Hartland Loco Works vs. Bachmann Couplers

[Mr. T.]

I got lucky on the E-Place, and got high bid on an apparently NOS boxcar (unmarked) and a work caboose (likewise, unmarked) from Hartland Locomotive Works.

Sure, there's a bit of a scale discrepency between them and my Big Hauler stuff (HLW stuff is 24:1), but I'm not that much of a stickler on that point...  they'll do quite nicely, especially at the price I got 'em for!  

However...   a nasty thought has just occured to me while waiting for mail delivery. Couplers.

Has anybody out there added HLW stuff to his/her system? If so, how big a headache was it to graft on Bachmann couplers???

I'm not REAL crazy about Bachmann's coupler, but I've got so many of them at this point that changing all of the rolling stock over to something else would be a major killer.


Mr. T.

[on30gn15]

How easy it is depends on the stuff it is.

HLW I have are the little 4-wheel Mack and Sparky locos. They require some cutting and mount making since their couplers are merely a loop which snaps into pilot.
My intent from the get-go has been to build traction style radial coupler mounts using Bachmann couplers, so no big deal to me.

Also have their 4-4-0; its tender was a simple matter of unscrew stock, screw on Bachmann knuckle.
There is a projecting, what do ya call it, spring "wire"?, molded to Bachmann knuckle which goes through loop on Bachmann trucks. HLW doesn't have that loop. Will have to either remove Bachmann spring or fabricate loop on HLW truck.
I haven't gotten around to doing either yet.

Can't speak for the rolling stock trucks. But will speculate is probably a similar ball game to tender truck.
Suspicion is that like USA Trains arch bar trucks I got, there is a common shape of mount and it would be a simple matter of swapping out original coupler for Bachmann's.

Might as well give them a call or e-mail http://www.h-l-w.com/ContactUs.html
I've called them a couple times and they are good folks.

[Mr. T.]

Well...  I'm lucky in that I'm at work right now, with a lightning fast Internet connection at my disposal. As sometimes happens on a Saturday night shift, things around here are quiet to the point of boredom this evening!    That allows me to do some intense nosing around on the Internet on this subject as I wait for something to happen that's work related...  in this case, usually a computer gear failure.

As for my immediate coupler problem, research indicates that it appears retrofitting the cars with Kadee #831 couplers should take care of the problem quite nicely!   

Even more interesting... in my Googling I encountered an NMRA report (January 2010) that deals with the whole subject of coupler compatibility between brands in the large scales (#1, F and G). It's fascinating reading, and there's a ton of practical information in there.

They're telling you flat out what brand mixes work and which don't!  THAT'S something I've been looking for ever since my little adventure with the Bachmann Bobber caboose that was equipped with AristoCraft couplers; it just DON'T WORK worth a diddley!!!   

http://www.nmra.org/standards/sandrp/LS%20Coupler%20Technical%20Report.pdf


Mr. T.