Electrocoupler break in?

 I've never see a coil coupler couple to a single car. Usually it just pushes it down the rails. A whole train yes. Should be able to couple up to about 4 cars if they are properly weighted. You are finding out how slowly these engines can run. Very much like a real one. Slow speed switching much like the prototype can now be done. Unfortunately what's taking place is most 3rail couplers require some force that can only be done by speeding up. I've converted everything to Kadee's for just this reason. You do lose the hands off wow factor though of uncoupling cars. But picking up a single car on a siding by barely nudging it makes up for it.

What brand is the car you are coupling to?  I've found that Lionel couplers work great with Lionel cars (duh), work okay with Atlas and Weaver (a little more force required to couple) and don't work well at all with MTH (requiring lots of force).  The knuckle geometry of Lionel couplers is different from the other brands.  I've found that Atlas, MTH and most Weaver cars work very well together and with electrocouplers from any of those brands.  Lionel cars and locos don't necessarily work with everything.  If I add a Lionel loco to the roster, I replace the Lionel electrocouplers with ones obtained from Atlas' parts department and all is well.

Thank you Bob. Right now I only have one car, an MTH caboose, so that might be the problem. I have two Lionel cars being shipped to me - unfortunately the USPS lost them for a week - so I should be able to try in a couple of days.

Since I am new to O gauge, all of this is helpful information.

BTW - I got started after I gave my grandson his great-grandfather's Lionel set. He likes it, one thing led to another, and now I'm starting my own layout.

Lone caboose? Thats the problem. Wait till you get more csrs.  Things will be much better!

Some are worse than others, it's the casting and the flash lines on the internal parts.  You can't really "break them in".  The only cure I've found is I take them apart and smooth all the operating surfaces.  I've been able to make them easily couple to a single car with a little internal work. 

It’s always a fear for me that a burglar will break in an steal my electrocouplers then I won’t be able to run trains 

I thought the same thing! 

Sorry David, double meaning title....  (I have been watching Bosch recently, maybe that is the issue-police shows.)

Bob posted:

What brand is the car you are coupling to?  I've found that Lionel couplers work great with Lionel cars (duh), work okay with Atlas and Weaver (a little more force required to couple) and don't work well at all with MTH (requiring lots of force).  The knuckle geometry of Lionel couplers is different from the other brands.  I've found that Atlas, MTH and most Weaver cars work very well together and with electrocouplers from any of those brands.  Lionel cars and locos don't necessarily work with everything.  If I add a Lionel loco to the roster, I replace the Lionel electrocouplers with ones obtained from Atlas' parts department and all is well.

I have never found any MTH/Lionel incompatibility as a pattern, but the general idea that it's subtler coupler geometry differences causing much of these issues is correct.

The all time best O-gauge (Hi-rail) coupler was the Lionel Postwar unit. No contest. Solid, long-lasting, seemed to get better with age, portable (you could add them easily) and adjustable. The only Achilles heel was the metal spring, which, when overheated after some derailments, would lose its resilience - but that's true of any metal spring coupler.

The worst was the Weaver plastic coupler (the plastic trucks were just fine). Bad plastic knuckle springs and improper knuckle design (did not open wide enough to couple and closed too far to uncouple) made these "operating couplers" into dummies. An odd misstep by Weaver, and never corrected in plastic. 

Single car's weight can be a factor.  A light car will be pushed ahead of the engine without coupling.

Jan