Newbie KD coupler questions

[okiechoochoo]

Just getting into HO. Clerk at LHS says installing KDs on Genesis F units is almost impossible. Also says the Athearn RTR rolling stock have couplers that sit to high compared to the KD guage. He was not sure if KDs could be easily installed on Athearn RTR cars. I have a couple of F units (AB sets) and several Athearn RTR 40 foot boxcars. Can anyone advise as to what KDs will fit, if any, and are they easy to install
Thanks

[cjcrescent]

okie;
Go to http://www.kadee.com and click on the Kadee HO scale sign. This will take you to all their HO products. Scroll down the page under you see "Kadee HO conversion List", click on that. Scroll down that until you find Athearn Genesis. They have a listing of what coupler fits what car including the RTR.

Attaching a new coupler to a car and getting it gauged to the proper height is easy if , 1. You have any mechanical ability, and 2. Probably more important, you have the right tools, and know how to use them. Haven't met a car or locomotive yet that I couldn't install a properly working KD on, and without much gnashing of teeth or hair pulling. (Gotta be careful, don't have much of either one left.)

[dknelson]

Be aware also that Kadee makes couplers with offset shanks, meaning the normal coupler has the shank meet the coupler head squarely in the center but they also offer couplers where the shanks are at the top and at the bottom of the coupler head.

That way if there is simply so way to adjust the height of the car (using Kadee insulated washers between trucks and car to raise it) or locomotive you can still mount couplers at the right height for the coupler gauge.

There are some Athearn cars where you have to do this but thanks to the choices in couplers it is almost impossible to imagine not being able to equip almost any car with Kadee couplers. If a given conversion looks too tricky for you, or you are afraid of butchering a car, set it aside until you have more experience (or more nerve) to truly modify the car to make it work. That experience will come quickly. Identifying and meeting a challenging coupler installation problem is part of the fun.
Dave Nelson

[JohnT14808]

Just wait until you pick up some "used" freight at a swap meet and discover that the cars are from Model Power. Trying to put KD coupler on Model Power freight is really a task. However, since Model Power has a lot of military freight cars, I have purchased a number of them so I have a real challenge getting rid of the horn hooks.
Oh well, fun work at the bench this winter.

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by okiechoochoo
Clerk at LHS says installing KDs on Genesis F units is almost impossible.

Well, upon reading your message I grabbed a Genesis F from my shelf and installed Kadee's on it. The impossible took 40 minutes. I don't have a work bench so that includes time for rounding up the parts, getting out the tools, work lamp, selecting and assembling the couplers. I would say it was an easy installation. The hardest part was finding the correct coupler.

For the rear I used a Kadee #35. A #33 would work just as well if you mount the coupler box the opposite vertical direction. I used a Kadee # 41 on the front, but my first choice would been a #16. Unfortunately I didn't have any of those in my parts box. With the #41 I had to trim a bit off the front right hand corner of the mounting box, to allow it to mount straight. Because of this and because the #41 hangs down a bit, I now think a #36 would be better. The #41 is an underset shank, and the #36 is a center set shank. I suppose one could also shim the box to remove the hang and use a #46.

Both of these are a tiny bit maybe 1/64" longer than the stock couplers. The front coupler looks way too long, but I put on the stock coupler and it looks about the same.

This is to get the couplers to the standard center of 25/64", according to a Kadee coupler height gauge. Different couplers would be used to match the RTR cars.

QUOTE:
Also says the Athearn RTR rolling stock have couplers that sit to high compared to the KD guage.

I have no RTRs so I can't comment, or test. The old blue box kits were always too low.

[emdgp92]

If you *really* want to have fun, try putting Micro Trains couplers on N scale equipment, hehe.

Some of Athearn's older HO scale stuff is goofy when it comes to adding Kadees. I've had identical blue-box cars and had some odd coupler results with them. It seems that one car always comes out too low, while the other is spot-on.

I thought I'd pass along this little hint: Remove the molded-in coupler box on Athearn's tank cars. (The stock ones don't stay together...since they're part of the frame.) Replace them with a Kadee box, and screw it to the car frame. A Kadee #5 should work just fine :)