11-20-2010, 05:06 PM
I bought a Bachmann 2-8-0 at a model train show a few years ago. It came with the Bachmann plastic couplers. I didn't have a set of #5 Kadees with me so I used the locomotive as is out of the box at the train show. In less than an hour, the plastic couplers were failing on trains with less than 10 cars. This was on a modular layout on a level floor, so there were no grades to deal with. Last week I was at the Orange Empire Railway Museum with the modular club. We were running our trains for the museum's Day Out With Thomas fund raiser. I took one of the recent Athearn 50' Santa Fe ice reefers. It has the MacHenry's or what ever couplers Athearn is using now. I was pulling a 24 car train with my IHC 2-10-2. I originally had the Athearn reefer near the front of the train, but the couplers would not stay coupled due to the weight of the train behind. I ended up having to put the reefer in front of the caboose to keep it coupled. No plastic couplers for me!