BODY MOUNT COUPLERS vs TRUCK MOUNT COUPLER

My thinking behind body mounted couplers vs truck mount couplers.
I use the body mounted couplers on the first car behind my locomotives and use the truck mounted on the rest of the cars. Helps when backing long strings of cars around curves or turnouts.

[@RogerPerkins1939]

Thanks. I tried body-mounting an MTL coupler on a few cars just on one end and used that MTL car as the first one behind the locomotive. I used a 50' MTL boxcar that had an MTL load in it for extra weight. I noticed some improvement is backing a relatively long string of cars and also backing them through a turnout. I saw some improvement. I concluded the extra weight was important. Body mounted alone did not solve the problem for me.

[@banjol4595]

Hi Mike, Thanks, Great Info. Haven't crossed that bridge yet, but it wont be long. Thanks for sharing, Steve

[@dacuzzz]

great info Mike ... thanks for sharing vinny

[@CornDogRandall]

Great info Mike!

[@tsitracommunications2884]

Truck mounting for the win

[@owenlaprath4135]

Finally somebody, who gets it! Truck mount is superior in compact layout operation every time. Body-mounts are for snobs with all kinds of space and money, or display cabinet collectors.

[@davidtheriot3205]

First things first. If anyone is going to use long equipment, they should accommodate by using broader curves. I have body mounted couplers on all of my Locomotives and truck mounted couplers on all of my cars. I use medium radius curves at a minimum of 12 inch radius. I never had a problem with coupler overhang or offset couplers.

[@leonpeterson7057]

good information, Thanks

[@brianlingenfelter4466]

I use a kaddee # 36 coupler on all cars 60' or larger to reduce unnecessarily derailments. I have HO scale an tight turns so the longer coupler the better. I use kaddee # 38 for all locomotive that don't have either foot boards or anti-climbers on them.

[@mukerjea]

Thanks!

[@richardnelson-ux1zz]

Great video does anyone make. Truck mounted knuckle couplers for marx o gauge rolling stock

[@antonbruce1241]

I always try to body mount couplers whenever possible. Sometimes, I have to use longer couplers, but I try to do that with every car and loco I can. It REALLY cuts down on derailments. It also has the benefit of being more prototypical as well.

[@Bassotronics]

Thanks alot! I want to convert my G-Scale cars that have unrealistic truck mounted couplers into body mount ones and use the more realistic looking couplers too.

[@owenlaprath4135]

Just don't! You may like the looks better, but in operation, unless you have a LOT of space for mega-radius curves, you will regret it badly. There is a good reason, why makers produce truck mounted couplers! They WORK in tight layouts.

[@Bassotronics]

@@owenlaprath4135 Don’t? Lol I already did it 5 years ago, and my layout is outside with large radius curves just like the real railroad.

[@riogrande5761]

Being an HO person but thinking about getting some N, are there any brands which come with body mount couplers in N?

[@mike937739]

Most of the manufacturers now offer cars with body mounted couplers. It seems to depend what type of car as to what couplers they use (new tooling vs old).

[@riogrande5761]

@@mike937739 Good to know. So much older stuff on the secondary market or old new stock so it will be a bit of a crap shoot.

[@tazsnuts99]

Both body mounted and truck mounted have there pros and cons

[@owenlaprath4135]

NO! Body mount couplers will NOT work in any s-curve scenario. The only immediate fix is using longer shank couplers, and adding lots of weight right on top of the bogey in the car connected to that loco from hell with its body-mount coupler. There is one other fix used in Europe and Japan, more about that further down. Our hobby is shrinking, and new generations are not getting on board, because too many old guys with big houses and deep pockets have driven makers to abandon truck mount couplers on locomotives, because they are picky about looks only, instead of thinking function and actually playing with our toys. They have forgotten about compact layouts and the compromises they require! Many compact layouts end up with tight s-curves in tight turnaround loops, as well as directly connected tight switches, that fork and turn in opposite directions. My own N-scale layout is all I have room for, and it squashes my living room at 8ftx4ft. I simply do not understand all the hate for truck-mounted couplers, which I only see coming from older U.S. model railway fans and beginners listening to them. Having all that experience, us old fuddy-duddies (hey I'm 60 myself and have been in the hobby for 56 years!) should be the first people to tell manufacturers to abandon body mount couplers, or at least use kinematic couplers, like European and Japanese makers do for their own markets! Instead, all the complainers and their deep pockets for mega-layouts have RUINED too many North American locomotives, by letter campaigns to makers, to abandon truck-mount couplers. Just observe what happens with two body mount couplers, when the two cars, or locos, or loco+car swing through that s-curve and they end up swinging into opposite directions right at the centre of the S. Most of us have no spare room in a garage, basement, attic, or outright barn for our layout, and thus no space for ridiculously large radius tracks to lessen these effects, and I have to use tighter #4 and even smaller turnouts, as I have no room for #6 switches. The real solution is not having body mount couplers on anything but very short locos at all. The next best solution is using kinematic couplers. For some reason that eludes me, these are practically unknown in North America. They work, and they allow for a large swing-out of the couplers, but they are not found on North American models. Kato and Tomix do have kinematic couplers (they call them "close couplers"), so a lot of research and trial and error, and orders directly from Japan may do the trick for fixing your locomotives. Meanwhile, use LONG shank couplers, do NOT replace truck (aka bogey) mount couplers with regular simple body mounts, and add weights to the car tied to the locomotive.