May Tech Tip - Large Self Couplers
7
May
Now that you have dusted off your large-scale rolling stock and locomotives, it is time to see how your outdoor layout held up over winter. Some track work will inevitably have to be done to get all your cars rolling reliably on it again. Have you noticed the longer modern cars get, the more sensitive they are to run on track? That is because the length of the car magnifies every dip, bump, or transition in the track.
Kadee® has a quick and easy solution for anyone with some of those fussy cars that like to slip apart on your layout. Now you can change out your G-Scale standard or type “E” Kadee® Couplers to one of the NEW “SE” top and bottom or SBE bottom shelf Kadee® couplers, and you will not be leaving your favorite car sitting on the siding anymore. The “SE” top and bottom or SBE bottom shelf Kadee® couplers will allow cars that don’t stay coupled from track imperfections to stay coupled up over those grades, bumps, and dips—no need to struggle with those slight track imperfections from Mother Nature or those pesky gofers.
If you want to make that passenger, hazardous material, or modern freight car look more prototypical, you can also use the NEW “SE” top and bottom or SBE bottom shelf Kadee® couplers. The “SE” top and bottom or SBE bottom shelf couplers are sold as coupler-only coupler upgrades, so if you are setting up a new car, you must purchase the appropriate coupler conversion and the shelf couplers separately. The other option is purchasing individual components from our website and making the coupler conversion from our replacement parts available. Now, you won’t get all the little components that some of the coupler conversions have; you will have to be resourceful if you are piecing together a conversion kit.
The NEW “SE” Top and Bottom Shelf Couplers have real functioning shelves designed not to allow the opposing knuckle to slide up or down on those dips, bumps, or transitions on your layout. So, technically, you only need one G-Scale “SE” top and bottom shelf coupler coupled to another G-Scale Kadee® coupler to keep both cars together. If the “SE” top and bottom shelf coupler is equipped on both cars, they will be extra secure. To manually uncouple the “SE” top and bottom shelf coupler, use a 1/8” flat head screwdriver at the appropriate length, to reach your couplers for manual uncoupling. The 1/8” flat head screwdriver works very nicely as a “SE” top and bottom shelf coupler manual uncoupling tool with a light twisting action; the coupler uncouples effortlessly.
The NEW “SBE” Bottom Shelf Couplers have a functioning bottom shelf designed not to allow the opposing knuckle to slide down on those dips, bumps, or transitions on your layout. If you run two “SBE” bottom shelf couplers, the cars are locked together and are not designed to slip apart. You can use the same manual uncoupling tool as you do on your non-shelf Kadee® couplers. Since the “SBE” bottom shelf couplers have no top hood to interfere with manual uncoupling, they look much more discreet, and I think, they will be a popular choice for prototypical applications, but a great solution for those cars who need a little help.
Kadee® has a quick and easy solution for anyone with some of those fussy cars that like to slip apart on your layout. Now you can change out your G-Scale standard or type “E” Kadee® Couplers to one of the NEW “SE” top and bottom or SBE bottom shelf Kadee® couplers, and you will not be leaving your favorite car sitting on the siding anymore. The “SE” top and bottom or SBE bottom shelf Kadee® couplers will allow cars that don’t stay coupled from track imperfections to stay coupled up over those grades, bumps, and dips—no need to struggle with those slight track imperfections from Mother Nature or those pesky gofers.
If you want to make that passenger, hazardous material, or modern freight car look more prototypical, you can also use the NEW “SE” top and bottom or SBE bottom shelf Kadee® couplers. The “SE” top and bottom or SBE bottom shelf couplers are sold as coupler-only coupler upgrades, so if you are setting up a new car, you must purchase the appropriate coupler conversion and the shelf couplers separately. The other option is purchasing individual components from our website and making the coupler conversion from our replacement parts available. Now, you won’t get all the little components that some of the coupler conversions have; you will have to be resourceful if you are piecing together a conversion kit.
The NEW “SE” Top and Bottom Shelf Couplers have real functioning shelves designed not to allow the opposing knuckle to slide up or down on those dips, bumps, or transitions on your layout. So, technically, you only need one G-Scale “SE” top and bottom shelf coupler coupled to another G-Scale Kadee® coupler to keep both cars together. If the “SE” top and bottom shelf coupler is equipped on both cars, they will be extra secure. To manually uncouple the “SE” top and bottom shelf coupler, use a 1/8” flat head screwdriver at the appropriate length, to reach your couplers for manual uncoupling. The 1/8” flat head screwdriver works very nicely as a “SE” top and bottom shelf coupler manual uncoupling tool with a light twisting action; the coupler uncouples effortlessly.
The NEW “SBE” Bottom Shelf Couplers have a functioning bottom shelf designed not to allow the opposing knuckle to slide down on those dips, bumps, or transitions on your layout. If you run two “SBE” bottom shelf couplers, the cars are locked together and are not designed to slip apart. You can use the same manual uncoupling tool as you do on your non-shelf Kadee® couplers. Since the “SBE” bottom shelf couplers have no top hood to interfere with manual uncoupling, they look much more discreet, and I think, they will be a popular choice for prototypical applications, but a great solution for those cars who need a little help.
Comment(s)