Kadee Coupler Variety

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

In reading magazine articles, reviews, etc. a couple of things strike me.

  1. A lot of people body-mount their locomotive couplers. I’d really like to know why. I frame-mount almost everything, as I want the metal frame absorbing the stress of pushing and pulling as opposed to the plastic shell/mounting pad. The Kadee coupler box will insulate the coupler from the frame, and most new locomotives have insulated frames anyway.

  2. When reading the above articles and such, nobody mentions using the Kadee 20, 30, and 40 series couplers to adjust coupler height, coupling distance, and insulation purposes? I like to use the over- and underset couplers to adjust height, rather than the fiber washers. I’ve found that an extremely low car can look “tippy-toed” with a bunch of washers. The offset coupler head allows you to keep the rail to frame distance accurate. I also like to use the different lengths, such as the short shank couplers for shortening the gap in, say, a consist of F-units or passenger cars. Is the market really taking advantage of the flexibility in variety?

2

I converted all my Budd cars to the #26 since I run 22" .They recommend 24". The extra length keeps the car ends from rubbing.

Also use under/overs for height levels.

3

Personally, I’ve standardized on the Kadee #58’s for every coupler on my fleet, and body mount everything with 2-56 screws. If I run across a coupler that’s not the right height, it’s usually too high, so I’ll shim under the box with scrap styrene. I never have to worry about getting the “right” Kadee coupler with my method!