Hornby Dublo / Peco couplers for NEM Pockets

[DCB]

After many unsuccessful attempts to graft Hornby Dublo or Peco couplings on to NEM socket equipped Hornby stock involving at best soldering filed up bits of brass to cut up couplings and drilling holes for track pins my son picked up a Peco coupling popped the hook out of a Hornby coupling and bent the Peco one 180 degrees and produced a serviceable coupling in a matter of seconds.

With a bit of force and gently bending the plastic  you can get rounded end of the metal Peco coupling through the elongated square of the plastic Hornby coupling.   The vertical face of the Peco coupling nestles against the end of the Hornby coupling and bending 180 degrees and crimping it tight keeps the coupling in place.  The springiness of the flexible strip in the Hornby coupling lets it couple up and go round curves.

Not hugely pretty but it gets the job done and allows much easier uncoupling inthe limited headroom of our hidden sidings. Yes we could use Kadees but the time and cost  of converting over 250 wagon makes it a bit of a non starter.

The 6844 pic shows 2 Hornby Maunsells, one converted coupled to a Wrenn Castle the other standard coupled to a Bachmann Manor