vertical doohickeys off and TBH was perfectly content with them. Would I do that again? I probably would, it worked well and recycled some old cars (Blue Box are often very nice for next to no money) with no real hassle.
None of my rolling stock has horn-hook couplers. If I found a car that I liked, the couplers were ALL replaced with Kadees. Using their conversion chart, I can usually find a body-mounted coupler. If they have Talgo trucks, I usually clipped the ends off and used the Kadee draft gear to body mount the couplers.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR