What Brand of Coupler is This?

You could call there and ask.

Looks like Clouser to me.

@Bob posted:

Looks like Clouser to me.

Don't think so:

Clouser (brass) is to the right of the photo...

Mark in Oregon

Good guess. Roundhouse O Scale.  Monarch are slightly better.  Scale Craft are prototypically accurate, and Clouser/High Sierra/Protocraft are state of the art, in brass.  There may be others - did Devore do an O Scale coupler?

@bob2 posted:

Roundhouse O Scale. 

Yup!

I'm thinking monarch.

@bob2 posted:

Good guess. Roundhouse O Scale.  Monarch are slightly better.  Scale Craft are prototypically accurate, and Clouser/High Sierra/Protocraft are state of the art, in brass.  There may be others - did Devore do an O Scale coupler?

Are you saying you think it's Roundhouse? I did not know they made any O scale. Of course, I don't know much about older O scale...(or new, for that matter! )

Here'a snap of that same Clouser (which I purchased through Jim Harper at "High Sierra Hobbies" in the mid-'90s, I think) opposite a pair of some older brass types:

...could those be Scale Craft?

In any case, the initial coupler is one I really like; it looks good, and has a similar shank to a standard Kadee...

Mark in Oregon

I believe that the coupler is KMT or whoever made couplers for KMT.  This is on a 1972 TTOS national convention car. It cost $13.00 to go to the convention and that included the car. The rod that hangs below the coupler pushes up to open the coupler. The coupler mates with Lionel couplers but of course does not work with the Lionel uncoupling track.

@David Nissen posted:

I believe that the coupler is KMT or whoever made couplers for KMT.  This is on a 1972 TTOS national convention car. It cost $13.00 to go to the convention and that included the car. The rod that hangs below the coupler pushes up to open the coupler. The coupler mates with Lionel couplers but of course does not work with the Lionel uncoupling track.

David, et al.

The coupler in question will mate with a Kadee:

A Kadee will mate (kinda) with a Lionel:

...but this will not mate with Lionel:

So no, it is not a KMT...it does have a "ball" on the bottom of the actuator pin, but not nearly enough play in the knuckle area to mate with the Lionel.

Here it is with an HO Roundhouse version: very similar in design...

I didn't think this would be such a puzzler! 

Mark in Oregon

It is not a puzzle.  Pay attention to Martin and me.  Roundhouse.

We are not coupler experts - we just know what a Roundhouse coupler looks like.  There was no law saying an HO manufacturer couldn't make O Scale couplers back then.

Not a puzzler at all.  Just like mentioned earlier in the thread, they are Model Die Cast (MDC).  If you removed them from the draft box you will see the letters MDC.

Jay

Okay, Roundhouse it is. 

I will be on the lookout for some...

Mark in Oregon 

I may have some.  Max Schwanda (RIP) used them exclusively.  His daughter brought me some leftover parts.

Managed to find a few more sets of these MDC couplers along with some other stuff:

Just for comparison: left to right are Kadee #805; MDC (in a KD box, just so I could photograph it); Max Gray; Monarch (cut down shank) and what I'd guess is a Walthers plastic coupler. All these will mate with each other, except for the 'Walthers"... 

Have a good weekend.

Mark in Oregon

Take a #38 drill bit, chuck it in your handy $50 Harbor Freight drill press, and hold the coupler with a gloved hand.  Bring the coupler in from the side - the bit will grab it and open just enough to make life pleasant when hooking up a train.

I do that to all dummies.  They all mate with each other smoothly.

Thanks bob2, I shall give that a try... 

Mark in Oregon 

@David Nissen posted:

I believe that the coupler is KMT or whoever made couplers for KMT.  This is on a 1972 TTOS national convention car. It cost $13.00 to go to the convention and that included the car. The rod that hangs below the coupler pushes up to open the coupler. The coupler mates with Lionel couplers but of course does not work with the Lionel uncoupling track.

Other than the silver spring that’s a pretty realistic  looking rust.   Color and texture wise the drawhead looks almost real.