Couplers for C&Sn3

[Jim Courtney]

I was talking with Jimmy Booth at the Sn3 symposium this morning.  

On all their new PBL R-T-R cars, code 88 wheel treads are now standard on their trucks and the new cars will all have the Kadee HO "scale" couplers.  Jimmy says the "Sharon" couplers (as used by the D&RGW and RGS)  were 9" in the vertical dimension at the knuckle face.  He feels the "scale" couplers (Kadee 153, 156, 158, 178, etc.) best represent the actual size of those couplers.  They plan to continue the HO "standard" couplers on their brass locomotives.

Out of curiosity, when I got home I measured both:  The "standard" coupler measures 10" in the vertical dimension (3/16th of course), is beefier and crude compared to the "scale" coupler, which measures 9", and is better detailed.

Looking at 1930s photos vs. some of my models, the "scale" coupler looks a bit small to me, but might be more appropriate for the 1903-1910 era.

Anyone know the dimensions of the "Washburn" couplers from the first decade, or for that matter, later C&S coupler dimensions?  Derrell's "C&S Connection" drawings are quite thorough, but don't include the couplers in the drawings, just the draft gear.

What is everyone else using for C&S Sn3 couplers?

[Keith Hayes]

Just what I need...another thing to convert my whole fleet.

I was interested that Trevor Marshall on the Port Rowan site experimented with Sargent couplers for a bit last year. While the early results appeared favorable, I believe Trevor ultimately returned to Kadees. Oh, well.

I think I will stick with the full size couplers. After all, we are talking about a knuckle face dimension that is small enough that it may as well be indiscernible. Perhaps if I was just starting out, or had not built about 50 cars, you could convince me....

[Jim Courtney]

Keith,

I'm not advocating changing, though the "scale" couplers do look better.  But they just seem a little too small to me, despite the measured dimensions.

The other downside is that the "scale" coupler series doesn't come with underset or overset shank options, sometimes necessary on certain kits, to mount the couplers at the right height above the rail.

I have experimented with the Sargent HO couplers-they are a bit smaller than the "scale" Kadees.  I plan to use them as a substitute for link-in-pin couplers on my few c1885 models, as they don't seem objectionably oversized.