Convert Hook and Loop couplers to Knuckle couplers

[Irbricksceo]

Actually, I think these are the Horby ones, and the Thomas and friends ones are the Tri-Ang, but I could be getting it backwards. These are maybe a quarter inch wide at widest point? Could sworn that's what hornby used.

[Len]

NEM's are great, would be nice if they used em. It would also be nice if we could GET them. The coupler on my SY's tender dropped the spring a while back but I cant find a suitable replacement. I bought some but both Kadee's and Bachmann's NEM's are too long, Its like the short variant is restricted to other countries.

Even the Kadee #17 is too long?

Len

[rogertra]

Actually, I think these are the Horby ones, and the Thomas and friends ones are the Tri-Ang, but I could be getting it backwards. These are maybe a quarter inch wide at widest point? Could sworn that's what hornby used.

From photos on line, it looks as though Thomas uses what, in my day, was the Tri-Ang coupler but which is now used on Hornby models.  Hornby were taken over by Tri-Ang in 1964 and became  Tri-Ang Hornby.  Tri-Ang Hornby went bankrupt and was sold to Trix and in 1972 became Hornby Models and the line was upgraded with better details.  The name Hornby was chosen over Tri-Ang as Hornby always had a better reputation than its competitor.  I always bought Hornby whereas my cousin bought Tri-Ang.

More than you wanted to know I bet. 

Cheers

Roger T.

[Irbricksceo]

One can never know too much!

I had no idea that Horny had that much history behind it!

I'll look into number 17's. I know I found one Kadee NEM that was too long and couldnt find any others but I'll look.

[en4cer]

I appreciate all the responses to my question, my goal is to convert all the cars and the engine to something better than the hook and loop setup that they have. The issue for me is that these hook and loop couplers don't stay connected to each other very well and are always uncoupling. Initially I thought the problem was with my track but other train sets that use knuckle couplers don't have this issue. So whether it be knuckle or something else would be just fine as I intend to run this train set complete. I am just trying to come with something that would work better than the current setup. Thanks

[Irbricksceo]

Hmm... I never really had an issue with that, check if the hooks are all intact, I did have a few fall off leaving one hook per coupling, not 2

[MilwaukeeRoadfan261]

Might you be able to post some pictures of the trucks of the coaches? It would help in identifying a solution to what you wish to do. I had to do something similar to some Bachmann Branchline Thompson coaches a couple of years ago to run them with my model of Tornado (I know it isn't correct to have Tornado running with coaches built about 60 years before and retired about 40 years before Tornado was built in real life but they were inexpensive and looked nice) which I converted to knuckle couplers a couple days after it (Tornado) arrived at my house. I took the stock couplings and cut the loop off the end and removed the hook from the stock coupling bar (the part that is the coupler on one end and mounts to the truck at the other end) and glued a Kadee coupler box and #5 coupling on the end of the stock coupling bar where the hook and loop coupling was. That is always an idea you could use since the coaches in the HE train set was made in 2001 which was well before the introduction of the NEM coupling pocket on British outline coaches, wagons, and engines.

[Doneldon]

I had no idea that Horny had that much history behind it!

Irb-

Actually, he's not. And his name is the less descriptive Hornby,

                                                                                    -- D

[clan line 35028]

the best i can say is use a conversion car to. I model British OO scale along with my Alaska Railroad and DM&IR. i have experinced in converting any bogie coaches without NEM coupler pockets becomes extremely delicate. especially if you want them to look prototypical and not so far apart. i do use one site that can possible help you.
http://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3328
hopefully that will help you.

[Jhanecker2]

To clan line 35028 : Thank you that was a very interesting site . One day I may get around to converting all my  H. E.  cars  from talgo style hoop & hook to body mount knuckle joint .   I did convert one  H.E.  tender to the Hoop & Hook used on the "Thomas " style cars  and that was relatively straight forward . I had purchased  a set of additional   H. E. cars from  Maerklin not realizing those were  AC .  Those were equipped  with NEM coupler pockets and I installed bachmann NEM  couplers .     Then I had to replace all the wheelsets  with  DC  metal wheelsets  .   Then  I converted a H.E.  tender  to a knuckle joint and that worked out adquately .  That allowed me to run those cars with dedicated  H.E. loco  or any  American loco .    It was a learning experience. John2