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Are all couplers by different manufacturers supposed to work together? Bachmann couplers seem to couple and uncouple quite smoothly however Rivarossi aren't so smooth. I have seen posts about Kato couplers. Are these supposed to be the best? Should I change out my Rivarossi couplers? What if I have Bachmann cars pulled by a Rivarossi engine? Will the couplers work or do I need to standardize all my couplers. I have not been able to get the Rivarossi couplers to disconnect without picking up the car. That's not too impressive. Maybe there is a trick to it that I haven't figured out yet. There are certainly no directions to any of it. Otherwise I love the Rivarossi engines.
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In my experience the best, and most versatile couplers are the KD's. They can be made to fit any product. They operate with the most consistancy, especially in uncoupling.
I have used European style couplers, and Roco makes a great close couple style that expands when going around curves, but I would never use those on american models.
Posts: 62 | From: Carmel, Indiana, USA | Registered: Dec 2000
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gmark, JMH is correct. If you want to have a fleet of trains that all can be interchanged with each other, convert everyting you have to ONE type of coupler. I too use Kay Dee (Number 5)because they are "the old standard" and I have never had a problem with them. Believe me, it is better to start converting your stuff NOW before you have a railroad empire and nothing will connect with each other and you end up dropping a gazillion bucks to by a gazillion couplers all at once and spend a year doing nothing but converting your fleet...see where I am going with this . Plus Kay Dee is designed to use a magnetic uncoupler, which is mounted on the layout. Pretty darn cool, and beats the old 0-5-0 type of switching you mentioned !! Good Luck and Happy Modeling!! John
------------------ The Santa Fe and Southwestern, Chief of the Southwest!
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Thanks for the helpfull info guys. It really is invaluable. Now about those wheelsets.... I've noticed on the Rivarossi that the sets on the cars sort of push-in (and fall-out). This must be what you are talking about. I havent noticed anything about the loco's wheels yet. I've heard about lowering my cars by putting on different wheels but that would seem to misalign the couplers so I don't understand the logic in that. I'm thinking about returning the Rivarossi freight sets that I bought. They look kinda cheap. I'm looking at some Bachmann Silver Series Hoppers, Athearn and Model Power Pass. cars. Any thoughts on what holds up the best would be helpfull.
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Hold On To Those Rivarossi Cars!! They are not top-of-the-line, but they are not junk either!! If you are going to change out the couplers, I suggest looking at mounting them on the car body rather than the wheelset ("trucks") simply because this allows more freedom of choice when it comes to truck choices. I know Bachmann has improved their stuff in recent times, but I tell you what, if you give those Rivarossi's a chance I'll bet they will make you plenty proud!! Happy Modeling!! John
------------------ The Santa Fe and Southwestern, Chief of the Southwest!
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I agree, you almost never have to get rid of stuff. When I was referring to the wheelsets, I meant just that. I would not go around lowering cars, just mount the KD's to the body, as John suggested and look for metal axeled wheelsets, with more prototypical style wheel flanges. You will find they run better on all types of tracks. The reason is the reduced rolling friction from the journals and the "fillet" on the wheel flange actually does a better job of keeping the wheels on the track. I do not recall if the Rivarossi trucks needed to be replaced or not. Years ago, the best wheel sets were Central Valley. Later, NWSL. A little research goes a long way.
Good luck and good hunting. By the way, I liked the Athearn models years ago, becausw they offered the most reliability of parts fitting and avaiability. Today, I an not sure which manufacturers out of the box stuff is best. The latest models from Kato and Bachman Spectrum look fabulous! As good as many Brass models from the 70's and 80's.
Posts: 62 | From: Carmel, Indiana, USA | Registered: Dec 2000
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Once again thank you. Your willingness to share your knowledge could save me from wasting good money. I would rather do it right from the start. Unfortunately I already sent the Rivarossi freight cars back for a refund. I can always reorder later. I'm going for 8 ore cars and possibly open hoppers behind my Big Boy.
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As mentioned above, try to standardize to one brand. This will ensure the best possible operation. Also, as mentioned above, try to stick with Kadee brand couplers. All of the others are barely acceptable for short trains--once you get at least 20 cars, the non-Kadee brands will show their obvious shortcomings.
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. Plus Kay Dee is designed to use a magnetic uncoupler, which is mounted on the layout. Pretty darn cool, and beats the old 0-5-0 type of switching you mentioned 
!! Good Luck and Happy Modeling!!
