3 Rail (O scale) Freight Car Conversion to Kadee Couplers

[@bubblejomay]

Don't misunderstand my last comment, just trying to learn what I need to do to convert to Kadee couplers. You videos are very appreciated and are very informative, thank you for you patience and time in this matter.

[@Laidoffsick]

No offense taken. I put the videos out to encourage people to try it. If someone has ideas or better/easier methods... I'm all ears. I've recently re-done a few cars I did years ago because the height was off a bit or they stuck out too far from the end of the car...things I didn't notice then... or maybe I've just become more picky. :-)

[@hutchewah]

Thanks for the series of vids on Kadee conversion. Ive been wanting to do that to my rolling stock but wasn't exactly sure how to go about it. Very helpful and, by the way your layout is looking fantastic. Ready for more vids when you are.

[@Laidoffsick]

hutchewah Thank you. Yeah its past do for a layout update. Haven't done a whole lot, but the back side is now finished and we're looking into getting a 6' long ice deck to go next to the brewery on the left side of the layout. At least we are hoping we can do a 6 footer. Turnouts and curves eat up a lot of track space in this scale :-)

[@DennyDreadBassMan]

Great video. I bought a box of weights at Napa Auto Parts here in town. They have lasted for quite a while.

[@efitter7]

Great video Doug! Thanks for sharing, Ethan

[@eottoe2001]

Yeah, nothing says toy like those big knuckle couplers. I have been looking at the Lionel and MTA stuff lately because they are making interesting locomotives but the couplers have been an issue. When you installed those Kadee couplers, they look scale. Thanks for this video.

[@floridianrailauto9032]

The couplers really aren't a problem, they're much more durable than the Kadees

[@henryszubielski8601]

Very helpful! Thanks!

[@MrBillCNW]

I want to say thank you for posting this video it was very helpful and Yep 2 Rail O Scale is the way to go I can’t believe that many people like 3 Rail over 2 Rail it’s just not realistic. Do you know the old saying to each their own. And thank you for posting this video

[@Smag49Kyi]

Great video. I'm repairing an old Lionel Texas Special I found in the attic of a house I bought 35 years ago. By the way, Pecos is pronounced "pay-cus". It is the name of a town and river in West Texas.

[@Laidoffsick]

R.L. Mann, RiverMann depends on where you're from. tomay toe .. tomaa toe

[@AGHRMatt]

Well done, Doug.

[@quartergauger9058]

Nice instructional video'. Very well done'.. Very nice job thanks for the info. You have saved me a lot of aggravation. my largest radius is 45`. Oddly enough, I have some O scale cars with kaydee's that do operate on my layout. But I won't be changing my cars to Kadee's, will be doing just the opposite. 2 rail to three rail...(:

[@kingjulian9496]

Question, how hard is to convert a 2 rail loco to 3 rail?

[@Laidoffsick]

New wheels and all new electronics

[@kingjulian9496]

@@Laidoffsick thanks i bought a 4-8-2 loco site unseen. He said it was 3 rail. Manufacturer unknown. Its all die-cast. When i saw it i realized it was 2 rail. Its probably around a 1950s early scale model. Thats why i asked. I've been a g scaler my whole life so this is new to me.

[@jamesmdean1987]

Thanks again for the tutorial. On cars that do not have the mounting holes, what drill bit size do you use to drill the holes, to then tap to 2-56?

[@Laidoffsick]

I don't remember, it's been too long. I know it's mentioned in 1 of the videos. I don't tap the hole when going into plastic.

[@JC-ie1sm]

I'm using O-72 curves as a minimum on the mainline and thought about converting my freight cars to Kadee couplers. Will the 3 rail wheels hit the coupler box on 72 inch curves?

[@Laidoffsick]

NO

[@JC-ie1sm]

Thanks. Nice video as well. Very informative.

[@Laidoffsick]

thank you

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

I went through the KD crap ola in HO scale. All of the train magazine said go to KD couplers. Most times the couplers cost more than the car they went on. Like a lot of people I got tired of the work and the expense and only got halfway through my roster and like everybody you have some cars that have a Katie coupler on one side and an MRA coupler on the other side. I have a brash o'scale Hopper car and the scale dummy couplers on it are almost the size of a KD coupler in HO scale. I bought a bunch of trains in a shed from an estate sale from a guy who was really into passenger trains and all the passenger cars were missing two couplers and the price to replace the couplers was so expensive I just used black zip-ties to try the car together because you don't go and switch passenger cars. I wasn't into switching and prototypical operation as such I just like to fire up the trains and let them run. On my MPC Europe rolling stock I cut off the thumbtack and super glue the coupler shut making it a dummy coupler. The thumbtack with sometimes gets stuck in between the rails on a curve and cause a derailment.MTH used to offer to rail insulated trucks to replace the three real ones on there rolling stock but they were $25 a set. On MPC era rolling stock with the plastic trucks it's easy to spread them apart and remove the three rail wheelset and replace them with a two rail DC wheel set. I have some old issues of model railroader daily from the late 1940s and early 1950s and there are ads from manufacturers who make rolling stock and they have a platform underneath the car so you can put Lionel three-wheel trucks on it or scale 2 rail trucks on it. There were also add from companies that would take your 3-rail locomotives and turn them into two rail.

[@Laidoffsick]

Well... I'm looking for realistic looking couplers. $5 a car is a minor cost when cars are $50-$100 each these days. I would never use a tip as a couplet in any scale.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

@@Laidoffsick when I got the load of passenger cars I called around and most people quoted me $8 per coupler. On a new car that might not seem so much but when you have a fleet of older card it tends to add up into a lot of money as well as time spent in doing the conversions. Because I model the 1970s many short freight cars were still in service. I like the die-cast lineup trucks with the flat plate coupler. Like I said went through all of that with HO scale and never again.

[@Laidoffsick]

@@frankmarkovcijr5459 well that's all part of the hobby for me. A hobby occupies time (that's the point) and it cost $$ no matter the hobby is

[@Prototyper001]

I would like to see a video on how to truck mount Kadee Couplers. I'd like to convert my trains but I have maybe 54 inch radius curves, I'm not sure as I use Gargraves track curved by hand. I do know the curves are not 72 inch.

[@RepublicanJesusthe2nd]

Will Kadee couplers be strong enough to run 20 box cars?

[@Laidoffsick]

Richard Fernandez I run 60 and 80 car trains with Kadees, problem. I know guys who run 100+ car trains with no issues.

[@bubblejomay]

I noticed that in this video the kadee coupler was not measured to center it on the box car. Wouldn't it be necessary for this process to insure that when the cars are in operation there would not be a misalignment of the couplers when coupling and uncoupling?

[@Laidoffsick]

I never measure for an exact center. By drilling the holes over sized in the draft gear box gives me some play for adjustment. Being off a little one way or the other doesn't effect anything. When I edited this video I noticed it was off a little so I lossened the screws and centered it up a little better. Just like real couplers, as long as they are close, they will couple up just fine. curves are the only places that cause trouble.... again, just like in the real world. The knuckle opens, and the drawbar moves side to side...dead center is not required, but recommended.

[@bubblejomay]

How would I put Kadee couplers on and MTH PS-2 Hopper?

[@Laidoffsick]

the hardest part of doing MTH cars is getting the 3R coupler off the trucks. I just use a Dremel and cut them apart. If you take the trucks apart, good luck getting all those springs back in, if you can find them. Then the rest is the same. You have to use spacers to get the proper coupler height, the same as any other car.

[@bubblejomay]

+Laidoffsick Thanks for the info

[@MrBillCNW]

Hello to everyone on KZbin. My question is. any help on how to take the wheels out of the atlas trucks. I want to convert truck with 3 rail wheels to the 2 rail type wheels I took the screws out but I can’t seem to get the truck apart. Can anybody offer any help on how to do this. I would appreciate it and thank you in advance. Mr. Bill CNW

[@Laidoffsick]

Unscrew the bolster from the top and it should create enough play to pull the axles out

[@MrBillCNW]

Laidoffsick OK. Thank you for the information

[@bobbyriggs9581]

Doug I have some cars that real old that I'am going too have to put kadee couplers on were can I get a coupler gauge at Thanks Bob

[@Laidoffsick]

Bobby Riggs Ebay you can find them, hobby shop that sells O Gauge Kadee couplers... or call JDs Trains and talk to Jeff

[@bobbyriggs9581]

Thanks Doug

[@startrek91481]

I guess I'm just used to the "lobster claw" those kadees look out of scale too small.

[@Laidoffsick]

Shawn Hall lol well they r not 😉