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 Posted - January 09 2018 : 3:58:57 PM
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Well, Walthers has sadly discontinued these Life-Like knuckle couplers. It's too bad, because they were a quick-and-easy way to get knuckle couplers on your old Life-Like locomotives and rolling stock. They worked pretty well with AHM and TYCO's rolling stock, too!
I guess my only solution now is to go with the Bachmann E-Z Mate knuckle couplers and Kadee talgo truck adapters, which is fine for the Life-Like and TYCO stuff, but AHM rolling stock generally uses a different type of coupler pocket, though I think I do remember there being little plastic washer-like things that could fit into the large coupler hole to fit the small tab. Older Bachmann rolling stock is harder, as they used a proprietary hole size that the couplers would screw into, and you'd need to do some drilling to make the Life-Like couplers fit. (This is why when I go with Bachmann rolling stock, I generally go for Silver Series or the newer train set-quality cars that are already equipped with body-mount knuckle couplers.)
Again, this decade has not been kind to Life-Like trains. I guess Walthers has decided that those low-quality trains have no place in today's HO model railroading world, where even their former rival Bachmann has really bumped up the quality in their trains, even in their "regular" sets! (i.e. in these sets the locomotives come equipped with all-wheel drive, flywheel on many of the diesels, and LED lighting!) A shame TYCO's train line didn't last long enough to do the same...
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 Posted - January 09 2018 : 6:10:30 PM
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Hey there's still plenty used ones to go around
If you get lucky, you can find a seller at a train show. Most people there think Life Like/Tyco stuff is useless so they price it cheap.
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Posted - January 10 2018 : 2:07:18 PM
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quote: Most people there think Life Like/Tyco stuff is useless so they price it cheap.
Originally posted by RealBnsfIAÂ -Â January 09 2018Â :Â 6:10:30 PM
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TRUE
a member in here did get a whole PC passenger train set for $5 at a train show!!
Wish I was that lucky 
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Posted - February 13 2018 : 03:33:31 AM
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| I think it was a given that it would happen, they had already discontinued almost everything else from the classic line e.g. the talgo truck packs and the cheap locos with the pancake motor and plastic wheels (e.g. GP38-2). Bachmann had already done away with the cheaper models as well so Life-Like were really the only ones left with 70s-era style models.
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Posted - February 14 2018 : 03:04:12 AM
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I don't see it as much of a loss. True, Kadees aren't exactly cheap, but, if you take care of them, they'll last you a long time. I've started learning how to reinsert the copper coil spring when those go missing. It takes a steady hand, but you start to pick it up after doing it a couple times.
I have no problem with the talgo trucks. They worked. Sometimes they'll even take new steel wheels and axles quite well. However, having the draft gear mounted to the trucks is an inherently poor design. Converting to body mounted Kadees is not difficult once you know what you need. I finally stared repairing my pile of broken HO cars last year. I'm close to being done now, having reassembled probably 100+ cars. I'll still have to go back and deal with detailing and weathering, and upgrading to better trucks and wheels in some cases, but for now they'll at least be complete. Lots of these cara are Tyco or Life-Like products, and they only run better with body mount Kadees.
My Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/weekendrailroader?blend=1&ob=video-mustangbase
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