J39

[Silver Fox 17]

[Too Tall]

Oh, I didn't realise they did the tender too !

All the pics on the website ony show the locos, so I assumed you would have to source a tender.

You are certainly cracking on, and she is looking good thumbsup

[Too Tall]

Looks to be running sweet thumbsup

[D9020 Nimbus]

The problem with the couplings, I expect, is due to their being close couplings. The idea is that they lock rigidly together, and the "kinematic" mechanism moves the vehicles further apart on a curve. Without such a mechanism they will cause derailments.

Most of the NEM coupling boxes are intended to be used with such an arrangement, but in other scales the standard couplings — tension lock, NEM 360 (hook/loop), and the Arnold coupling in N gauge, don't lock rigidly together. As a result many OO and N gauge British models don't have the kinematic mechanism.

In OO/HO you can (or could) get adaptors to provide such a mechanism. I don’t know whether there is anything for N gauge (the TT and N gauge NEM boxes are the same).

Kadee don't do N or TT couplings. N gauge are done by Micro-Trains; once part of Kadee but the twin brothers who ran the company fell out and went separate ways.

Your best bet might be the Dapol "easi-shunt" couplings. They will fit in a N or TT gauge NEM box, and there is a conversion kit for non-NEM fitted stock. This doesn't provide a kinematic mechanism however. It's available in different lengths — you'll need a trial and error approach to find which length is needed in each case. But they aren't cheap.

[D9020 Nimbus]

I'm not sure that the hook can drop out — unless you know different — but replacement couplings are supplied in kit form, and the hook is very thin; I can just about pick it up and assemble one of the couplings but my tweezers can't hold it.

There aren't many alternatives to Dapol anyway; the standard N gauge couplings aren't easy to shunt with, and as for the 009 couplings that also fit the pocket, it's worth noting that one of the largest 009 layouts — Ted Polet's Craigcorrie and Dunalastair — uses N gauge couplings…

[D9020 Nimbus]

What I meant was, if the coupling is in its mount, the hook can't come loose. But if you remove it then it can and will.

It's worth pointing out that Dapol easi-shunt couplings can lose their springs.