Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! As a matter of fact, several model makers equip their cars with Kadee® Couplers direct from their factories. We are certainly willing to partner with any manufacturer that wants quality couplers on their models.

They sure are. Our 20-series and 30-series couplers have very strong plastic shanks and heads but also feature metal knuckles (the moving part of the head) for extreme durability. Metal Knuckles wont bend and flex like plastic knuckles found on clone knuckle couplers. Metal knuckles grips the apposing knuckle better so knuckles won't slip apart from vertical track movement unlike slick plastic clone knuckles that will easily uncouple when you don't want them to while pulling your load.

Eventually, but we don't have any immediate plans to discontinue the NO.5®. However, every new HO Scale coupler we design will feature the Whisker® centering spring design due to the inherent convenience and durability of the Whisker® system.

Yes!

The #148 Whisker® Coupler is available in a 25-pair package (part number #148-25) or 50-pair package (part number #148-50).

The #153 Scale Head Whisker® Coupler is available in a 25-pair package (part number #153-25).

The #156 Scale Head Whisker® Coupler is available in a 25-pair package (part number #156-25).

The #158 Scale Head Whisker® Coupler is available in a 25-pair package (part number #158-25) and 50-pair package (part number #158-50).

These are the only bulk package couplers Whisker® couplers we have available.
We are only selling the retail offerings we have listed on our website.

Whisker® coupler equivalent to a NO.5® couplers is a #148 Whisker® coupler.

Whisker® coupler equivalent to a #58 couplers is a #158 Whisker® coupler.

Yes, The Scale Head couplers were designed to function with all of our other HO Scale couplers.

Scale Head couplers are even more critical that coupler height is correct using a coupler height gauge. Always make sure the coupler height is measured of the coupler heads centerline.

The 140 Whisker® Coupler Series is complete and replaces the 40-Series couplers that have been discontinued.

We will not be making any Scale Head Offset Couplers for a number of reasons.

A Offset scale head coupler would not be as strong, extra material would need to added to give it the strength, it would not be a "scale" anymore.
Another reason is the offset scale head couplers would look ugly.

Go to the coupler product page and in the coupler product information you will find the screw mounting information for the gearbox that comes with the coupler.

Most of the time body mounted couplers are operationally better than truck mounted couplers. You can use either style body mounted or truck mounted, but you really shouldn't mix body mounted or truck mounted cars together. Based on the the different way body mounted or truck mounted coupler track through corners, you should group the coupler mounting styles together as much as possible for best performance.

Our #148 Whisker® Coupler is most often a direct replacement for EZ-Mate, McHenry, or Accumate couplers.

Also make sure to check out our extensive Coupler Conversion List to see if your specific model is listed.

Both represents the common Type E coupler we just have two types. Our original coupler style has an exposed knuckle spring with minimal details. Our newer style AAR Type E (New Generation) has a much more prototypically detailed coupler head and the knuckle spring is hidden inside the head and cannot be seen. Both styles are completely compatible with each other and use the same draft gear boxes, so the conversion information is the same for both.

Lets just start out with the obvious the AAR Type “E” coupler has a much more prototypal appearance then our original style of coupler. The AAR Type “E” coupler contour with visible Kadee® casting marks to better replicate the prototype coupler. One other big feature if it hasn’t jumped out at you yet is were is the Knuckle spring? Yes, that is right the AAR Type “E” couplers have a hidden knuckle spring. The spring is recessed and out of sight inside the coupler head.

The AAR Type “E” coupler has a larger coupler head but has the same height knuckle as the original style of coupler this allows the two couplers to function seamless together despite the two different looks. The AAR Type “E” coupler pulling face inside of the moving knuckle has a flatter contour (draft) that reduces knuckle slide caused by a flexible mounting. The means that the couplers will not slip vertically as easily when running the AAR Type “E” coupler knuckles is also about 20% stronger due to the Knuckle design. Both designs still feature Kadee’s proven Magne-Matic® Delayed Uncoupling so you can’t go wrong with either style when it is time to upgrade from the factory couplers that came with your cars.

AAR Type E (New Generation) head couples are available in O, #1 & G Scale coupler styles.

Lets first determine if you have a clone coupler that the plastic centering spring has taken set or if it is a shallow cast on gearbox issue.

If you are using a clone coupler the centering spring has probably has taken set. Clone couplers plastics centering system will fatigue and stop centering the coupler. Plastic centering springs don't function for long before they get week and then fail entirely.

If you have a clone coupler that has quit working is is a simple fix just replace it with a Kadee® Coupler.
Clone couplers are easily replaced with long lasting Kadee couplers. Clone couplers are usually replaced with the #148 in to the cast on gearbox but there are a few exceptions. Use the coupler conversion guide to determine what coupler to replace the clone coupler with. Remove the clone coupler and replace it with the Kadee coupler, reattach the lid and you are up and running. Always check your coupler heights with the #205 or #206 coupler height gauge.

If you have a Kadee® Coupler that is not moving freely back and forth in a cast on gearbox. It is a simple fix and it will be one of two things.
Option one: The simplest fix is the screw holding the lid on is to tight and you just need to loosen it slightly.
Option two: You have yourself a shallow cast on gearbox instead of a standard cast on gearbox. Clone couples droop in standard gearboxes. So some clone coupler manufacturers started shallowing up the standard coupler cast on gearbox to help with their droopy coupler design. The fix is a simple one. You just have to file the top of the coupler a few strokes usually just enough to take off the black coloring to make the Kadee coupler function correctly in the shallow gearbox.

Sorry, We are not selling any individual product components out of our product packages, special packaged product or special request car parts.
We are only selling retail product packages that are on our website.

Models with factory knuckle couplers are easily converted by using our #148 or "scale" head #158 Whisker® Couplers. If your model does not have factory knuckle couplers please visit our Coupler Conversions page for our complete list of conversions.

Coupler conversion recommendations are based on: manufacturer, type of model, overhang, end-of-car clearance, and if the original coupler mounting will be used.

The most common reason is the wire on the coil has a clear thin insulation which needs to be scraped back for the wiring connections. Because the insulation is clear it is often overlooked.

Our self-centering trucks have a special wedge shaped bushing in the bolster that secures the truck to the car. When you lift the car the truck drops onto the wedge which aligns it with the length of the car. This reduces the fooling around you have setting the car on the rails. When the car is setting on its wheels the trucks are disengaged from the wedge and a pivot freely until the car is picked up.

The 2-56 x 1/4” and 2-56 x 3/8” screws are the most common for mounting trucks.

See Machine Screw Sizes Chart.

Our trucks are designed to mount on a flat surface which usually requires that you trim off any post the original truck pivoted around. Our trucks, as well as most after market trucks, are designed to be mounted with a #2 size of screw.

Our trucks are designed to mount on a flat surface and are designed to be mounted with a #2 size of screw. So if you have a hole were the trucks were attached larger then a #2 screw. Then you will have to fill the hole with filler or glue styrene tubing in place to fill the hole, Then tap and drill for a #2 screw.

The term Code 110 and Code 88 relates to the width of the wheels.Code 110 wheels are .110" wide and Code 88 are .088" wide.

Code 110 wheels are the common (or standard) width wheels and Code 88 are what is called "semi scale" and are used when the modeler wants a more prototypical looking wheel width.

Track code and wheel code have no relationship meaning Code 110 and Code 88 will run on most any code of track. Track code is simply the measured height of the rail, code 100 is .100" tall, code 83 is .083" tall, code 70 is .070" tall, and so on.

Code 110 wheels are the standard wheels you find on most cars. Code 88 wheels are for prototype modeling and those who want more of a prototype look. Both code 110 wheels and code 88 wheels are interchangeable and perform the same it is all personal preference.

No, we do not make passenger car trucks. We only manufacture freight car and caboose trucks.

Kadee uses a water base paint for the bodies that matches the color of the styrene parts. The other parts are unpainted Acetal plastic.

The stenciling is Silk Screen Enamel and for those who wish to remove the stenciling Acetone or Acetone base solvent works the best but you can also use Alcohol but there’s a bit more scrubbing. Both Acetone and Alcohol will also remove the paint which leaves a shiny area.

We use an industrial paint company to formulate our paint and custom match the colors we need. Unfortunately we do not have any information regarding alternative aftermarket paint colors that match our paints. We leave it up to the modeler to find a paint match when needed.

Also, the bodies and doors of our cars have a thin coat paint on them and the add-on detail parts are unpainted Acetal plastic. We spend a great deal of time getting our paint and plastic to color match.

We have not yet decided on our next car. We have quite a number of projects we are presently working on so it may be quite some time before we start another car project.

Our main focus is on our coupler production, which is our primary product. Our freight car line is only a secondary line.

We sure can. And we have done so several times for customers. Have a custom run of the finest cars produced for your club or organization. We require a minimum order of 300 cars. Completely made in the U.S.A. Call Kadee® today at (541) 826-3883.

Check out some of the Custom Car Runs that we have done for our clients.

We do not sell any N or Z scale products. Kadee® manufactures HOn3 through G scale products only. We recommend that you contact Micro-Trains at mtl@micro-trains.com for N and Z scale information. Kadee® Quality Products and Micro-Trains split into two completely separate companies in 1990. Micro-Trains manufactures only N and Z Scale products, and a few HOn3 products.

We’d like to but we have so many projects going on and a very long list of future projects. So unless something becomes a priority we really do not know when we’ll get to it.

There is a lot that goes in to producing a viable product, that one may not think about. The popularity of the scale is as well as the potential sales of the product determines were the project falls on our project list. We have to be able to justify building the molds and tooling to produce a potential product and bring it to market, then look at the investment recovery time and determine if the potential product is even cost effective to produce.

We do not announce new products prior to their release. The production of new products is dependent on demand and priorities. We don't want to commit to releasing something on a specific time line and then not be able to meet the deadline due to an unforeseen incident coming up.

We are running live inventory on our website. So you can look up the product and see how many we have in stock for purchase.

We try not to have any products out of stock, but we do from time to time it happens. We try to get popular products back in stock as soon as possible; usually with in a matter of days. Some odd specialty products (ex: detail parts) may be out of stock until we run more parts for a production run. We have to justify the setup of a production run of parts and detail parts by them self's don't justify the production run setup.

We have been experiencing such a high demand on some of our products we are having trouble producing and packaging them fast enough to keep them in stock for any length of time. Rest assured they are being produced and going in to stock; they are just being purchased faster than you have time to shop for them on the site.

While we can't control the inventory or business practices of hobby shops, we do provide Kadee® products factory direct when they are not available from your hobby shop.

Some hobby shops may not order directly from a Kadee® and instead may use a distributor that might not stock all Kadee® products. Please feel free to order direct from us at anytime.

We are not accepting backorders on products at this time.

No. We do not offer bulk orders or quantity discounts.

You may contact us any time via email at mail@kadee.com.

You can also call our office at +1 (541) 826-3883
Our office hours are:

• 7:00AM PT - 3:45PM PT, Monday-Thursday
• 7:00AM PT - 11:45AM PT, Friday

We look forward to hearing from you