ScaleTrains and MT couplers

[arbomambo]

I’m curious about discussions I’ve seen about converting ScaleTrains locomotives to MT couplers.
I, personally, have never had an issue with ScaleTrains couplers not coupling or staying coupled.
Is there any particular reason so many want to switch to MT couplers?
Appearance? (I don’t see any particular improvement in appearance with MT)
Reliability?
Just curious to hear folks reasoning on this subject.

[peteski]

I'm assuming that you are asking about the ScaleTrains ^TM X-large-knuckle couplers (McHenry lookalike), not the MTL clones ST has chosen to use in some of their more recent models.

The Scale Trains "boxing-glove jr." McHenry's cousin is much chunkier looking than MTL couplers.  It goes totally against Scale Trains' goal for making accurately scaled models.  MTL couplers also couple with much less effort than ST couplers.

If you are asking about ST's MTL clone couplers, I don't own any of those so I cant' comment. But going by my experience  with other MTL clones, none I have encountered live up to the genuine MTL's performance. They are not molded as well as MTL, they don't use reverse-draft-angle molds, and the springs are often too stiff.

[C855B]

It's important to note that ScaleTrains was for several years changing N scale coupler designs with nearly every new release, trying hard to respond to customer criticisms over hard coupling, unintended decoupling and/or pronounced over-scale appearance. With the most recent releases - SD40-2, SD40T-2, GP30 - they appear to have settled on an MTL clone in a custom box.

I change those out in favor of TSC anyway, which is usually not an easy task because of the odd box.