Whiskers: They're not just for cat's anymore.


GatorDave

GatorDave

Railroading Fan~Gator Fan
While at the LHS yesterday, I purchased a pack of the new "whisker" couplers
from Kadee. I love 'em. They center every time and do it smoothly. They also
don't seem to stick to one side like the brass centering springs on the #5's
do sometimes.

I installed them on an P2K E7 that I bought while I was there(yea, I really
needed another E unit;) ). They dropped right in, without the extra step of
trying to hold the centering spring in place. These seem to be a big improvement
over the other Kadee's... but only time will tell. Good Luck, Dave
 
Very interesting Dave, thanx for sharing it!

My only concern is the long-term durability of the thin metal whiskers. Will they have a tendency to break off, or 'relax'...?
 
Hi Dave and thanks. They do look like an improvement over even the springs in the Kadee 30 series couplers. Hopefully they'll be available in long shank also. Thanks for including the link.
Cheers
Willis
 
SpaceMouse said:
Oh great, I just bout a whole crapload of the old #5's.
Click to expand...

Ya could give them to me... ;)

Thanks for the info, Dave. We'll give them a try when I run across some.
 
Somebody on another list wondered if those wire whiskers will eventually wear a gouge inside the coupler pocket, which could cause the centering motion to hang up. Nobody has had any long-term experiences with them so there was no real reply.

Maybe if you're the type to run trains a lot, perhaps you could monitor that and report back....

:D

Kennedy
 
Hey Guys,
When I first saw a picture of the whiskers I thought they looked
flemsy, but after seeing them "in person" they are pretty durable.

Unlike the plastic whiskers on some couplers, these are made of a
strong metal. I didn't try real hard, but they seemed to withstand
a lot without bending... almost like music wire does.

They came in a four pack, so I'm going to equip another car with them
and see how they hold up to the wear and tear.

Kennedy,
I don't think that them wearing a gouge in the pocket will be a problem.
There just isn't that much tension on the whiskers... that's what I like
about them. They move very freely from side to side, but also stay
centered. Like I said though, time will tell. For now anyway, they seem
to be the cat's meow...uh.. whiskers, I mean.:D Dave
 
Dave
I just installed six sets of the 148's on some rolling stock. Haven't really had a chance to run trains much lately but I agree they do look solid. I think they will outlast the little brass centering doo hicky on the regular Kadee's. I find I have to go in and bend the little guy everyonce in a while. Only time will tell but I figure I will start going with the 148's from this point on. One less part to fumble.
Terry
 
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