"Old" S-scale Couplers
This article describes how I assembled the older version of Sergent Engineering's S-scale couplers. Frank Sergent has come out with a new design for the HO coupler, but so far has not indicated any interest in releasing the newer design in S-scale. We either have to use the newer HO-scale version or try to find the older version S-scale couplers. I was able to buy three from someone on the Yahoo S-scale group mailing list.
This first photo shows the parts for the three couplers. The two halves of the coupler body are shown on the right, and the coupler faces are in the top, left corner, along with the three metal balls and springs.
The first step is to install the metal ball in the bottom half of the coupler body.
Then the coupler face can be installed. There is a small hole in the coupler body into which the coupler face's rod is to be inserted. Position the coupler face as shown in the photo.
You can then carefully placed the top half of the coupler body on the assembly, again inserting the coupler face's rod into the hole of the upper half.
I then used superglue to glue the body halves together. I carefully held the coupler in one hand while applying a drop near the gap between the two body halves near the back. Capillary action takes over and glues them almost instantaneously. I made sure to keep the glue away from the coupler face and the area where the metal ball resides. These couplers work by lifting the metal ball in the body so that the coupler face can be moved. This is to be done with the Sergent magic wand, but can be simulated (to verify that the glue didn't go too far) by flipping the coupler over and opening the coupler face. The two positions are shown in the composite photo below.
I then proceeded to install one coupler on my test car. It currently has Kadee S-scale couplers installed. I removed the coupler from the car and removed the coupler from the draft box itself. The Sergent coupler fits perfectly. I didn't install the spring, because I didn't see the purpose of it in this application. I have since learned that the spring isn't intended to center the coupler (like the Kadee's do), but rather to provide slight resistance to movement. I will install them from now on.
The whole assembly fits perfectly inside the Kadee coupler box. If the screw is too tight, the coupler won't move freely, so I tightened it all the way and then backed off the screw by a quarter turn.
This photo shows the test car next to a S Helper Service coupler. I still need to cut off the protruding coupler face rod, but as you can see, the Sergent coupler is at the correct height and looks fantastic (I still need to paint and weather it, though).
Uncoupler "Wand"
The next photo shows the Sergent Engineering "Magnetic Uncoupler Wand". This is needed to raise the magnetic ball inside the coupler so that the coupler face is free to move and therefore uncouple. It works like a charm. By the way, ordering directly from Sergent Engineering is a breeze. I placed an order via their web site on Thursday and the package was in my mail box on Monday (which included Good Friday and Easter Sunday)!
New HO-scale Couplers
Frank has completely redesigned the old couplers with a new, and improved, design. Unfortunately, when he did that, he dropped the S-scale version of the coupler, focusing, instead, entirely on the HO-scale market. To see what the fuss is all about with regard to this new HO-scale coupler, I bought one package of the to-be-assembled HO couplers, part number EC87K. The materials in the package are shown in the next photo. It includes complete instructions for assembling, testing, and wearing in of the coupler, and enough parts for 6 couplers. I also ordered an extra package of springs and metal balls, just to be safe, which is identical to the plastic bag shown in the photo.
The next close-up photo shows the coupler parts. The parts are very realistically weathered to a rust brown. Once assembled, I don't think there is anything left to do to these couplers to make them look more authentic.
