Kadee Conversion - Keep or Pitch claw couplers

I pitched every one I removed. Hundreds of freight and passenger cars, plus every locomotive.

If you cut them off the springs and knuckle are the only useful parts that others can use for repairs. The design of those parts are essentially unchanged since 1945 so even post way folks could use most of those parts. Couplers that you can remove without destroying them could obviously be resold as well.

Pete

The only reason I can think of to keep them, is to glue them inside of cars to use as extra weight.

With the three-rail cars that I get and convert to two-rail, I keep the couplers, trucks, wheelsets and give them to a three-rail friend. He does the same in reverse for me. So keeping them (for both of us) is a win-win situation.

IMO, throwing anything away that is usable is wasteful - best use is to give them to others for repairing their trains.  Other options are to use them for a junk pile at a metal recycler, spare parts near an enginehouse, or as a gondola load - perhaps with a quick shot of rust-colored paint.

When I remove the claw couplers destructively (as in modern Lionel), I pitch them or add to my junkyard scene.  With MTH claws, you can remove them non-destructively by near complete disassembly, taking care to not launch any springs into orbit.  I put the removed parts in the box, so if I sell the car, the next guy can have the joy of re-assembly.  If I am pressed for time, out comes the Dremel and the MTH couplers have a rapid irreversible disassembly.  BTW, Atlas couplers are easily disassembled.  

Bob

@RRDOC posted:

When I remove the claw couplers destructively (as in modern Lionel), I pitch them or add to my junkyard scene.  With MTH claws, you can remove them non-destructively by near complete disassembly, taking care to not launch any springs into orbit.  I put the removed parts in the box, so if I sell the car, the next guy can have the joy of re-assembly.  If I am pressed for time, out comes the Dremel and the MTH couplers have a rapid irreversible disassembly.  BTW, Atlas couplers are easily disassembled.  

Bob

I pretty much do everything you do, Bob.  And I agree with your last statement…Atlas couplers are the easiest to disassemble and reassemble!  I just converted an Atlas car last evening.  The couplers, screws and coupler mounting plates go in a little parts bag and back in the product box just in case someone who might end up with this car down the road wants to remove the Kadees.

@Hot Water posted:

I pitched every one I removed. Hundreds of freight and passenger cars, plus every locomotive.

I put every 3 rail coupler (and trucks, too) off converted cars on eBay and let someone pay me to send them my trash,

The beauty of Weaver cars is that the claw part is easily removed leaving just the truck and the mount holes for the Kaydees are right there. The problem is that the vast majority of Weaver cars that are still available have (yuch) plastic trucks that work poorly and the metal ones are hard to come by. Why did Weaver offer cars with so much fidelity and then use plastic trucks?

I always pitched them as most had to be cut off leaving them un-usable.

@Laidoffsick posted:

I always pitched them as most had to be cut off leaving them un-usable.

Nice to see you posting here, Doug.  I thought of you just last evening when I was converting a car.  Pretty much everything I know about Kadee conversions was learned from your YouTube "How-to" videos and from asking you questions.  I still follow your methods to this day!

I just don't understand why Kadee-compatible couplers are not standard by now.

@harley rider posted:

I just don't understand why Kadee-compatible couplers are not standard by now.

Don't quite know what you mean but, most brands of the lobster claws will indeed couple with the Kadee #805 metal couplers.