05-13-2011, 09:49 AM
If you haven't started using Kadees, yet, the only reason to use #5's over the "scale size" #158's is if you have any dips or humps in your track that would cause uncoupling. I'm planning to try out the Sergent Engineering scale couplers on my home layout, but I also belong to a modular club, and can tell you from over 20 years experience with that club, that no matter how much time we take with alignment in the set up, we still end up with "fussy" dips and humps between modules that make using the #158 Kadees on the modular layout an almost guarranteed problem. I have never seen any "kadee knock off" with the plastic "leaf" type knuckle spring work reliably. The McHenry couplers found on Athearn are fine for very short trains, but with more than 8 or 10 cars in a train, those McHenrys will start causing nuisance uncoupling! On the other hand, I've seen Kadee #5's handle 80-100 car trains in ho scale on the modular layout without any problems!