UK suppliers of Kadee material

[petertg]

Can anyone give me names and addresses of UK suppliers holding a full range of Kadee products and who supply on-line? Here in Spain they seem to sell only those couplers plugung into NEM pockets. Many thanks in advance.

[Dunsignalling]

Can anyone give me names and addresses of UK suppliers holding a full range of Kadee products and who supply on-line? Here in Spain they seem to sell only those couplers plugung into NEM pockets. Many thanks in advance.

Try Gaugemaster.

 

I formerly used P&H Models who were excellent but the new owner doesn't seem to have resumed operation since taking over and the website just has a holding page..

 

John

Edited January 1, 2018 by Dunsignalling

[petertg]

Thanks Dunignalling for the information. I have checked their website and they seem to have the lot. My problem now is to find out exactly what I need. Curiously enough, tI did not find them listed as dealerss on the Kadee US website.

[John Tomlinson]

If you aren't going for the NEM pocket types, the no.5 is the standard item used by many.

 

Be aware if you need a lot of these there are bulk packs for both the couplings themselves, and for the boxes that hold them, which work out considerably cheaper than the little "all-in" packs of 4.

 

John.

[APOLLO]

I use Gaugemaster for O scale kadees, they allways have them in stock. Decent prices and excellent service also.

 

http://www.gaugemaster.com/search_results.asp?searchstring=%20brand~~721~~brand

 

Brit15

[ejstubbs]

Hattons also list some of the Kadee products.

 

DC Kits also do a good range of Kadee products, including "super packs" (not the same as the Kadee bulk packs) of 10 and 20 pairs of couplings.  DC Kits are fine to deal with online.  (My one experience of buying stuff from them face-to-face, at a show, was they seemed a bit grumpy.  Perhaps it had been a long day.  Or maybe I was getting in the way of people browsing their table full of DVDs.)

 

I much prefer the 14x series of couplings (listed under "4mm Whisker couplings") as the basis for Kadee-ifying my UK OO RTR stock, compared to the hoary old #5 (though it does very occasionally still have a use).  The different shank lengths and coupler offset options of the 14x series mean that you can usually find a 14x coupler that will fit your RTR model without needing too much surgery beyond removal of the OEM coupling and its mounting hardware.  The #5, being one length and one height, often needs significantly more jiggery-pokery to get it fitted so that it will work reliably.  Remember that the #5 is designed for US HO models with a built-in draft box, so it's not surprising that UK OO models - being a different scale and not having an industry standardised built-in draft box - need a bit of persuasion to take a #5.

 

(Then again, I note that the OP is in Spain so may well be running HO, European image, which could involve completely different gotchas and wrinkles when deploying Kadees.)

Edited January 3, 2018 by ejstubbs

[Dunsignalling]

Thanks Dunignalling for the information. I have checked their website and they seem to have the lot. My problem now is to find out exactly what I need. Curiously enough, tI did not find them listed as dealerss on the Kadee US website.

If you are intending to fit Kadees to UK stock with side buffers the most useful version is the #146 Whisker coupler which is derived from the long-standing No.5 but the extra length allows the draft box to be entirely hidden under the vehicle. For vehicles with deep buffer beams (mainly tenders), use the #141. 

 

No.5s (and the more modern equivalent #148) are made for US stock without buffers and, except on models with underscale length ones, part of the box has to stick out beyond the headstock in order to get the knuckle into proper alignment with the buffer heads. Nothing wrong with the way #'5s work, but the longer ones make for a much neater job. 

 

Check out the diagrams on the Kadee website and you will see all the different choices for length and height. 

 

There's loads on here about Kadees in several threads (quite a bit of it posted by me) if you have the time and the inclination to wade through it all.

 

I've been using Kadees for nearly 25 years and if you install them carefully, they give many years of trouble-free service with little need for attention..

 

Regards

 

John

Edited January 3, 2018 by Dunsignalling