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6 Responses to McHenry couplers v’s Kadee couplers
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Hi Bill,
Your asking just some of the questions folks have been asking at some of the train shows lately. So I am putting together a clinic on couplers for your model railroad at the April, 2 nd Martinsville Indiana train show with Central Indiana Division NMRA Train Show this Spring.
Couplers from different manufacturers are made with plastic, Plastic with metal trip pins, Scale couplers, Standard Couplers, Plastic tab Springs, metal coil springs, whisker springs, flat springs,
The list goes on and on. The durability is what you need to look at foremost. An example of McHenry verses Kadee is the double shelf coupler that each has. The McHenry coupler has a very distinct upper and lower shelf that is suppose to keep couplers from riding up and out of the other coupler. It does look real good and the shelves look just like the ones you would see on the tank car fleet on the proto types. They key here is the shelfs are just looks. The Kadee is all metal and pulling 40 cars or more I have not had one break. The McHenry double shelf couplers are plastic with metal spring closer ans a metal trip pin (or hose as some would say.) In my use on long flat cars and auto box cars the couplers would walk out of each other going over uneven modules. The shelves on the McHenrys were just for looks but did not keep the couplers in it’s connected knuckle. The Kadee of the same thing (the No 118 the double shelf coupler has the upper and lower shelf as the other (all metal and it is very difficult for the couplers to slip out of each other) In fact you need a track uncoupler magnet, a trip hand tool, or carefully take the two cars and hand walk the cars apart. In fact the cars will stay together even in a derailment. That is my example of how ell they will do. Even using standard couplers in these different brands you will find that most plastic couplers have a limited life span. The fist thing that goes out is the plastic tange that keeps the coupler closed on one brand (Very common on even new high priced new engines and cars. These couplers unless you are pulling light loads, the spring will give out and you will not be able to keep the knuckle closed. The McHenry ‘s are more durable with the coil spring closing the knuckle. But their knuckle is plastic with a metal trip pin and also have a plastic shank on many of theirs. The trip pin will get loose where it attaches into the knuckle. The coupler is less durable during derailments especially with heavy long trains. The common coupler used is the KADEE #5. Some say it is not properly scaled and that is why some folks want to use the Scale Coupler in which ever brand you decide but when using scale couplers the size of the grab in the coupler is less and on even uneven tracks they will slip out of each other. Even scale couplers coupled to a KADEE no 5 they will slip out of each other on uneven tracks. I have a few scale couplers on some of my cars still and they are usually involved in unwanted uncouplings. I don’t think the KADEE #5 Standard coupler is all that far out and using them I find the couplers stay connected better than when they are connected with another brand. Yes you can mix and match and I still have a lot of various brands on the fleet I will take the older plastic couplers and glue the knuckle shut and use them on cars that I do not plan to uncouple with after the spring gives out.magnets Such as I am building a MOW Train that is a rail car set. I don’t plan to uncouple the set as a rule. Another thing about couplers is that no matter how good of a coupler you purchase, they are only as good as you mount them. If they droop then they will not match the one they are coupled to. Proper fitting in the coupler box is a must with a good performance. Kadee has a no. 28 coupler which is used to replace the old horn coupler that beginning cars have on them. Mostly the clip that comes with it to hold it on is the key to a number 28. The coupler is actuall a No 5. Most of them usually mount on the truck mounted box. But the truck mounted coupler may not match the height of the body mounted boxes. I have been reworking some of my better cheaper cars as they look good. I will remove the wheel set with the coupler mounted on it and fill the king pin hole with some plastic sprue and file it smooth. I will drill for the wheel mounting screw and there you can use the KADEE #208 and 209 slacer washers to raise the frame up to adjust the height of your newly mounted body mounted boxes and install screw mounted trucks. I like to find used cars at train shows and replace the wheel sets and the couplers to KADEE’s. I can do that cheaper than I can by a ready to go car now a days with real good results. I really don’t like paying humongous prices for a box car that the old Athearn Blue Box kit came for 6 to 8 cars. Remember that even though you buy a ready to go car, they charge you for what should also come with the kitchen sink but in fact the car still has the cheap weak coupler that you will want to replace sooner or later. Once you replace a few they are not hard to do. Hope I have helped Newman Atkinson
Thought I would throw in something also. The couplers that come with your engines and cars now will break eventually. There is nothing wrong with running with the other brands but as they break look at KADEE to replace them with. Some will break sooner than later. So go a head and get the bulk KADEE’s of your choice (No. 5’s are the common one) or which ever you choose, even scale couplers, and they will be there when the car or engine goes down for maintenance but with stock in your hand down time is minimal. Bulk is overall cheaper. They do come in packs of 4 That will do two cars) and that way they come with coupler boxes to mount on the cars But many cars already come with body mounted boxes so you will get a good supply of boxes that way.
If you are trying to convert from the old horn couplers a good choice is to do a conversion car. Replace the horn on one end and have that car there to hook on cars with the old horn couplers on the end of what you have already converted. I have a conversion car already set up and that worked great for me at the beginning. I still have that car and since I have most everything else already converted, I keep it available if someone comes by and wants to pull some of their own around the layout.
from Newman Atkinson
Bill, I was just at Train Fest in Milwaukee for my first time. There I found the KADEE MFG Booth. We talked a bit and while I was there I noticed a long Clear lit tube vertical to almost the ceiling. Inside it was train car after Train Car connected together for the whole length of the tube. Each car hung by it’s coupler to the next car. I didn’t count the cars but there were a lot hanging strictly from their couplers inside that vertical clear tube. These couplers were KADEE Brand. Pretty impressive with all the weight of the cars hanging on the couplers alone. That about tells you how strong a KADEE is. from Newman Atkinson
I just completed a run of my Caboose Parade Train a 38 colorful caboose’s for it’s annual run. Actually that is a record amount for me in one train. The cabooses are of various brands from cheap to good and some couplers are cheep and some are good. To get ready for a successful run a few couplers needed some work. Those cheap ones would no longer keep the knuckle close and would uncouple. Those had to be glued shut until I can get the couplers replaced Some just needed the coupler height adjusted so they would not slip out of the other one and some just needed the coupler better fitted in it’s mount box so they would not droop. The run was successful for the New Year’s Eve run (the third time I have done it). But the difference in the quality of the coupler shows. The plastic just do not last. With only short trains plastic will get you by but a 38 caboose train will put the strain and load on the couplers to the test. So when it is said Kadee is the choice prefered then it will prove itself as I did tonight. Happy Railroading and A Happy new Year to you all. I will be posting the Caboose Parade 2016 New Year’ s Run in about a week from Newman
Kadee are superior in just about all aspects. The McHenry couplers are a weak plastic that breaks easily unless they are on a caboose. The new Kadee whisker couplers far exceed the McHenry’s coupler system. If you have problems with the hanging uncoupler system on either type just cut them off. I don’t use any plastic couplers on my cars and engines. The only engines available with McHenry couplers are Athearn engines. The only other engines and cars with a plastic coupler that is sprung is Bachmann. They are better than McHenry’s however, they still break.
McHenry couplers are soft, slippery plastic and are immediately replaced by Kadee on all my rolling stock. The non-replaceable knuckle “spring” could be glued into a dummy if not for running.