How to Install Kadee Couplers on Tyco HO Scale Trains (Talgo Trucks)

[@trainzguy2472]

UPDATE: I found a better, easier, and cheaper method to install knuckle couplers on Tyco Talgo trucks! You can use Bachmann EZ-Mate II (with the metal spring - NOT the original EZ-Mates with their stupid plastic fin for a "spring!") plastic whisker couplers. I know some modelers swear by Kadee, and that's OK too. The following method is able to reduce excessive slack action between the cars, caused by the large hole on those Kadee couplers sliding around on the tiny pin in the coupler box. With the EZ-Mate II, the plastic whiskers catch perfectly on the lip in the front of the coupler box. This minimizes the longitudinal movement of the coupler, which thereby reduces slack action. To install the whisker coupler you simply push it in through the front of the coupler while depressing the pin with your screwdriver as shown in the video. You may have to push the coupler in at an angle (NOT rotated about the coupler's axis - angled with respect to the track) through the front/top to get the wider back end over the lip in the front of the box. I've never tried this with a McHenry coupler, but I bet it would work too.

[@tazsnuts99]

If you use kadee whisker couplers get.the taglo Adapter it will snap down and keep everything in place.

[@trainzguy2472]

@@tazsnuts99 For some reason the Kadee Whisker couplers don't always fit well. I think the rear of the coupler is too angular and it gets caught in the soft plastic coupler box. Also the Talgo adapter often doesn't fit and requires a lot of trimming.

[@ZakWolf]

That's what I do!

[@jeremybelcher6681]

What version of the EZ-Mate Mark II typically works? Short/medium/long. Center/over/under shank?

[@ZakWolf]

@@jeremybelcher6681 The medium center-shank ones work the best for me.

[@matthewtaylor2020]

Update: I was searching for this solution as I am using Tyco cars for my son's layout (he is almost 4 which is why I using Tyco.....these are somewhat extendible). I tried your method and it works awesome! Now we can mix and match on his layout without having to convert 100% of his rolling stock to knuckle couplers. I have half converted a couple of cars with Kadee's on one side and the old horn hooks on the other side of the car. Works good until he is ready to start upgrading to better class of models. But now dad's stock can run with his when we are running together (which is always rights now). Just wanted to let you know that your video was very helpful and I was unaware of this option. Thanks again

[@VintageRoadRail]

Great video. Nice to see someone so young in the hobby.

[@Trainmaster909]

We are everywhere on Reddit.

[@darrinkerwin9078]

great job, I didn't think it was going to be that easy.

[@stewartgillies2201]

Nice video, well done. I have exactly the same car. . .from 40 years ago.

[@matthewtaylor2020]

You did a fantastic job! Great video and thank you for sharing.

[@codydaves1068]

Straight to the point. I like it!

[@danlarson7944]

Great video! I have the same Ralston Purina car to upgrade.

[@nscalefun]

AWESOME!!! Thank you for sharing and keep up the good work.

[@Parras243]

Just what I needed, thanks!

[@davidbarrera308]

Don't forget to check the coupler height with the kadee coupler height gauge. If all you have is truck mounted couplers on ALL of the cars then your good. If you start mixing with cars that have body mounted couplers then there will be problems with curves or backing them up.

[@espeechoochoo]

KD sells special tool for talgo coupler installation but you have simplified it with normal tools. While I prefer to body mount when possible (boxcars, flat & gondolas), this method very useful for tank cars & hoppers where there is no solid surface to glue coupler box to.

[@larryalesi6356]

Great job and explanation

[@disneyworlddelights]

I did this With ez mate 2 and kadee Both worked fine

[@joedoug3647]

Helpful video!

[@antonbruce1241]

Kadee makes an adapter (Kadee #212) and a coupler insertion tool (Kadee #230) for Talgo trucks which from my experience makes this easier, AND will allow you to use Kadee 'whisker' couplers as well. But the way you've done it isn't bad, either! Nice work. That being said...have you given thought to body mounting the coupler instead? I've done that with a few of my old Tyco freight units.

[@trainzguy2472]

I actually have quite a few #212 adapters, but from my experience they don't always fit! I guess the plastic molding on these old trucks was pretty poor and so I usually have to cut away a lot of the plastic on the truck to get them to fit. And yes, I have thought about body mounting. It's more time-consuming and you end up cutting up the original trucks so I tend to avoid it. I would definitely consider doing it for my Tyco locomotives though.

[@antonbruce1241]

@@trainzguy2472 Well, I don't cut up the Tyco trucks anymore - I simply replace them. A short 2-56 screw, a washer, and a nut on the inside of the car underframe usually works for me. I find body mounting the couplers will let a train backing up derail less - which was and still is a problem with the Talgo-style trucks. But...I have to agree that some of the older Tyco trucks just weren't cut with any consistency - I had some 212's which went in like they were meant to be there, and some that fought me worse than trying to give a cat a bath. Another thing you might want to do is make an "adapter car" - one with a Kadee on one end and a horn-hook on the other. This will allow you to run the unconverted freight cars right along with the cars you've already converted.

[@bichela]

I am going to try this

[@richardnelson-ux1zz]

Great video thank you

[@RonDevito]

How do these cars run? I've seen many videos which call for removing the Talgos and replacing with other trucks, gluing coupler boxes to the bottoms of the car - a fair bit of work - vs. simply swapping the couplers along with the wheels and moving on. The purported rationale behind the more complex upgrade is to prevent derailments.

[@trainzguy2472]

The main problem in terms of operation of these cars is the wheels. Some of them (notably operating hoppers) come with nice bakelite wheels on thin metal axles - these are excellent and are just about as good as metal wheels! Some of them might have large flanges, in that case, you can sand them down. I have not had any issues with the truck-mounted couplers. However, I run mostly operating hoppers, which are very heavy cars to begin with so they don't want to derail anyways.

[@MontrealtrainChannel]

Kadee providing a pair of tweezers that made strictly to place the couple hose at the right angle to prevent them touching rails while rolling. It’s number 1020 and called special purpose tweezers and it sold for about 10$

[@Trainandcarspottingproductions]

Thanks!

[@gunslingerfromwish4656]

You could have one side knuckle and one side horn and have it work as some kind of adapter.

[@slotcarsandhotrains]

Excellent!

[@sd90mac8]

I see u DIDNT use a height gauge, how are you supposed to make sure the new replacement ka dee couplers are correct on level heights. Should their be height problems, how do you correct the problem???

[@trainzguy2472]

I find that the coupler height comes out okay on most Tyco cars. While I do have a height gauge, the easiest thing to do is line it up to a locomotive (since some of my locomotives don't exactly match the gauge either). As long as it's the same height as most of my collection then it's good enough. If the height is a problem, the proper way to fix this would be to use a different coupler number. The #5 is a centerset shank but Kadee also offers over/underset shanks of varying heights for this purpose. I've found that a cheaper way to do it is to use a pair of pliers to carefully bend the coupler pocket whichever way you need.

[@crsrdash-840b5]

It's called a trip pin on knuckle couplers. Also, most of Tyco wheels are 36-inch with deep flanges. You should install a #27 instead of a #5. That way, the coupler height comes out correct and you don't need to bend the trip pin.

[@trainzguy2472]

Good to know! Didn't think there was a specific name for the release lever. Also, yeah, I have a couple of cars with the #27. They seem to be harder to come by than #5s though (and a little pricier) so that's why I'm using a #5 here.

[@crsrdash-840b5]

@@trainzguy2472 Glad I could help.

[@randallson6814]

number 5

[@liamstrains6420]

How did you take of the trucks? I tried with one and it broke the clip that holds it in.

[@trainzguy2472]

It's a little risky, sometimes the plastic is too old and fragile and it might break. Don't try to gently wiggle it out, I just grab and yank as hard as I can. I find that there's more that goes wrong the slower you pull. However, I've had cars where I wasn't comfortable pulling the trucks off, so I left them on while I did the coupler change. It's a little harder that way but you can get it to work.

[@WWIIREBEL]

I just use Kadee #148 whisker couplers. All metal knuckle couplers w/wire spring . Just pop in and done.

[@mauriciodonato9720]

Without any other adaptor or anything like the centering spring from the #5?

[@trainzguy2472]

Yeah you wouldn't need the centering spring then. I don't use those mainly because they're a little more expensive and I couldn't find any for a while. You can also use Bachmann EZ-Mate II's.

[@geraldgaffney1331]

Thank prefect

[@ScottTice1971]

Does this work for AHM couplers as well?

[@michaelg8936]

Yes

[@arodneyz1]

Broke pin, now what can i do?

[@tazsnuts99]

Kadee 100% all my cars have them body mounted

[@tazsnuts99]

Should've body mounted the couplers and put metal wheels on

[@Steelerfan820]

just use whisker couplers also by kd and no need for centering springs

[@Steelerfan820]

and kd also makes talgo truck adapters

[@trainzguy2472]

You absolutely can, but I had a hard time finding them for a while and they're a bit more expensive. The talgo truck adapters often don't fit correctly, which is why I forego them entirely.

[@w.rustylane5650]

I hate talgo trucks. I always cut off the couplers and install body mounted Kaydee couplers. Cheers from eastern TN

[@trainzguy2472]

That would be ideal, however, I find it to not be worth the effort for cars you can often buy for a dollar each. I also mostly run Tyco operating hoppers, which are really heavy cars in the first place. I haven't noticed any performance issues with them.

[@jeramyclay4541]

And you better get some metal wheels for your train trucks cuz they're too low they're too high so I had to have to do for mine I had to get metal wheels for my trucks to add some weight and they left a pretty doggone good so they don't hit the they don't hit the switch cuz because I tried plastic wheels and it has to switch automatically it just hit that dang switch and I'm easy track and it snaps together it is from Batman's now I don't have to worry about my tracks being messed up or being cleaned cuz I have met a Wheels also I'm using nickel silver don't use metal don't use metal or don't use stainless steel tracks cuz you have to keep on cleaning them every single day rest your whole entire life nickel silver is the best contact train you can actually one his top 10 waited for nickel silver

[@TRBROOKSJR]

I appreciate the video but you keep moving your hand around while holding the truck. I can’t focus on what you’re doing.

[@duanefalk219]

Too far away, too much motion. Cant really see what you’re doing!

[@trainzguy2472]

Sorry about that. This is my first attempt at a tutorial video and a lot of the parts are really small. Thanks for the feedback!

[@jeramyclay4541]

Buy some cut points that have the whiskers that's always put in that's what I bought I just bought the couplings that had the whiskers already put in for my HO train set and they look amazing they were better than what you're doing cuz they can uncouple and they can uncouple and they look amazing what you're doing is kind of stupid cuz it doesn't work I couldn't make them work so I had to buy brand new couples new Katie couples and I have steel couples not those cheap plastic couples so what you doing is totally wrong for your train set cuz I bought some of those and they stunk they were a bunch of crap so whatever you doing congratulations but I like my train set better I like my message better

[@robvaus]

Mate, my car is old, cattle like, and has metal wheels, and the coupler is horn hook. However, when I put the new coupler (same as your video) it doesn't fit. In your video it fits nicely, mine doesn't. Can I get some advise?

[@trainzguy2472]

Sorry, I don't check comments very often. Yours might be a different brand! I think AHM and Model Power made cattle cars with a very similar truck design. However the coupler slot is a bit wider on those.