Hi, I want to convert those InterMountain, RedCaboose and other mfg. hoppers' from truck mounted couplers to body mounted. I know some parts manufacturer offered cast pewter plates which were to be glued onto the end sections. I can't find them, and a Google search turns out nothing (mainly because I don't know for which keywords to search....). Does someone know who is/was manufacturing them? any help would be appreciated.. Michael
Try: http://mocalova.tripod.com/nscalecatalog.htm Adapter listings start about half way down the page. Plastic adapters rather than pewter means easier to work with (YMMV).
Did you check the MT conversion page? That may be a good place to start Micro-Trains | The Ultimate in N and Z scale model trains
Here is an old trick you may wish to consider. If you are going to operate your hoppers as a unit, you only need to have a coupler at the front of the first car and the rear of the last car. The rest are replaced with short pieces of strip styrene, loosely screwed where the coupler's pivot point would be. And if you wanted to be able to break the unit up, place real coulers every five or six cars. This also allows you to get more proto-typical spacing between the cars. I have some Atlas Ore Cars that just sit too far apart, and will do this for them. Don
N Scale of Nevada was the company that produced the pewter adapters. Unfortunately, John Coots passed away earlier this year, and I believe NSN went with him.
This is exactly what I need also, but unfortunately, he's going out of business. That sucks, since those look great to use. -Mike
Thank you for the great suggestions, folks. Mocalova was the manufacturer I had been searching for, but as stated by Mike, he's going out of business. Seems to me that it is time to do that by myself. thx Michael
I have a batch of Mocolova adaptors still to install. There is a bit of work involved to clean them up, though. But since Kel has disappeared, I would recommend making a simple version from strip styrene with coupler pad to give a bit more meat for the screw to bite into.
