Sergent Engineering couplers

[Anonymous]

I recently saw an add for the bellow couplers from http://www.sergentengineering.com/ in a model railroading mag. Does anyone know if they are good quality.

[Anonymous]

They are very good quality. They almost operate like the real thing except that they have a small ball that drops into place when the knuckle is closed. To open the knuckle, or to un-couple them, you have to use a small round magnet to lift the ball and open the knuckle. I don't think they have any centering spring, but neither does the prototype.
As you can see, they look fantastic and very prototypical. Also they are only for H-O scale.
When I bought some several years ago they had to be assembled before you could use them. But now I see them advertised as "Ready to use" and already assembled.
gtr

[Anonymous]

How much upkeep is required, if any?

[dave9999]

I was reading up on these awhile back and I like 'em. They don't seem overly
expensive... considering the prototypical appearance. I am curious about the
uncoupling factor. I wonder if these will stay coupled better than Kadees and
the like. Regular knuckle couplers are great, but do have a tendency to uncouple,
especially on grades that don't have a transition.

I might order a few and see what they're all about. That brings up another question,
are these available at the LHS? Dave

[Anonymous]

I checked the site and the're out of stock.

[wctransfer]

Looks like they have a little thing for some "slack action"! Yay, ill have to look into these.

Alec

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: I wonder if these will stay coupled better than Kadees and
the like.

I found out how they work. This is from the Sergent Engineering Site FAQ.

QUOTE: The Sergent Engineering coupler contains perfectly round stainless steel ball within the coupler that can move up to unlock the knuckle. When the knuckle closes the ball falls and jams against a suitably tapered surface on the knuckle to lock. Positioning a handheld magnet above the couplers while slacked, will pull the ball up and unlock the knuckle. All of this occurs inside the coupler where we don’t have to worry about dust etc causing the thing to stick. Most of the headaches involved with similarly designed larger scale couplers have to do with the interaction of the pin and the spring that flips the knuckle open when it is unlocked. Since the pin isn’t solidly locked in place, its allowed to jiggle up a bit as the couplers are slacked. The knuckle spring then holds it there. The process repeats until the pin is high enough to allow the knuckle to unlock and you get a spontaneous disconnect (ugh). By using a ball, the knuckle tends to jam the ball back down as slack is taken up. By omitting the knuckle spring, intended disconnects can be accomplished with very little magnetic force.

[tatans]

oooooooh, what's this? a new coupler? one that actually looks like a real coupler, and works, what are we to do?? consult the village elders, but what about kaydee, it's all we know, are we doomed????

[mike33469]

Does anyone know if these couplers and be used along with cars equipped with Kadee's?

[wctransfer]

yea , id like to know that too. I mean, im not about to buy some of them and not be able to couple with Kadees. Im intrigued by them to say the least, now we need conectable air hoses [yeah][tup]

Alec

[Anonymous]

Nope
The site said there is no way without seriouse mods

(I guess i done become one of dem there Experts on the subject)
Just check out the that site

http://www.sergentengineering.com/

[nsfantodd]

I bought some and tried them. I decided to stick with #58's. The Sergents look fantastic and uncouple well. I have not been able to test them in a long train or in vertically uneven track situations. I did not like the lack of a centering spring, or the higher cost. I just decided to me they were not worth the extra hassels. I encourage anyone interested in them to buy some and test them out. I would like to hear about your experiences also.

Todd Templeton

[Anonymous]

I'm going to get them as soon as they are available.
But for now:

[cacole]

If you look at the Frequently Asked Questions on the Sergent Engineering Web site listed above, the very first question's answer emphatically says, "NO!", their couplers will not mate with a Kadee or other brands.

They are super-detailed compared to a Kadee, though, so they would be perfect for static display purposes, or if you were just starting out and didn't yet have anything invested in Kadees.

[jrbernier]

Also, note tha they will not 'auto' couple with themselves or Kadee's. Like a 'real' coupler, you must open the 'knuckle' before you make the coupling move to get the 'joint'.

Jim

[BRAKIE]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jrbernier

Also, note tha they will not 'auto' couple with themselves or Kadee's. Like a 'real' coupler, you must open the 'knuckle' before you make the coupling move to get the 'joint'.

Jim

Jim, It is not necessary to open each coupler just as long as one knuckle is open you will get a joint..Remember..Each time you uncouple a car one coupler will be open..Now that's not to say you don't have to open a coupler from time to time..Of course I am speaking of the prototype here..[:D]

[tatans]

As above, regardless of any new product ,the majority of modellers are indoctrinated to the kaydee way of life and nothing will ever change their methods, I just hope Sergeant is the beginning of a new decent system of coupling, hope to see more advances from other companies also, From the latest news on acquisitions it seems we will all be dealing with one company for everything, that being"W" soon they will own it all.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tatans

As above, regardless of any new product ,the majority of modellers are indoctrinated to the kaydee way of life and nothing will ever change their methods, I just hope Sergeant is the beginning of a new decent system of coupling, hope to see more advances from other companies also, From the latest news on acquisitions it seems we will all be dealing with one company for everything, that being"W" soon they will own it all.

Since when did Walmart start doing trains? [8D]

I think nsfantodd's picture speaks volumes about the look and proto-action of these things. Too bad us N scalers are again left to drool. I f they require one to be open, they don't auto center and use a little wand to uncouple, I think that is about as real as you are gonna get, until someone designs a true cut-lever coupler with real airbrakes that you have to connect. But then you would have to worry about strikes, price of diesel fuel, sun kinks etc. But those are sharp couplers.

[Anonymous]

NEW IDEA

What if an electromacnent could be instaled and hidden just above the coupler and placed in select cars. The magnent could be turned on and of via Radio control or something. It could be placed towards the right top of the coupler to make it open too.

WOW Lots of ideas

[tatans]

Red-- that's the idea, keep them coming, it's just a matter of time. these new ideas will be here sooner than you think, and we will sit back and all laugh at dcc and kaydee and trains that can't be uncoupled at the touch of a button anywhere on the track and super bendable track that comes in rolls of 50 feet that simply sticks to where you put it, just remember how long it took to design, build and fly the B-24 Liberator bomber which I think was the largest amount of a particular aircraft made in the 2 WW.

[rghammill]

I was talking to Andy Reichert at Proto:87 Store because I'm seriously considering these myself. I was most concerned about uncoupling close-coupled passenger cars with diaphragms.

He said it can be a bit more difficult, but can be accomplished by attaching a wire to the end of the uncoupling wand so you can slide it under the diaphragm. But he also said that somebody else was going to try running a small piece of metal down the inside of the car and under the diaphragm so that it can't be seen, and all you'd need to do is to use the uncoupling wand on the roof of the car. So when I get to that point, I think I may try that as well.

Either way, I have never liked the pin under the couplers, and this looks so much better. I only have a few cars and locomotives so far, so it won't be a huge deal to convert for me. I have a few other projects that I'll finish first, but this will be coming soon.

Also, for those who do have a lot of cars that you'd have to convert, you can always make a couple of transition cars with these on one end and Kadee-compatible on the other end.

Randy

[rghammill]

I ordered an assembled set of 5. They look and operate fantastically.

The appearance is great, and they couple very tightly. I ordered one of their uncoupling wands as well and it is very easy to use. You can hear the bearing slightly as it's pulled up, but if you want to be sure it's uncoupled you can push the car just a smidge with the wand.

Coupling requires that you make sure at least one of the couplers is open. There is a small wire at one end of the wand to allow you to open it if you need to. They must be lined up pretty closely to work, but occasionally I don't get a complete couple because the locomotive is moving so slowly. So I use the wand to move the couplers side to side just a touch to make sure they are coupled.

Otherwise, no problems. Since the assembled package comes with 5 couplers, I have one car with the Sergent on one end, and a McHenry on the other so I can use my other cars until I convert them (which won't take long, I have less than 20 right now). The next batch of couplers I order will go on a Branchline and Walthers heavyweights to see how they are on the passenger cars.

You can also push the uncoupled cars (I hate the term "delayed action" - nothing's delayed, they're uncoupled and you're pushing the cars). You can move the coupler's off-center, since they don't use automatic centering springs, or you can close both couplers so they can't couple again until you open one up. Either way, you can push the cars to where you'd like once you uncouple them.

They come with mini springs that go inside the coupler and press against the post for some friction so they don't move side-to-side as easily. I only had to use the spring in one coupler box, the others were tight enough that it wasn't necessary.

The only other thing you have to be careful about is to make sure you don't install them upside down. I didn't, but it's not obvious which end is up without the trip pin underneath. If you do install them upside down they won't couple because the internal bearing will always be in the open position.

Highly recommended unless you absolutely must have automatic uncoupling on your layout. Even then I'd recommend getting a set and trying them out, you may just change your mind.

Randy