Kadee coupler pocket springs

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi all!

I asked this question a little while ago on a thread related to Kadee couplers but didn’t get too many answers, so here goes again:

Can anyone explain the reason for the Kadee coupler pocket springs being different on each side, and does it matter if the spring is installed on the top or the bottom of the coupler? They seem to work either way. Have I missed something in the instructions?

Thanks

Dave

2

They work either way. Its just the way they were made.

3

You didn’t miss anything except that the spring works equally well either way. It’s easier to install the spring first then the coupler in some applications. In others it’s easier to install the coupler first then the spring. I prefer the Whisker coupler myself. It simplifies the installation even further since there’s no separate spring to deal with.

4

I always mount them in the pocket, and when the pocket has been up-side-down, I still do it anyway and the couplers always seem to work just find.

5

I just put them in whichever way is easiest - MOST cars have the pocket aprt ont he car and the cover is just a flat piece, but a few are the opposite way, the pocket part is the removable piece and the bottom of the car is flat.

ANd it’s even easier now - just use the whisker couplers, no flat spring to deal with. Makes life MUCH easier, especially on things like Athearn cars with those annoying sprung coupler box covers. Now you just have to hold the car, coupler, and the cover, not car, spring, coupler, and cover.

–Randy

6

If you’re talking about the stamped sheet metal ones, Kadee made them that way to facilitate the delayed action feature. A bit of history:

The first common Kadee couplers were the K style. They were mechanical (non-magnetic). I still have cars equipped with the K4 type (for nostalgia).

They introduced the magnetics. These were the MK style. They pretty much look like the current ones, except that the stamped sheet metal springs for the MK5 were symmetrical.

Then Kadee discovered “delayed-action”. With this feature, you could uncouple over a ramp and then shove the uncoupled car down the track. You couldn’t with the MK style–it would just re-couple. To (help) make this work, the stamped springs were made asymmetrically.

Kadee has dropped the letter prefixes as they now only make one “style” of coupler (“style” in the sense I just discussed–they have many “variations” on the style).

So, in theory, your couplers won’t do the delayed-action trick if the springs are upside down.

Ed

7

Thanks for the explanation Ed.

All of my rolling stock has been converted to Kadee #5’s (I bought a bunch before the whisker couplers were introduced). With very few exceptions the springs were installed according to the instructions on the package so the delayed uncoupling feature will hopefully work.

However, I messed up on the last set I installed. They were put into an Athearn BB caboose which had the coupler pockets molded into the frame instead of the floor so the pocket was upside down from the usual arrangement. I was having a very difficult time installing the couplers and springs the right way up, so I took the easy way out by placing the springs below the coupler. That was before I posted the thread. To make matters worse I broke the rules and glued the coupler pockets together to stop the couplers from sagging.[banghead] Now i have to decide whether to pull the coupler pockets apart to correct the springs or just live with it.[*-)] Live and learn!

Dave

8

They still delay when the spring is upside down. Maybe a touch pickier about how exactly over the magnet they need to be, but the delay action still works.

–Randy