Got my first 5 pairs of Sergent true knuckle couplers and they are just absolutely unquestionably fantastic.
Check it out at http://user.icx.net/~sergent/
how do they stack up against kadee #5’s?
Yes I have been wondering my self. They look more to scale than the Kadee 58s I have been using. However Since I am budget constrained I am wondering how they work wiht 58s since I can not make a whole scale conversion at this time. I still havn’t fuly converted from #5s yet.
James
I have heard that they don’t play nice with Kadees. Everything I have heard about them is good, although they do require a bit of patience. I model pax trains, so I hope they release some appropriate couplers for that. I believe that I read somewhere they can be adapted to use a drawbar like the “real thing”. Would need some tiny gloved hands though.
The Sargent couplers are just about as ‘exact scale’ as you can get. They do not couple up to the Kadee’s very well due the shape of the knuckle face. They also will not ‘auto couple’ unless you ‘open’ the face of the knuckle and make sure the drawbar is lined up(just like the prototype). I bought a few pairs to ‘play’ with; they may get used on some ‘contest’ models…
Jim Bernier
OOps, seems everyone converted to kd 5’s just as these great couplers hit the market, try a few , and they are NOT compatible with kd, just as kd is not compatible with other couplers.
Tatans,
What do you mean when you say Kadees are not compatible with other couplers? I use them with Bachmann, McHenry, AccuMate, Kato, and other knuckle couplers all the time. The only thing they are not compatible with are Horn Hook couplers – but neither are any of the other knuckle couplers.
Sergent even admits on their web site and in their magazine advertisements that they are not compatible with any other brands because they are so much more realistic and properly sized.
How about uncoupling? I think I read that you hold a small magnet over the coupler or couplers to do it. How well does this work? They sure do look realistic compared to every thing else. Bruce
No one has answered my question though. I use the “Scale sized” #58. How do they work with those?
James
Sergent says that their couplers aren’t compatible with Kadees as a whole so I would leave it at that. The countours look to be different enough between the two couplers to cause problems. I would imagine that it is all or none with the Sergents.
Then I guess I will stay with #58s then. Thats what was nice about them and the old number 5s. The two would couple together so I didn’t have to convert all at once. But If I were to convert to seargents, I would need on the order of 800 pair. to do my entire locomotive and rollingstock fleet.
James
I definately aint doggin’ them out, Sergent just doesn’t manufacture the prototype that I need. I guess you could make “transition cars” like most of us did when we first started to go from the horn hooks to Kadees. It would cost an arm and a leg to restock all those cars with Sergents though.
Do they opertate as well as a KD#5?
It appears they would be a little tough to deal with if you are into heavy operating sessions (uncoupling). I would think they would be great for unit trains. Looks like they wouldn’t come apart too easy.
Huh? I converted to Kadee over 30 years ago. And these haven’t just hit the market. Sergents have been around for quite a while, I think people are just begining to discover them.
They have?! I only heard about them today!