What is so good about kadee couples in o gauge?

Most swear by them.

Almost nobody swears at them.

Sounds like a plan

---PCJ

Check out my post: 200 feet of train, thats all Kadees

Two railers have always used them in O, but they have gained popularity in three rail over time. They are more realistic looking and better functioning than the standard Lionel style knuckle type (derogatorily known as "lobster claws").

I have too large a fleet to convert to Kadees, or I might. They're a dream for switching.

Big_Boy_4005 posted:

Two railers have always used them in O, but they have gained popularity in three rail over time. They are more realistic looking and better functioning than the standard Lionel style knuckle type (derogatorily known as "lobster claws").

I have too large a fleet to convert to Kadees, or I might. They're a dream for switching.

Are they the ones that folks show using magnets to uncouple cars?   Goes over them without opening if you go over fast.  Then opens them when you go over them slow or stop? 

Jim 

"What's so good about them"?

Nothing; other than they work great, look great and are made in Oregon... 

Mark in Oregon

Too late (and expensive) for me to change all my locomotives and rolling stock over to Kadees, but I definitely would do that if I was just in the early stages of building a roster. I use Kadee-style couplers (from MTL) in Z and Kadees in On30.

The way they work is they stay hooked when in tension. When you pass over the permanent magnet placed between the rails and provide a little slack they shift to the side and uncouple. If you stay over the magnet, then pull a little, they will spring to the side a little further, and the "thumbs" will allow you to push the car to a spot off the magnet. When you do it right, you'll leave the car(s) as you pull away. It's called delayed uncoupling. Should work with Kadees in all scales.

Oh, by the way, Clem's 200' train would be almost impossible without Kadees. Lionel couplers can't take as much tension on the knuckles as the Kadees.

 The fact that they stayed coupled and looked more scale was a selling point. What sold me for good. Was when doing switching moves how realistically they coupled up at slow speeds. The manufactures have built engines that run at prototypical slow yard speeds. Pretty much a crawl. It kind of defeats the purpose if you have to speed up and slam into a car at speed to get it coupled. If you are coupling just to trains. The 3 rail couplers will do. If you are coupling up to just a few cars on a siding. The Kadee's are the way to go. The other cool factor. Starting off slow with a long train in tow. You watch the engine slowly go forward a bit. Yet the cars at the end of the consist still haven't started moving yet as the slack is being taking out of the couplers. Just like a real train.

 The manufactures are making this a lot easier to do. There is some work in putting them on and even some fabricating of brackets at times. With all the negative threads of couplers not working well that I read. This is a permanent fix for the price of about $5.00 per car

Thanks Elliot & Dave!   I really like switching so you have answered the OP and my questions at the same time!   Will surely look into it.  

Jim 

You're welcome Jim. I used to be in HO and I also worked in a hobby store, a lifetime ago.

I recall reading that there is a Kadee (805 perhaps) that will mate with the "lobster claw".  

Can someone share pictures of this?

Thanks

-Jim

Actually, if one works they all should work. I've also heard that they will connect.

The coupler part is always the same regardless of product number. The differences are in the draft gear and shank length from model to model. Different cars and engines need different mounting methods, and some can be tricky. 805 is just the "standard" most commonly used model.

I can attest that they will "mate" (much to my surprise) with each other; you just can't do any of the neat automatic coupling. I think it has to be manual: ("hand of God" type).

Someone here will have a photo handy, I'm sure.

Mark in Oregon

Strummer posted:

I can attest that they will "mate" (much to my surprise) with each other; you just can't do any of the neat automatic coupling. I think it has to be manual: ("hand of God" type).

 

I've heard of it as the "0-5-0" switcher...

Yea, that's it!!

Mark in Oregon

The newer 742 series does not mate with lobster claws.

Terry

Allan Miller posted:

Too late (and expensive) for me to change all my locomotives and rolling stock over to Kadees, but I definitely would do that if I was just in the early stages of building a roster. I use Kadee-style couplers (from MTL) in Z and Kadees in On30.

Well I always thought couplers where the same.I mean you lionel atlas kline williams mth all will mate with each other.I did not know kadee made any thing for o gauge.For me its to late in the game.

While I will agree that Kadee makes fine couplers that look scale sized in O but I still prefer the traditional Lionel type knuckle coupler.  I have a friend that has converted all his rolling stock to Kadee's and he brings them over to run on my layout from time to time.  I have several areas where there is a 2 percent down hill grade and gravity will cause the cars will glide  down behind the engine removing the tension on the couplers and cause the couplers to uncouple once on level track and the engine is again providing tension on the couplers.  My assumption is that if it was a long train where the rear was still on level track and all the cars were not on the slope, this may not happen.  However most of the trains I run are less than the 14 foot length of the grade so it creates a real problem.

Happy railroading,

Don

If my observation car end has a regular coupler, I switch a Kadee for it. Looks much better.