Rapido Couplers..

What do N-Scalers think of them ???

All my Freight loco's seem to come with the already fitted and can see no reason to change them....
the easy lift out coupling seems easy enough and my Cargo always couples up first time when I back my F-7 up to haul them...

What are other couplers that work as easy as these one do ???
I have seen the Altas ones and they look a bit small to be effective in 7 inch radius corners ??

 

Interesting question. I'll be changing the couplers on my shorter cars first. On my 70 ton hoppers and my diesels they stick out like a bright red Canadian Pacific engine in the middle of a Great Northern olive / orange MU, (trust me, it’s ugly).

 

MT couplers work nicely in any radius. They also look alot better than the Rapido couplers.

The Z scale MT couplers look even better.


Stay cool and run steam.....

 

People that hate 'em really seem to hate 'em. People who don't mind 'em don't love 'em, they just don't mind. I don't think I've ever heard anybody say they loved 'em, though.

If the prototype coupler was a slab of metal about 3 feet square and ten inches thick, they'd be fabulous.

 

Count me in the group that just can't stand them. I was absolutely ecstatic when Atlas stopped using them!

 

Well, they do work! And they are cheap!

When I was younger, I replaced the K-Ds from two boxcars with Rapidos! I didn't realize that I had purchased something with "different" couplers at the time. The only way to make them compatible with everything else was to put the Rapidos on them!!

 

Pieces of oversized junk!!!!! All IMHO of course.

 

Phill:

In Europe, the Rapido coupler is the most widely used coupler. I think that goes worldwide except for North America.

Just a point of info.

I wouldn't have a Rapido coupler on my layout.


Stay cool and run steam.....

 

So for the non Prototypical, they are OK ??
It is that they are just so easy to use and don't look too bad and are great for my butter fingers to use..

 

Magnat1978:

It's your railroad. So use what makes you feel comfortable.


Stay cool and run steam.......

 

I'll have to disagree with you there Bob. From what I have seen MT's are now the defacto standard over here as well .

 

UP Phill. All the Trains I have Bought from Makers from Roco through to Round house have all had The rapido couplers on them and have all been bought locally in my area.

I suppose it is where you buy them from really..

 

What do MT's look like ????

 

Couplers can be a matter of passion amongst modellers.

In my limited experience of N, I've seen that Rapidos are very reliable - almost always coupling when desired, and very difficult to uncouple accidentally. But they're not Prototypical and they're not automatic (without being creative...)

MT's and Accumates (I've not got enough to seperate them by quality yet ) look more prototypical, can offer automatic uncoupling, and are just as reliable on the straight and flat. It can be more difficult to get them to couple on corners - especially the tight radius I need in the space I have - just due to their tighter tolerances than Rapido.

You can use both on the same layout - just have a Rapido on one end of a "translation" wagon and a knuckle on the other. Allows... Experimenting.

Edit: Couple of websites that look useful:
Explanations and Pictures

Just MT's

[ March 08, 2005, 04:31 AM: Message edited by: Another ATSF Admirer ]

 

Well .. I think they s... they are the worst thing that ever happened to N scale ... they make N scale look toy like .. a closer to scale knuckle coupler should be standard ...

 

For most modelers, a transition from Rapidos to knuckle type (MT) couplers seems inevitable as they get more into the hobby. It gives locos and rolling stock a more realistic look. It also adds an element of operational realism if one decides to utilize magnetic coupling/uncoupling.

However, I am not going to be one to hastily sling mud at Rapidos. Sure, once you go to knuckle couplers they look hideous. But they are very reliable, and are an affordable starting point for most just getting into the hobby. But if someone wants to stay with them, fine. No issues with me. I’ve seen a 150+ car coal train on our N-trak layout using all Rapidos. No issues with uncoupling and a vast majority of the viewing public didn’t even know the difference. They (like me) were too impressed with the length of the train. Can you imagine the cost of conversion? About $700.00 retail (not including loco’s). Ouch!

 

See the front of my steamers



Sorry about the quality of the pic. I'll be posting better ones once I start the scenery on the new layout.......and when my wife brings the new camera back from Melbourne.

 

I used to be one of those Rapidos-at-any-price types. I bashed a few pockets to put Rapidos onto locomotives, especially to secure working front couplers on steam locomotives.

I would buy every MT 1500 that I could find so that I could retrofit MT cars as well as to use them on other cars. MT discontinued the 1500s for a while, some time back, but there was such a cry that they resumed production. I do not know if they still produce them, though.

Fortunately, I did save all of the MT trucks that I swapped out. I made the change to knuckle couplers when I saw that Atlas and other manufacturers were starting to get away from the Rapido. It was expensive, but I did do it. Of course, now I have a bunch of MT 1500s for which I have no use--those that I removed as well as those that I kept in my train room for future swap-outs that never happened. THey are still packed up somewhere from my move this past summer. Their location will remain uncertain for some time as I doubt that I will ever have a use for them again.

 

Roco - European...rapidos are the standard over there.

Roundhouse - never really saw the light. Since Athern have taken them over I hope they re-equip them with MT's or accumates.