The tight lock type of coupler makes for a more scale look on the rear and front on the El Cap Train.
CZ
http://s806.photobucket.com/user/Trainsforyou/slideshow/Sergent%20type%20couplers?sort=6
Looks fine - until you want to add a helper to get it over Raton Pass.
So, which is more critical? Appearance, or prototypical operation?
(I’m an operator, and my coupler of choice is the standard Kadee.)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with helpers and engine changes)
well, on the real thing, they need someone ot pull the pin to uncouple… for the front coupler on a helper you cna always take a dummy coupler and open the knuckle face so it can push against the working face of the rear car’s coupler and allow uncoupling on the fly by just slowing the helpwer at the crest of the hill. Pretty much the same thing people do with Kadees, really. Otherwise you have to top the train over an uncoupler, or reach in with skewers - same as with Sergents.
The really do look nice, and I don’t ever plan on having any part of my layout more than 2 feet wide, less in most areas…hmm. Got a lot of equipment to switch if I did go with them. Very tempted though…
–Randy
I’ve experimented with a few of them and they work quite well. If my layout was all a shelf design where I could easily reach them at all times, I could see where they would work very well.
Yes, you have to “pull the pin” to release them, and you also have to manually align them side to side … but then, so does the real thing ! If you enjoy hands on proto-type operation, these are great. And since there is no centering spring, coupling on curves is a breeze !
If I wasn’t so heavily vested in Kadee’s and had a different style layout, I would seriously consider starting the conversion.
Mark.
Yes, I guess they do look good and work well,until you have a lot of industries,that have the cars inside the buildings and you can’t couple to get them out,for the coupler is not centered,time to remove the roof…Naw…prototype,or not,I’ll stick with the centering spring,on the Kadee’s…
Cheers, [D]
Frank
How do you get between the diaphragms to uncouple those tightlocks on passenger cars? Or, are they just on the ends for looks?
Mark,While that sounds good it has a major drawback…Its too much work if you have a lot of switching operation including terminal work.
I would say 99% of the modelers I seen work a yard cherry picks cars-can you imagine how long it would take to make up a normal 15-20 car train using a switch list or waybills? I suspect that would be more time then the majority of the modelers would want.
Larry,
I have about 25 set-outs,with pick-ups,would you like to come by and give me a hand,on my ISL…?? You have to bring your own ‘‘Skewer’’
Cheers, [D]
Frank
Love too…You know my love for ISLs and switching.[:D]
Dave,
Sergent makes a special uncoupler thingy designed to deal with passenger cars.
They are nice looking. But what looks more prototypical ? Using a uncoupler magnet or a big giant hand reaching in from the sky pulling a pin or aligning a coupler ?
MIKE
You can get rid of the giant hand, but you still have some very large human beings looming over your towns.
I don’t use magnets with Kadees, I use skewers, because you can’t possibly place a magnet everywhere you need to uncouple, at least if you are being prototypical. It forces you to spot cars at the magnet or only behind it (pushing back with the delayed action). Can cover many but not all spots - and it’s not exactly prototypical to pull ahead with a cut then shove back again with the same cut after you set the couplers into the delay position. Not sure who the GHA bothers, it’s not liek when you pose a picture you have your hand and/or the uncoupling device in there. Sure, your hand is way out of scale, but on the other hand, on a real railroad you have a person on the ground pulling pins to spot cars, so manually pulling the pin is the closer to the prototype action even if your hand and the stick are out of scale.
It all works, I just don’t see the perceived negatives as anti-prototypical, quite the opposite.
–Randy
You might be surprise-slack on the pin happen a lot when I was braking as did overshooting the switch points or car spot cause by slow reaction to the switchman’s hand signal by either the engineer or fireman(PRR).
Not sure if the wooden pole from the sky is all that prototypical either.[(-D]
So what did you do when you overshot the spot? Couple back up and pull it ahead a few feet, then drop it? I’ll assume the one thing you didn’t do was pull the car all the wya back to the beginning of the siding then shove back again as you would have to do when using Kadees and magnets… Unless attempting a flying switch and missing, but that’s been well, frowned upon for a long time.
Someone (Ed Ravenscroft?) use to put little whisckers on the sides of his cars, reach in and press on these to pull the pin. Now those were at least in approximately the right location.
No, a pole from the sky isn’t prototypical in appearance, but in the interests of operating prototypically, you are performing the action of uncoupling the cars where they need to be uncoupled rather than having to uncouple only at certain artificially constrained spots, even if it would look really odd if someone snapped a picture at that moment. I’ll take function over form here.
–Randy
I have seen where you can more easily couple up on a curve with Sergeant couplers–since they have no centering spring.
Having said that, I probably won’t make the move away from Kadee with 100s of cars. Also, they require a bigger coupler pocket than Kadees due to thicker shank.
Richard
I went all in with Sergents and installed them on all my rolling stock which is about a hundred cars and engines.
What I like about them:
-they look beautiful
-cars are somewhat closer coupled
-less slack jerk action than with Kadees
What I did not like about them:
-too unreliable, often needed several tries uncoupling and coupling cars, knuckles that stuck, etc etc (you can always argue that the fault is less than perfect assembly, of course)
-too fiddly to the extent switching became a chore instead of a please
To sum it up - I switched back to Kadees.
Well, this is a story I haven’t heard before. Did you buy assembled sergent couplers or kits?
As for myself, I am planning on buying some unassembled ones and experimenting on the holidays.
Mitropa,
Not that I’m bashing Sergents,but thanks for being a Honest man…
Cheers, [D]
Frank
Randy,I still see flying switches-its a necessary evil in some cases.It was frown on when I worked on the PRR especially if the move went South in a hurry.
As far as overshooting a switch or spot,yeah,we had to back up several feet and try again.
I’m not saying KD couplers are perfect but,they’re the best we have for switching operations.
I use a small flat tip screw driver for uncoupling when needed but,I prefer the hands free magnet.