I think maybe I did miss your point... but I think I'm with you now. If Kadee does upgrade/revise/improve/adjust (or whatever you wanna call it) their On3/S coupler to look more realistic... GREAT!!! It will give me an excuse to remain in S if a revised Sergent coupler never materializes. If they do this, I hope they do away with the current centering method in use on the 802/808 and go with the more common, flat-ended shank with a whisker spring (or something similar). A flat end on the shank (like that on the old, reliable #5 Ho coupler) would make it a PERFECT fit (without the need for ANY modification) in the new draft gear boxes I'm planning to have made, and it would work with the same centering spring method I came up with the the new Sergent coupler. This would make life almost too easy!
I am well familiar with the 3/4 scale couplers you mentioned... in fact I have photos of, and access to, one of these couplers at the CofG Roundhouse complex in Savannah, GA - about 25 miles from my home. It is installed on a very early piece of CofG passenger equipment. I will contact Kadee and see if I can find out just what is going on over there with this situation... and maybe I can sway them a little in our direction. John Degnan [email protected] ----- Original Message ----- From: Bill Nielsen To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 06:48 PM Subject: {S-Scale List} Re: LATEST WORD from Sergent Engineering John, I believe you missed my point. Kadee is already committed to a new O scale standard gauge coupler, and according to Jerry Kits at Foothill Model Works (who saw the announcement on Kadee's website) they are also going to do an improved version of their On3 narrow gauge coupler. Typically, narrow gauge couplers were referred to as 3/4 MCB couplers because they were 3/4 the size of a standard gauge coupler. If the new narrow gauge coupler is built to scale size as has been hinted (3/4 of an O standard gauge coupler) it would automatically also be S scale, because 1/64 scale is 3/4 of 1/48 scale. Some questions remain, like will the new couplers couple up with the old ones? Will Kadee continue producing the old style couplers once the new ones are released? You are correct that the only difference between the current Kadee On3 and S scale couplers is the length of the trip pin (the On3 pin is slightly longer). This means that even if Kadee doesn't make a new S scale coupler based on the new On3 knuckle, and even if Kadee discontinues their current S coupler, S modelers will only need to re-bend the trip pin on the new On3 coupler in order to use it for S scale. The new couplers are said to have more accurate cast-on details and also an internal knuckle spring for a more scale-like appearance. I think we S scalers should contact Kadee to clarify the situation and also to let them know we are all interested in whatever they are doing to develop new products that might also be useful for S scale modelers. Regards, Bill in FL [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
