Let me add a couple of modifications/additions to what Ed has said.
1st) Ace did modify their bolster/coupler mounting pads to work with the
Kadee 800 series couplers. I think these were the Ace products that were
made of some kind of black colored plastic. The RTR cars sold by Downs
were made this way.
2) The SHS coupler also has problems (like some of the Bortz modified
#5's) with the glad hand/air hose swivling. Love the SHS coupler except
for that problem.
3) Somebody on this list sometime ago said he was extending the glad
hand to the proper length by adding a short length of metal tubing to
the end of the standard #5 glad hand. I personally would appreciate
some additional information on that idea.
Bob Werre
BobWphoto..com
>
> As I see it...
>
> 1. KD#802 has a wider gathering range, fits most recent brass imports,
> costs what it costs, has too much sprung slack action for some, and is
> a tad
> oversized for S. Many folks dislike the herky-jerky motion that is common
> with these couplers. One NYC fellow up in the Seattle area solved that
> problem by inserting a small cylindrical object into the middle of the
> centering spring which greatly restricts the slack action he found
> objectionable. The small cylindrical object is from a Kadee coupler set
> (#4?) and is available as a separate piece (I think). The KD#802 is too
> large to fit the popular ACE adaptors which were created long before the
> #802 coupler was born. This is probably the most commonly used coupler
> in S
> scale today.
>
> 2. KD#5 (and #3, the RTR version) is the HO standard and works very
> well if
> you install them correctly and take care to eliminate the side slop
> between
> axles and sideframes. Many S models have excessive side slop which enables
> the couplers to be off center a bit too much. Side slop can be eliminated
> with small washers on the axle ends. These couplers fit the ACE AF
> adaptors, older wooden kits, and nearly all narrow gauge models. The KD#5
> easily permits exact 36" spacing between cars and comes with all sorts of
> variations such as long shank, short shank, upper mount knuckles, lower
> mounted knuckles, different size/shaped draft gear boxes, etc. One of the
> many variations can be made to work with darn near any S model ever
> made. I
> have some in the front pilots of brass steam engines. These couplers are
> less expensive than the Kadee S couplers and mate with them well. This
> used to be the most commonly used coupler in S scale in yesteryear and is
> still liked and used by many.
>
> 3. Modified KD#5 (longer glad hand) couplers have a problem with the glad
> hand working loose from the coupler casting itself. It swivels when it
> shouldn't and then the magnetic uncoupling system does not work well since
> the glad hand swings outward, but the knuckle does not. UNmodified Kadee's
> do not have this problem. Modified KD#5 couplers are no longer made
> commercially.
>
> 4. Walther's new HO couplers are a tad larger than KD#5 and work well. One
> noticeable difference, however, is that the Walther's coupler has more
> slack
> action between closed/coupled knuckles than does the Kadee product. While
> the Walter's couplers are not springy like the KD#802s, the large slack
> action between closed knuckles creates a similar effect.
>
> 5. American Models makes a reasonable dummy plastic coupler that is good
> for unit trains and the like. I use them between A and B diesel units for
> positive coupling unaffected by magnets and the like.
>
> 6. SHS makes a Kadee-compatible coupler that is about the same size as the
> KD#802. It was created to enable close coupling between diesel units, but
> can be used on freight and passenger cars. Works well as far as I know.
>
> Hope all this helps.
>
> Cheers..Ed L.
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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