I need to change the couplers on an old Atlas boxcar

[nhatlastrainfan]

I had a train as a kid, and wanted one as an adult, so when I saw a sale on a starter kit from Atlas that was a nice N-scale, I decided I'd get it.

I went to eBay to get inexpensive rolling stock, and bought the attached boxcar at a nice bargain.

The problem is, and I didn't realize it at the time, that my kit uses modern "knuckle" couplers, which are different from the ones on the old boxcar (one of my modern ones is also attached for comparison).

Therefore I am wondering if it is possible to swap out the couplers, since otherwise I can't use the old boxcar and will need to put it back on eBay (probably why I got it so cheap...)

I was originally hoping the wheels would just pop off or be removed by a screw, so I can replace the wheels and couplers together, but they don't come off easily and I don't want to force it. So how do I swap it out?

I'm also open to swapping out the coupling on the new car, and just having all the old car run along behind the rest of the train on its old couplings.

Attachments:

[Spikre]

there are several options here,body mount the couplers,replace the trucks with Knuckle
couplers,or add Knuckles to the trucks already on the car.
so it may be easiest to just add Micro Trains coupler and boxes to the floor.
but 1st You need to remove the trucks,keep prying under the bolster until the Push Pin
starts to come out.but,it may be Glued in if it kept sliding out.
in that case get the Kadee Drill set with the 2-56 drills and Tap set,drill it out,remove
the truck,then drill thru the floor,You may need to do this even for the next 2 options.
1- Atlas "Bettendorf" trucks with low profile wheels.
2- Micro Trains"Bettendorf" trucks,same as above applies.
the Atlas trucks may be slightly cheaper,but many Hard Core N Scalers don't like Accu Rail
Knuckle Couplers,but Atlas says they work OK.
Good Luck !!
Spikre

[bnsf971]

The easiest way to fix the problem is to get the Micro Trains #1000 (or whatever their current part number system is) Bettendorf trucks and couplers, and use the Atlas mounting pins that come with the trucks. Problem solved, and it will take less time to swap the trucks than it took me to type this.

[nhatlastrainfan]

Sounds great! There are no hobby shops in my area, I bought everything online. Where is a good place online to purchase these trucks and couplers?

I tried yanking on the mounting pin to remove the truck and it came right off, so it's just a matter of getting the new trucks/couplers.

[Spikre]

easiest may not always be best,Screws are superior to Push Pins,but there is
no need to rush to change them out.
Micro Trains:
www.micro-trains.com
Atlas;
www.atlasrr.com
look over the Parts on both sites,lots of interesting stuff at both.
Spikre

[umtrrauthor]

The truckpins will work fine in most cases. I would re-use the ones from the car and just attach new trucks.

The current part number for what used to be the 1000 is 003 02 021. I think it still says "1000" on the package along with the current eight digit part number. MSRP is $5.95. Shipping on that one item might be as much as the item itself-- I'd wait to queue up several items.

Micro-Trains trucks are also significantly cheaper in bulk packs.

[bnsf971]

Feb 26, 2014 8:07:32 GMT -8 umtrrauthor said:

The truckpins will work fine in most cases. I would re-use the ones from the car and just attach new trucks.

The current part number for what used to be the 1000 is 003 02 021. I think it still says "1000" on the package along with the current eight digit part number. MSRP is $5.95. Shipping on that one item might be as much as the item itself-- I'd wait to queue up several items.

Micro-Trains trucks are also significantly cheaper in bulk packs.

Thanks for the updated part number info. When MT went to the new numbering system is about the same time I had to leave N scale, so I never kept up with it.

[peterk]

Micro trains T-shank couplers work too

[jlong]

I have upgraded several old school Atlas cars with Rapido couplers to knuckle couplers using Atlas knuckle coupler trucks. The couplers are Accumate however and probably not as reliable as Micro Trains.the swap however was a snap and took minutes if not seconds to perform. The cars perform really well. I still have some blister packs of the trucks. I paid $1.00 each for them. There is no part No on the packs. Just an SKU on the back: 32573-22056.

[catt]

Since you need to do your shopping online I will offer this suggestion. Model Train Stuff- www.modeltrainstuff.com/ Kind of hard to go wrong with these folks IMHO.