I'm thinking of getting my first Atlas engine and am wondering if their current couplers are compatible with the Micro Train coupler? Prefer not to change them out if I don't have to. Thanks, Mark
Never had any problems, although you might find that the Atlas coupler trip pins break off more easily. If you use ramps, etc., you might end up replacing them with MT, which is an easy enough conversion.
All of my cars have Micro Train couplers. It looks like the Atlas engines now use their brand name AccuMate® magnetic knuckle couplers. Mark
I had issues with a lot of the early Atlas couplers wanting to basically disintegrate. Fortunately a MT 1015 was a drop in for most body mounted loco couplers.
The Atlas Accumate couplers have presented us with problems of false uncouplings. These problems increase as the length of the train increases. Basically they are okay for up to fifteen cars. Twenty cars and you can expect some problems. At 25 cars the false uncouplings occur frequently. That being said, our club has run trains with 100+ cars equipped with MT couplers with no false uncouplings. Mixing Accumate equipped cars in with those equipped with MT's will probably result in a false uncoupling involving the Accumate car. This, of course, resumes that the Accumate car is in the front of the train and not the rear and the train contains 25 cars or more behind the Accumate car. Again I have Atlas cabooses with Accumate couplers but since they are the last car in the train there is very little strain on the coupler.