coupling problem

[Oz26]

I just purchased an Aristocraft Sierra passenger car set & hooked them to my Bachman 4-6-0 "Annie" and was surprised  that the couplers did not match up. Not only was there a differance in height,[bachman's are lower] but the locking mechanism was slightly different. It seems like they would not click together properly to stay coupled. I think the easiest fix would be to change the bachman coupler to match the aristo's. My question is what brand coupler should I use . I want to stay with the knuckle style coupler. I see some folks use Kadee couplers, is that the way to go? If so what style or number are they? Or any other suggestions, I'm a newbe so I apppeciate the help. Thanks Oz

[Cascade Northern]

Kadees are okay from what I hear.  The only problem with them that I see is that they have no drop pin, so to uncouple you have to use something like a flat blade screwdriver to separate them.  Not hard, just a pain in the neck from my point of view.  Where I run, we use Aristo, Bachmann, USA, Kadee, and Accucraft knuckle couplers with no problems. 

I would say find the company you like.  If you buy mainly Bachmann cars/locos, then stay with Bachmann couplers.  If you use mainly USA cars/locos, then stay with USA couplers.  Etc....  That is just my point of view on it.

[Phil Stump]

In my circle of freinds, we all use Kaydee couplers. We do this so we can run any thing we want any where we want, and the couplers will match. I should mention that we all use the Kaydee hight gage also.

[Larry Green]

I agree with Phil. My friends in other states and I all use Kadees so there is no problem when we regularly get together to run at various tracks. Also, go th their website for specific coupler kits for specific equipment applications. Very easy to mount in almost all cases.

Larry

[altterrain]

I like the Aristo couplers. They work well for me pulling 20+ car trains. They are not as prototypic looking as the Kadees but you don't need to carry around a flat blade to uncouple them. I can easily uncouple cars even with my big fingers. I have converted all my rolling stock over to them. All you need to do is cut the round tang off the end and stick on the Aristo coupler with the same screw. In rare cases a bit of filing is needed.
A tip - find someone who runs mostly standard gauge with Kadees and you can usually get his unused couplers free or cheap.

-Brian

[Danny Sheehan in Oz]

The only coupler which will retrofit all other manufacturers products, Aristocraft, USA Trains, LGB US cars etc is the Bachmann Knuckle Coupler, it is a straight exchange fit, I have over 60 items of rolling strock, all fitted with Bachmnann Knuckle Couplers, very rare to have an unwanted uncoupling in traffic.  And I must mention, economy, they are the cheapest coupler to purchase.
Regards, Danny Sheehan in Oz.

[Oz26]

Well looks like I have several choices. I like the fact that the bachman's are any easy switch...might go that way for now. Aristo's seem to operate nicely on my Sierra cars, could go that way too. In regards to the Kadee's what's a height guage & how does that work? Oh, and Brian nice tip on possible freebe's. Thanks for the help everyone,best wishes... Oz