# Never seen these couplers



## VeroJack (Aug 4, 2018)

I bought these cars at a garage sale. The box cars are wood and the tanker is metal. The couplers are metal and soldered onto the trucks. I have never seen couplers like this. Growing up in the 60's all my HO's all had plastic couplers. Are these older than that? The owner knew nothing about them. Thanks John


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I would guess Lima Couplers.


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## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

Looks European style. Definitely old.


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## Murv2 (Nov 5, 2017)

Old marklin engine had them


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## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

Not sure what type Couplers But I would say the boxcars are part of a "Kit" or home made they still sell the decals here.
https://www.protocraft.com/category.cfm?Itemid=417&Categoryid=20
As for the tank car that I could not find anything on. Trucks look really old tho.


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## Dano (Aug 26, 2012)

They can show up on some older European stuff, Rocco, Marklin etc. or home-builts.


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## Roger Hensley (Oct 29, 2015)

Before Kadee there were a number of types of couplers. You have vey old items there and old couplers as well.


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## J.Albert1949 (Feb 3, 2018)

It's been a *LONG* time, but back in the late 40's/early 50's, before there were Kadee couplers, and perhaps even before the old "NMRA horn hook" couplers, there was this "loop style".

I seem to associate the brand name "Mantua" with them, but could be wrong on that.


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## VeroJack (Aug 4, 2018)

Lots of good information on here. Not bad for a $20 box. I appreciate everybody's help. the trucks on the Quaker State look diecast. There are screws to remove the axles.


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## rogruth (Mar 6, 2012)

Those couplers appear to be the same as those used by John Allen on his Gorre & Daphetid.
I do not remember who made them but it was not Mantua. The Mantua couplers had a rather large loop for the hook to engage
and worked the same as those used by Mr. Allen. The ones used
on the G & D coupled closer and IMHO looked much nicer.


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## rogruth (Mar 6, 2012)

The couplers used on the G & D were made by Baker. Info is from "Model Railroading with John Allen" by Linn Westcott, Kalmbach, 1981.


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## ebtnut (Mar 9, 2017)

Those are Baker couplers. Rogruth is correct that John Allen, and also Whit Towers used these couplers because they worked reliably for their time. In those early pre-Kadee, pre-horn and hook days, there were really only 4 HO coupler choices- dummy, Mantua loop-and-hook, Baker, and Roundhouse/MDC. Dummys obviously didn't work at all, just kept the cars together. The Baker and Mantua worked reasonably well, but the Mantuas needed to all be at the same height in order to function. The Bakers weren't quite so fussy. The Roundhouse/MDC couplers were working knuckles that looked good but did not work all that well.


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## rogruth (Mar 6, 2012)

ebtnut,

That was my experience with them also.
I liked the Bakers but they were hard to get.
The Roundhouse looked good but were erratic.


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## J.Albert1949 (Feb 3, 2018)

Looking back, it's amazing how Kadee revolutionized HO coupler development...


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## ebtnut (Mar 9, 2017)

Some more history - The original Kadee couplers came out in the mid-1950's. They were mechanically uncoupled using a small diamond-shaped ramp. These couplers can be identified because the operating pin was connected to the knuckle and was pointed straight down towards the track. By the time I got seriously into the hobby in the early '60's they had come up with the Magna-matic couplers we still use today. Being young and not really informed, I stuck with the "NMRA" horn-hook couplers for a while before realizing the error of my ways.


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

I'm sure most of us that started back in the 70's and 80's had horn hooks on a lot of our equipment. I know I did.


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