The Accumate Proto:HO's. They look more like the prototype than the Kadee 58's which really look like nothing found in nature. They give a better looking coupler and couple better than the KD's. Absolutely, under the right circumstances. On a portable, modular layout, where every four feet is a disaster in waiting........,not always. Vertical changes in track, must be kept to a very definite minimum, and grade changes must have easements, especially where longer cars ( passenger, autoracks, 80+' flatcars, etc.) are used. The problems are more evident in longer trains.
There is no
one coupler to use
everywhere. The choice has to include appearance, sensitivity to grade/height change, lengths, and weights of trains. For the kinds of trains I run, in the environments I run in, Kadee #5 couplers work best. I do, however, have rolling stock that run with Kadee #58's, and can see the benefit of changing these to Accumate proto, for appearance. In these cases, I would clip the magnetic pins, because air hoses are already installed, and I usually iuse a manual uncoupling tool.
yeh, i'll see how a few go, i'll prolly buy a few of each brand
That's a good idea! It's a bit of work, but,trying each type, in a train of like couplers, would be a good way to determine which works best for your specific application. I don't have a problem with having two different coupler types, one for reliable operation, and one for photo purposes, if one or the other doesn't provide consistant service.