Which couplers would you prefer manufacturers include on RTR

[sd40dash2]

Which couplers would you prefer manufacturers include on RTR trains?

It is assumed in every case that respondents are willing to pay the full retail price for their choice of couplers as voted in this poll.

[cemr5396]

Just a heads up, the scale head Kadee is the #158, not 148.

[sd40dash2]

cemr5396,

Thank you for the correction. You are absolutely right.

Unfortunately, I was unable to figure out how to edit the poll choice in question.

[edwardsutorik]

Another heads up: Sergent, not Sargent.

I WILL add that I use Sergents on certain cars. Those are ones in "unit" trains, ones that cycle, but don't intermix with all other cars. That means solid coal trains, most intermodals, and most passenger. General freight keep Kadees.

And, oh yeah, I finally got around to starting clipping off the Kadee "glad hand".


Ed

[steveturner]

Kadee..no brainer.They set the bar.Universal standard of quality. Pay for them on the car or pay for them when you get the car and do a change out. More important to me is the coupler box how lid attached and that it is screw attached.Steve

[wp8thsub]

Kadee #148 isn't scale head as was already noted, but it's my default choice. I will leave Kadee #158s in place on any car that comes with them, but haven't purchased any on their own for some time. I've noticed the #158 seems to take a bit more force to couple, and crews at my place have indicated they can be somewhat more work to uncouple with picks. Due to the importance of trouble free operation, I give the #148 just enough of an edge to use it for nearly all aftermarket installations. Anything that comes with Accumates, Scale Trains, or any plastic coupler without a metal knuckle spring gets them before going into service. The only exceptions are tank cars where I use shelf couplers.

[Deleted]

Kadee #158 Scale Head Whisker.


I fail to notice any difference in performance from 148, and 158 looks way better.

[SD90]

Kadee all the way!

[mvlandsw]

I voted for the scale Kadee although if we have to pay full retail price for them I would rather have no couplers. I can buy Kadee couplers in bulk packs and I think the manufacturers could get at least that price and maybe better. Plus they would save the cost of making their own.

[brakie]

KD 148s since that's what I am using..If I was to start over with a different era using 40' cars then I would probably use the 158s since I like their looks.

[lvrr325]

#5s are good enough for me. But if they're not going to give me a metal coupler I'd just as soon have none, or whatever they give me be so cheap it adds no cost to the model as I'm just going to toss it into a box anyways. Particularly on locomotives.

[jonklein611]

I prefer the newer version of the #5's that has the whiskers, which I think is the 148? Way easier than having to insert the brass spring plate.

[riogrande]

I haven't operated enough to see a difference between the #5 head vs. the 158 scale head, but I like the appearance of the scale head the best.

[sd80mac]

#158s hands down.

[brakie]

Jan 11, 2019 5:56:50 GMT -8 riogrande said:

I haven't operated enough to see a difference between the #5 head vs. the 158 scale head, but I like the appearance of the scale head the best.

Jim, That's one of my concerns if I was to change eras back to the early 60s..How well would they perform on a ISL? 

I'm in a rest home and been allowed to build a small switching layout no greater then 7' so, I'm thinking 1'x7' ISL which 40' cars works quite well on with end cab switchers.

[12bridge]

But, Mate-a-Matics are not an option..

[riogrande]

Jan 11, 2019 8:31:38 GMT -8 12bridge said:

But, Mate-a-Matics are not an option..

I wonder why?

[soolinerr]

No couplers!

[fr8kar]

I understand Sergent couplers aren't for everyone, but since Frank Sergent has placed his patented designs in the public domain I would like to see Sergent couplers as an option from those manufacturers who make super detailed models. I think it would be a burden on the majority of modelers to equip models with Sergent couplers because they aren't compatible with anything but scale Kadees, and it's a stretch to say that.

As far as the models I buy are concerned, I don't care since I'll be replacing them with Sergent couplers. I'd just like to see any coupler in there that has the same shank size as Sergent to prove the model can have a coupler installed.

[12bridge]

If I had discovered Sergents about 5 years sooner, I would have gone with them, but equipping over 1000 cars with new couplers is just not cost effective. That, and Sergents are just not operator friendly with bigger layouts.

[alexandrianick]

#5s. I'm a modular guy and no matter how carefully we set up, there's always some degree of vertical change in module joints. The oversized #5s are more forgiving in those conditions.

[csx3305]

Scale head 158’s for me. And the dual shelf version in tank cars where appropriate if we are going to go that far. If you’re going to boost the MSRP another 5 dollars for Kadees, might as well put the prototypically appropriate one on there.


For a long time I considered going with Sergents on at least part of my fleet, but I think I’m prepared to put that notion to bed. Sergeant just announced his retirement a few months ago and more often than not, such seems to result in supply problems or unwanted revisions in a fine product.

[sd40dash2]

Wow. That is quite an overwhelming majority of responses (over 66% at this point) thus far in favour of the Kadee 158 scale head whisker.

So, which RTR mfrs are currently including this coupler on their new releases?

[gevohogger]

Jan 11, 2019 11:02:01 GMT -8 csx3305 said:

Sergeant just announced his retirement a few months ago and more often than not, such seems to result in supply problems or unwanted revisions in a fine product.

I'd wondered about them; some folks I know have reported having very long wait times getting their orders filled as of late.  Never a good sign.

Myself, I have bought very few new cars since hiring out on the railroad, so everything else I have still has the ol' #5 on it.  They're vintage!  Pre-scale head and pre-whisker.  Maybe if I ever upgrade to newer couplers (unlikely, really), I can put the old ones up on the Ebay.

[edwardsutorik]

Jan 11, 2019 10:25:01 GMT -8 alexandrianick said:

#5s. I'm a modular guy and no matter how carefully we set up, there's always some degree of vertical change in module joints. The oversized #5s are more forgiving in those conditions.

I am also a modular guy. And I've run Sergents on several setups without problem. But that might be explained with properly built modules set up with due care.


Regarding Frank Sergent's "retirement";

I just re-read the post Frank made last April to the Yahoo group. He didn't say anything about retiring (in the sense that most people take it). He's in his early fifties. I think what he HAS said is that he's an engineer, and likes doing research and design. And that he does not particularly enjoy running a business selling "stuff".

I think he does want to stop making his couplers. But he has also said he will make great effort to keep them available until someone else starts production.

My sense is that he'd enjoy doing only the r&d on the couplers, and have someone else do all the production side.

He may disagree.


Ed

[csx3305]

The whiskers are a good development. Obsoletes those awful copper leaf springs. I eventually started leaving them out of my installs, and substituting a gray washer if the box is too loose. Don’t need centering springs, really. The prototype doesn’t use them.

[edwardsutorik]

By the way, the vertical dimension of the Sergent coupler knuckle is just .01" smaller than the small-head Kadee. .127" vs. .137".

If you can run small-head Kadees, you should be able to run Sergents.

By the way, Kadee #5 knuckes are .148" high. Just another .01".

Fix yer trackwork, people!


Ed

[roadkill]

Mantua couplers !!!

[rapidotrains]

I'm a passenger modeller. It's #5s or reasonable facsimiles for me. I don't see myself changing any time soon, though I do like the looks of the 158s.

I would have liked your poll to include "#5 compatible metal couplers" as that is what Rapido uses. We don't use "cheap plastic clones."

It is much cheaper for our customers to buy their own Kadees in bulk and install them on our models, so we leave it to them to swap the couplers. And then they can use whatever type they want.

Some people get really riled up about the fact that we don't install the particular type of Kadee coupler that they want - and trust me, they don't all want 158s. I never quite understood why until I asked a number of our hobby shops. The reason some people really don't like to swap couplers is that they can't. They lack the skill, the confidence or the ability due to arthritis etc.

-Jason

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2019 11:33:57 GMT -8 sd40dash2 said:

Wow. That is quite an overwhelming majority of responses (over 66% at this point) thus far in favour of the Kadee 158 scale head whisker.

So, which RTR mfrs are currently including this coupler on their new releases?

That I know of:

Kadee
ExactRail
Arrowhead Models
Tangent Scale Models
Moloco Trains
Intermountain Railway 
Bluford Shops HO scale cabooses