I’ve been quiet lately here. I have been working on stuff, just not writing much. I’ve recently received and started to install the New Protocraft Symington-Gould “E” Type couplers some of my freight car models.
Most of the instalations have been easy. As simple as changing out the Kadee couple and box with the new Protocraft coupler box. Some have needed a little trimming of the coupler box.
They operate well, stay closed when they need to and open when you pass the magnetic wand over the top. They look fantastic!
The second photo shows them connected to a car with the Kadee couplers still. They did connect and stay coupled in my simple tests on the work bench.
The biggest issue I see so far is one that the prototype also has. They have to be manually aligned to couple properly. On a small switching layout where everything is easy to see, that will just add another layer of realism. On a larger layout with staging tracks in remote places that could prove to be a problem.
Imagine backing into a staging yard with close overhead clearances. You have to pick up a string of cars on track three of six, all adjacent tracks filled with cars. You can barely fit a hand over the cars, let alone see over them. And your couplers need to be aligned, you can’t see to connect to the cars.
As pretty and well functioning as these new couplers are, they do present some problems that the current bench mark of the Kadee coupler does not.
The issue of their cost is also something to consider. At $59.95 for five par of couplers, that is $11.99 per car for those that didn’t do the math. I can hear some of the guys with 200 cars on a model railroad saying they would not spend to $2398 to change out all the cars on their railroad. But for the modeler with 40 cars, it would come in at $479.60. That is not bad at all.
The jury is out for me on these couplers, they do operate well and look great. What is holding me back right now is coupling in spaces with bad access to the cars. Kadee couplers just work better in those places. Maybe the real solution to coupling in remote inaccessible locations is to not have those layout issues in the first place.
