Hi, Bought a couple Fleabay items. A caboose and a long tank car. The caboose is an MTL and is supposedly new, came with a coupling that was very stiff. To the point where it wouldn't function. I gently moved it back and forth seeing if it would smooth out, rather than smooth it out I broke the peg where it mounts to body. On MTL site i saw a bunch of different types. Also noticed it said " Made in the USA" that is nice. Can someone tell me what replacement couplings would work on this? Says Magne-matic coupler on the case. That didn't seem to help me on the website. And on the Tank car, the couplers are a different style altogether. I had assumed all N scale couplers were compatible when it comes to connecting cars. Seems like a quality car, I am not sure what brand it is. What couplers would work on each car? The tanker would need a mod for a body coupler, or a truck with coupler attached. And the caboose I would assume is more standard.
Welcome to the place. Okay, your couplers are two different style and don't work together. When N scale was starting out, the standard coupler became the "Rapido" style. They work but sure don't look like the prototype couplers here in the US or anywhere else for that matter. A company called Kadee came out with some prototype looking couplers for HO and N scales [more would follow]. The company eventually split and the N scale part became Micro-trains. They also work very well and have "fathered" what are now called "knuckle" couplers. Most of us eventually swap our cars over to knuckle couplers.
The tank car is an easy fix. You can pull the trucks with couplers off the car and replace them with Micro-Trains trucks with couplers. The trucks are probably roller bearing trucks. If you look on this page https://www.micro-trains.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=63_113 you can see all the trucks made by MT and find the ones that match what’s on the car. You should be able to remove the broken coupler on the caboose and replace it with a new MT coupler but I don’t know which coupler you should use. Maybe someone with more experience replacing couplers like that can give advice.
Did you break the coupler on the caboose, or just the pin holding it on the car? If just the pin, you should be able to replace it with a screw. The proper screws actually come with new MT couplers........the correct coupler should be a 1015 MT. For the tank car I'd do a 1033, which is a roller bearing truck with a medium length coupler.
Cool thanks Dave. I only broke the pin on the Caboose; however the coupler is stiff. Should the caboose being new, have come with screws, or do they just come with the coupler sets? I checked out Micro Trains site that Joe gave me. Was going to measure tanker tonight for the proper size truck set, this definitely saves me some time. So, for future purposes, what knuckle couplers/ brand should I look for? or are there so many variants you just have to deal with what you get? I am not too concerned whether they are body or truck couplers at this point, I don't think my layout/trains will be long enough to matter. but I like the idea of body couplers. The couplers on some of my new Bachmann cars are body, they seem nice quality for basic cars. I sometimes read people don't like Bachmann, but the stuff I have seems nice. Also like my little DC 0-6-0 they made.
Bachmann's newer engines are pretty good, their Spectrum stuff is excellent. Avoid their older White Box engines.
Body mount couplers are more prototypical, and if you do a lot of backing (especially with 12+ cars) they are preferable. On the flip side, they generally don't have quite as much articulation so that can cause issues if you have tight radius curves.....this is especially true on long cars like autoracks. The 1015 coupler is pretty much the go to coupler for 90% of the stuff out there. They are the usual choice for body mounting on cars, and they are also the most used coupler on locomotives. Some cars look better with a short shank, some need a medium, and a few need a long. I took a guess based on your picture in picking the medium shank for the truck for the tank car.......but it will definitely fit, you'll just have a little extra gap between cars. The short shank may not extend the knuckle out from under the car enough, so I made the safe pick. Your best bet is to stick to Microtrains stuff........they have the best variety, and they were the original knuckle coupler, so they've had plenty of time to "get it right". On trucks, virtually any truck will mount to a car as long as you get the shank long enough........but there are several weight classes of trucks ( like 70 ton and 100 ton) as well as different styles (like bettendorf, andrews , ect.) so if you are worried about matching the prototype you need to be picky, but if you just want to get your car back on the track, they are pretty much interchangable. As for the caboose, No, it wouldn't have come with a screw, but they include the screws when you buy couplers because they don't know how you are mounting them. You need the screws to body mount the couplers on cars. You also can use the screws to mount the couplers on Locos, but some locos use an E shaped clip.......the center leg of the E goes thru the coupler and the outer legs snap into notches in the shell......but the hole the pin on the E-clip goes into is also the same size as the screw, so you can do either. The main thing is you need to watch the length on the screw and trim them as neccessary. If you use the screw straight out of the box on a loco, it will bottom out in the hole before it tightens on the coupler.....or worse, if you keep cranking on it, it will break thru the walkway. This probably applies to your caboose as well. Bachmann cars have always been OK, but there has been some quality control issues on some of the locos......I'm happy with all the Bachmann stuff I have. I WILL say that I think Bachmann cars are a bit overpriced......You are paying more for equal quality to what else is out there . If you can find them on sale, they are nice cars.
Thanks for the schooling Dave, much needed info. What are you guys liking for a de-coupling tool, I've seen skewers used.
I use the little Rix tools and Kato's Unitrack magnetized sections. I have used the Micro-trains' glue on magnets too in the past.
I have watched a few videos utilizing magnetic couplers, looks interesting. I am going with Unitrack on the layout, For a start I have the oval with passing lane set on the way. First time I have seen those magnetized sections. The double track looks interesting also. Getting close to the planning phase; size and design of layout.
I learned my lesson, make sure cars have the right couplers before purchasing. Swapping out 2 tanker cars with new trucks/couplers and 1 set of couplers for the caboose will be close to $40 plus $10 dollar shipping. I didn't hit the click button last night after I saw the tally. Probably a good thing if I need the short shank it worked out.
Will sure make it easier trying to figure out the route. Also looks like you can connect and disconnect over and over, and it will hold up. The Bachman snap track I currently have the rail joiners are really sensitive, and I have created some high spots. They have always conducted well though.
Not really a cost savings (short run), but if you think you will need more trucks/couplers down the road, Microtrains sells their products in multiple unit packaging......for example 10 pairs of trucks. Walthers is curently showing N scale trucks at $9.25 a pair........a 10 pair pack is $80.25. It's a long run savings, but if you need more down the road, the multipacks save you money. Not sure where you are shopping, but find someplace else ........2 sets of trucks at Walthers would be $18.50 and 3 pairs of couplers would be $10.10 for a total of $28.60......and Walthers usually isn't the cheapest place to shop either......they have the best variety though. If you stay in the hobby, you WILL need more trucks and couplers.........I just bought a 10 pr pack of 1015 couplers, a 10 pair pack of Roller bearing trucks, and a 100 axle pkg of replacement wheel sets. I probably will do that at least one more time before the year is over. Admittedly, I have more trains than the average modeler, but between upgrading stuff, and breakage, you'll find you need more than you think. I guess you learned the buying old stock lesson on your own........I still buy a lot of older stuff with Rapido couples, but I always factor in the cost the upgrades. With new cars running upwards of $25 (some a lot more), if you can buy older cars for a good price, it's still worth it. There's also a lot of old stuff out there that you can't get anymore as far as type of car, road number, ect. Even cars with the correct couple (MT) frequently need the wheels upgraded.........using Unitrack, you won't run into the problem, but I'm using code 55 Atlas track, and I'm still finding a lot of cars with the old "pizza cutter" high phalange wheels, which won't run properly on code 55 track.
Thanks Dave, I definitely will need more down the road. I will probably be getting bulk packs because of the shipping and in the end I'll need them. I am liking some of the older Great Northern cars and most have the other style coupler.
Some good deals can be found at swap meets. Local swaps sometimes have better prices. It is hit or miss at swaps. Go online and check different hobby stores. The stores that help Train Board is a good start.
I got these from Micro Trains. I think I got the right ones. Universal BMC Short Shank Unassembled 10pr (1015-10) 3 pairs were half as much as 10 pairs, so I'm ready for the future breakage. Roller Bearing Trucks w/ short ext. couplers 10pr (1030-10) These were a bit spendy. I guess I need to spend even more on some old cars I like and put them to use.
Looks like you got the right stuff.........but I guess we/I never mentioned that MT sells couplers both assembled and unassembled. Unassembled is noticeably cheaper ( when I toured the MT factory there were 2 ladies sitting at desks assembling couplers.....you get to pay them if you buy assembled) but a lot of people absolutely HATE assembling couplers. I don't mind, and it takes me about a minute per pair.
