Finally taking the Kadee plunge….

Just take your time carefully installing them. You might have to make a small mounting plate to screw the couplers to the car. If you do, the effort is worth it. I would also get their height gauge.

Mat, yes, I have converted 4,351 freight cars to Kadees beginning back in '03. I talked with the late Jim Barrett at York that year. He had done a short article in OGR about the advantages of Kadee installation, appearance and operation. I was coming from HO, where Kadee MKD 5s were my "go to coupler" in place of those awful X2F or "NMRA" (sic) couplers, so I was an easy person to convince. I would see him years later at another York and showed him a few pictures: "Look at what you've done!" (I miss his presence at York and his great articles in OGR.)

IMO, next to weathering rolling stock and track, installing Kadees is the most significant thing you can do to increase 3-rail realism. I have converted the "Royal Blue" woodside passenger cars, similar to your Strasburg cars; it was easy. I did keep one end of one car with the Lionel-style coupler, connecting directly to the tender. I like keeping the MTH uncoupling function.

I call cars with one Kadee and one Lionel-style coupler "conversion cars." I mark the outside of the box with that label. Thus when I'm pulling rolling stock to assemble a train (I change railroads and eras every six months) I begin with the conversion car and go from there.

I have installed Kadees on MTH, Weaver, Atlas, IMT, Lionel, K-Line and a number of custom builds. Some are easier than others; some require shims (I mostly used basswood, but plastic and heavy cardstock from MicroMark also work), some you just screw in the mounting plate on the car. Some earlier Atlas cars require drilling the right size hole for your screws. Most of latter day MTH, and now Lionel and Weaver by Lionel, have these plates. It makes life easier.

I do replace all MTH freight car trucks, with the exception of the two- and four-bay hoppers with Atlas trucks, which lowers the car height over rail, so that oftentimes is the only adjustment I need before just screwing the Kadees on to the car body. For those MTH hoppers I use the short shank Kadee couplers (743s) which allows me to just snap off the brittle coupler shank on the MTH trucks. (There is no difference in appearance, IMO, between MTH and Atlas trucks on MTH two- and four-bay hoppers. But for MTH "coal porters" there is, so I install Atlas 100-ton roller bearing trucks.)

I have particularly long and heavy freights (transporting sugar beets and Powder River coal) that require mid-train DPUs. For those trains I have conversion cars on each end of the DPUs. The Kadees will couple to the Lionel-style couplers, but given the length and weight of the trains, and three powered engines (two powered, one non-powered up front, one powered and one non-powered mid-train) the last thing I need is some derailment, which will naturally occur in one of three tunnels on my layout, to spoil the fun. So for those trains I will use three conversion cars.

I also have a Southern LOCOTROL car which has one Lionel-style and one Kadee 740 for use as a mid-train control unit with a Southern SD45.

I suggest you take a look at the Kadee website. They have a number of different options for couplers, reflecting higher or lower mounting platforms, long or short shank. I keep an inventory of a number of different options, but I still mostly use the "standard" 740 coupler.

I started conversion before the "new" Kadees were introduced. So I had to install the small spring on the coupler side. Fortunately the new couplers do not need that...which is good in that my eyes are not what they use to be.

I do not convert my MTH, Lionel and K Line passenger cars. The diaphragms between cars largely obscures the couplers. On observation cars or designated "end" cars (like the "City of Fort Wayne" Nickel Plate sleeper I'm currently running on the "New Yorker") I do install a Kadee for appearance purposes.

Back in '03 when I was just starting the conversion process I was running Southern Pacific and had finished converting a block of 14 reefers behind a cab forward. My late wife came downstairs with some coffee, looked at the train, and observed, "I don't know what you're doing, but that train really looks great." That's all the opinion I needed to hear to know the time and $$$ I was spending on the Kadee conversion project was time well spent. I've never looked back.

During the last year, with no train shows, I have used Kadee out in Oregon for on-line purchases. Service has been superb. I get what I need, Oregon to Virginia, five days after I place an order.

Have fun.   Rick

Definitely get a Kadee height gauge. You will thank yourself many lifetimes over when all the couplers are at the same height.  You may also want to pickup from shims from Micromark to get the pocket to the right height.  Personally I have used mostly #805 couplers, but there are several varieties of Kadees for various conditions. 

Guys, I have a bunch of cheap Lionel cars with thumbtack couplers.  I also have some nice older metal Lionel cars with lobster claw couplers.

If I replace the thumbtack couplers with Kadee 805s, will those couple up with the older lobster claws with no significant problems?

@Mannyrock posted:

If I replace the thumbtack couplers with Kadee 805s, will those couple up with the older lobster claws with no significant problems?

Unfortunately the answer is, "it depends."  Some of my Kadees will couple with the claw and in some cases not depending on the thickness of the casting for the Lionel style coupler.

Scale City Designs also makes coupler shims in 4 different thicknesses up to 1/16 inch I think.    I personally mostly make my own from wood or cardstock or styrene.

The Kadee height gauge is very helpful.    You mount a coupler on one end to check how it matches, and the other end has a flat area that is where the height of the underside of the car should be.    And it is set at the NMRA recommended practice so it will match most any 2 rail O scale car  you buy.

Thanks for the advice! I went ahead and ordered the height gauge as well. I believe that there were shims included with the woodside passenger cars but if I need more now I know where to get them.

Mat

Good for you Matt.

enjoy,

Other than removing the stock coupler it’s an easy conversion. Pretty sure I used 2mm threaded screws to mount the couplers. The provided MTH shims got the height right.

@mattrains - BTW, you can 3D print those shims...any thickness you want.  I don't know if you saw my post regarding the new B&O Smoothsided passenger cars.  Removing the existing coupler arm requires a tool shop for those puppies.  It became so much of a hassle that I stopped after two trucks.  On a good note, the recovered couplers and mechanics were well suited to make my own couplers.

Anthony

Just about all of the Kadee mount-equipped MTH cars work with 2mm screws (available form https://www.microfasteners.com). On the earlier cars, you may have to insert a styrene platform for the couplers and you can use 2-56 screws. Your best friends will be the Kadee height gauge and shims.

If you use Kadee couplers, will the traditional uncoupling track electromagnet still work? 

If not, what modifications would you need to make to fastrack to have an uncoupling track section. many of my sidings are a bit of a reach for manual uncoupling using a "stick" to twist the uncoupler hoses apart.

Joe,

I don't think so. Kadee has magnets to put down between the rails for uncoupling. I never could get em right so I manually uncouple cars. I have never researched other alternatives.

Ron H

Get a notebook!  I wish I had told myself that when I started making conversions.  Not only do I have a variety of brands of cars, but brands of trucks as well.  Some trucks are higher than others and most brands mount differently than the rest.  It'll pay you later if you keep notes on what you did, what you used, etc, because you'll eventually get more cars and forget what you did on the previous ones.  Some of the cars I've had to use really thick shims to get the Kadees at the correct height, others I've had to put a washer or 2 between the truck and the bolster to raise the car body up a bit.

As far as uncoupling them, I've got an old, long TV tuner type tool that I use to get in between the cars, insert the tool between the knuckles and give it a twist to uncouple them.  Makes me feel like I'm actually working on the railroad!!!

Well.... I finally started the conversion process, only to realize that there aren't any mounting screws included in the Kadee packages! Would anyone happen to know what size screw I would need to mount the couplers to the MTH woodsided passenger cars?

Thanks,

Mat

@mattrains posted:

Well.... I finally started the conversion process, only to realize that there aren't any mounting screws included in the Kadee packages!

Correct. Most modelers have their own selection of various mounting screws, to fit either the center hole/holes, or the smaller holes on either side of the gearbox. It all depends on what various drill bits sizes you have (I use only numbered bits) and associated thread taps.

Would anyone happen to know what size screw I would need to mount the couplers to the MTH woodsided passenger cars?

Can't remember what/how I did mine, but I purchased a good supply of screws (both machine thread and self tapping) from Micro Fasteners, out of New Jersey. Google search for their site, then call them direct by phone, and request their catalog sheets.

Thanks,

Mat

@Hot Water posted:

Thanks Jack! I just ordered an assorted pack from Micro Fasteners.

Mat

@mattrains posted:

Thanks Jack! I just ordered an assorted pack from Micro Fasteners.

Mat

Was there an assortment that came with both 2-56 and 2mm screws ?

@Richie C. posted:

Was there an assortment that came with both 2-56 and 2mm screws ?

I do not recall Micro Fasteners offering an actual "assortment". You must order specifically exactly what you want. I primarily used #2 "sheet metal screws", i.e. self tapping, in various lengths. For machine screws, I had some 2-56, plus smaller (1-72, etc.) for the side mounting holes on MTH freight cars which came with the appropriate Kadee shim.

Concerning coupler gear box shims; I made all my own from various thickness of Evergreen styrene, at .500" wide, by .250" thick, to as thin as .015 thick.

@Hot Water posted:

I do not recall Micro Fasteners offering an actual "assortment". You must order specifically exactly what you want. I primarily used #2 "sheet metal screws", i.e. self tapping, in various lengths. For machine screws, I had some 2-56, plus smaller (1-72, etc.) for the side mounting holes on MTH freight cars which came with the appropriate Kadee shim.

Concerning coupler gear box shims; I made all my own from various thickness of Evergreen styrene, at .500" wide, by .250" thick, to as thin as .015 thick.

If you search "train" on their site, they show these two screw assortments for trains. Perhaps, they are new.

Micro Fasteners

@Richie C. posted:

If you search "train" on their site, they show these two screw assortments for trains. Perhaps, they are new.

Micro Fasteners

Yes. Definitely new. They never had anything like that back when I was up-grading all sorts of rolling stock to Kadee couplers (plus some for friends).

Nothing like kadee, running a fifty car train, having the slack run out on all the cars at start up.  Not having to worry about lobster claws letting go mid train.  Worth all the work and money