Chopper couplings practicality

[Simon Moore]

Hi all

I was wondering what peoples thoughts were on chopper couplings in both 4 & 7mm scales ?

 

I've chosen to use kadees for my 7mm stock because they seem a practical, easy item to use which so far has given me excellent results. My modeling is aimed around North Wales mainly the Ffestiniog & they use chopper couplings so i wondered if i had chosen the wrong path ?

Are they good to use in 4mm also ? i know branchlines do a chopper coupling set for there Isle of Man & Irish kits & wondered if they had benefit over other narrow gauge couplings in 4mm like the Bemo type?

Just wondered what the forums thoughts were on the subject ?

Simon

[ngtrains.com]

Our Linda / Blanche / Charles and Fairlie kits have a representation of the chopper in them. This is what Peter (designer) uses on his layout. They look the part but have none of the features I want which is automatic hands off coupling and uncoupling.

 

I use Kadee's because when set up properly they do provide that feature but at the cost of appearance. I stick with them on my UK 0n30/0-16.5mm stock because there is the added issue of interoperability as my 16.5mm gauged stock runs on a group layout.

 

The mutts nuts of chopper couplings come from John Clutterbuck   http://www.zamzoodled.co.uk/  He does them in a variety of prototypical patterns and they work superbly. Were I operating on my own layout where I dictate the standards for couplings this is what I would use. 

[Simon Moore]

Paul i looked at John's items when i first started doing the Ffestiniog stuff but the price put me off instantly.

Hopefully i'll get hold of my fairlie kit & i shall have a look at the chopper coupling to see if it is worth doing in the future. I think kadees will be my chosen option though because they can keep the price down. 

Certainly won't rule it out thought for future kits.

I think the 4mm stuff must be rather fiddly to get to work right with the size being so small. I'll be interesting to see if anyone has used them & what they think about them.

 

Simon

[cctransuk]

I was wondering what peoples thoughts were on chopper couplings in both 4 & 7mm scales ?

Simon,

 

I have been using chopper couplings in OO9 for many years.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/5640-img-3574jpg/

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/5642-img-3578jpg/

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/5650-img-3599jpg/

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/5643-img-3579jpg/

 

I got them from Meridian Models http://meridianmodels.co.uk/price-list.html ; not sure if they're still available.

 

With a shunting pole made from a paintbrush handle with a bent wire where the bristles were, coupling / uncoupling is pretty easy and the couplings themselves are reliable.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[HSB]

I looked at the possibility of using chopper couplings for Sn3.5 some years ago but came to the conclusion that they would only be practical if used in conjunction with Proto wheel and track standards. They are too prone to misalignment otherwise. I went with Kadees.

[jc2001]

Paul i looked at John's items when i first started doing the Ffestiniog stuff but the price put me off instantly.

 

Hopefully i'll get hold of my fairlie kit & i shall have a look at the chopper coupling to see if it is worth doing in the future. I think kadees will be my chosen option though because they can keep the price down.

 

My couplers are supplied in packs of four, whereas Kadees are sold in packs of two (yes I know they do bulk packs too). By my reckoning my couplers are about 50% more per single coupler than a Kadee. The price includes a quite modest margin and I do not count for my time for preparing the castings, packing etc. It cost me over £2000 to develop these and it will be several more years before I recoup this.

 

The review in the March 2013 Railway Modeller stated they 'represent brilliant value, especially considering the visual improvement these will make to a model compared to any of the traditional types of coupling normally used'

 

Regards

John

[ngtrains.com]

My couplers are supplied in packs of four, whereas Kadees are sold in packs of two

 

Sorry John but you are wrong. The standard Kadee package contains two pairs of couplers and I sell the 14X range of whisker couplers at £3.50 a pack.

Your couplers are still excellent and were it not for the compatibility issues with where I run my stock then I would use them but your maths is flawed.

 

That said I look at these things slightly differently these days and would suggest that its a flawed argument that they are too expensive. Simon, when you are considering buying a couple of our Fairlie kits that's going to knock a big hole in seven hundred quid and take you many hours to build are you going to spoil then for the price of putting the proper couplers on them?  The cost of the couplers is a trifle in the complete investment. 

 

(sorry, but I get exasperated by the oft repeated examples on forums such as this where a modeller will happily spend hundreds of pounds on a kit which is a one off purchase but whines on about the cost of decent tools and fittings that would allow them to make many models)

 

Make fewer models but make them spot on

[Fettster42]

I am currently experimenting with disguise Kadees. I use them for ease and compatibility with other layouts rolling stock. What I have tried is to add a plasticard square around the Kadee and a hook, They don't appear to affect operation and I hope will make the stock look more prototypical

[Giles]

I used home-made choppers on The Loop - but only because John's weren't around at the time!

I would certainly go for those, myself......