several car’s and loco’s i’ve bought lately come with scale coupler’s(not kd)they didn’t work all that well as they had problems coupling to my other car’s that have regular kd5’s and kd whisker’s.has anyone used the new kadee “scale” ho self centering whisker(153) coupler? if so ,any problem’s? thanks.terry…
Wow, I hadn’t heard that Kadee has released a whisker coupler with a scale head – I have 20 packages of the Kadee 148s and love them as replacements for the venerable #5s.
I have had no peoblems with the original Kadee scale head couplers matching up with standard head couplers, though, and will certainly give the new Kadee 153 a try as soon as I can get my hands on some.
Ditto. I haven’t had chance to use them yet, but absolutely will. With all due respect to Kadee’s impeccable product quality, those nasty little copper springy things are a nightmare, and have led me to far more use of McHenry than I’d have considered if Kadee whiskers had come out years ago.
yeah i’ve been using kd 5’s since 1965 and have always had problems with the bronze copper centering spring.they seem to work for a long period of time but then they alway’s started to give me problem’s.rest assured they were installed accordingly to kd’s instruction’s.i to have changed over to the 148’s and love them.i beleive they have come out with the whisker’s in various shank length’s as well as the scale whisker.thank’s.terry…
Just as a minor correction, the proper number is #158 for the scale head whisker couplers.
I’ve bought some, put them in one car (Atlas Trainman RBOX), but I haven’t run the railroad yet. I will say it was a bit easier installation than juggling that bronze spring around and the coupler itself centered much more reliably as well when I flicked it from side to side.
jeff the 153,156,and 158 according to kd are all scale.the different number’s refer to the shank length i beleive if memory serve’s me right[:)].terry…
Hello Group,
The Kadee “whisker” couplers are as follows: #148 medium centerset shank with a standard size #5 head, #153 short centerset shank with “scale” #58 type of head, #158 medium centerset scale head, and #156 long centerset shank scale head. Note the numbers coincide with our other series of couplers as far as shank configurations.
The #148 has been available for a while now but we just recently released the scale head versions. We also were giving samples away at the “Trainfest” show in Milwaukee this last weekend, perhaps some of you that attended stopped by our booth and picked up a package or two.
Sam Clarke
Kadee Quality Products
Sam,
Can you say whether or not you’ll be releasing “offset head” or “offset scale head” style whisker couplers? I had to deal with some #29’s on an old McKean centerbeam a couple weeks ago and I was really wishing I’d had a whisker type for that.
In comparison I flat out enjoyed putting a #158 into that Trainman RBOX car…
Thanks!
I’m very pleased with my #148’s, as they fit spaces that only McHenry’s would fit before.
Whisker-fitted Bachmann Spectrun 2-8-0
Whisker-fitted BLI SW7 (now a TR4)
I’ve not had the opportunity to try out the scale version yet, but I’m sure they will work equally well.
Jon
hi jon.have enjoyed your pics for a long time.yes the 148’s are very nice.going to get a few pack’s of the scale but the 148’s size doesn’t bother me at all.if i do like the way the kd scale coupler’s operate i might get more eventually.
Jeff Schultz,
We have plans to do the offset series in the standard head #148 type but not in the scale head version. Please note that this is an “as time allows project” which means it’s not very high on our priority list as many other projects are.
We’ll be at the Medford, OR Train Show the weekend after Thanksgiving and the Worlds Greatest Hobby Show in Portland, OR in February.
Regards, Sam Clarke
Kadee Quality Products