N-Possible Coupler Announcement (Nashville 2022)

[ednadolski]

For any Altoona attendees who might have an opportunity to purchase some of these:  would you please consider purchasing a few additional couplers to send to me?   (Full reimbursement for all costs, of course.)

Thanks!
Ed

[jagged ben]

Some of the couplers are weathered and don't come in that form (the rusty looking ones). But its a task easily accomplished, and the results speak for themselves, there is no photo trickery going on here. And they work every bit as good as they look.
Andrew

You're gonna give us a couple tips on this, right?  Tell me I can rust a whole bunch with a rattle can or something?  They look fantastic.

The couplers are making the rest of the model look fake.  When did we ever say that in N scale?  Heck, they look better than HO or O scale couplers.

[peteski]

It makes me sad, thinking of all the poor Micro-Trains couplers who are about to be out of a job. And that's just in my fleet.

I wouldn't worry much about Micro Trains.  I suspect that maybe 3% of N scale modelers (the serious ones looking for scale fidelity) will convert all or  most of their fleet to these couplers.   The remaining 97% (in US and worldwide) will stay quite satisfied with the status-quo (MTL and related clone couplers, and of course the old stalwart rapidos in the rest of the world).  To me these are sill niche couplers.  Majority of average model railroaders like their models ready-to-run.

I would love to be proven wrong, but I doubt it will happen. The only possibility I see of these having larger market penetration would be if model manufacturers of North American prototype models adopted them for their models, but I just don't see that happening anytime soon. Imagine average-Joe-modeler not being able to run his new locomotive with factory installed N-Possibles because rest of their fleet has MTL-type couplers.

BTW, I pulled that 3% number out of a hat. I have no idea how many serious N scale scale fidelity driven modelers are out there.  There are a lot here on TRW, but that isn't a true sample of N scalers out there.

[Dwight in Toronto]

Hope to meet more of you from here at Altoona!
Andrew

As a fellow resident of the greater Toronto area, I’m looking forward to meeting you at N Scale Weekend.  This will be my first time attending, and I’m anxious and excited to see your N-possible couplers first-hand. 

[robert3985]

Man, I haven't been this excited since FVM cracked the metal wheel sets in N.  Couplers are step 2.  (Turnouts are step 3)

Can't say it any better!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[jagged ben]

I wouldn't worry much about Micro TrainsRapido couplers.  I suspect that maybe 3% of N scale modelers (the serious ones looking for scale fidelity) will convert all or  most of their fleet to [Micro-Trains] couplers.   The remaining 97% (in US and worldwide) will stay quite satisfied with the status-quo (MTL and related clone couplers, and of course the old stalwart rapidos in the rest of the world).  To me [MTL] are sill niche couplers.  Majority of average model railroaders like their models ready-to-run.

I would love to be proven wrong, but I doubt it will happen. The only possibility I see of these having larger market penetration would be if model manufacturers of North American prototype models adopted them for their models, but I just don't see that happening anytime soon it being 1989 and the invention of Accumate and McHenry N scale couplers still several years in the future. Imagine average-Joe-modeler not being able to run his new locomotive with factory installed N-Possiblesrapidos because rest of their fleet has MTL-type couplers. (Wait a minute, what was my point?? People are actually doing that right now in 1989.)   

FIFY

Seriously I am old enough to remember when all but one manufacturer sold their models with Rapidos and most modelers who actually had layouts (as opposed to snap track on the floor) changed them all out to MTL.  I also remember the brief period when Atlas was shipping locomotives with both Accumates and replacement rapidos in the box.  Lo and behold, a few years later and at least in North America the rapido was gone on RTR models. 

I mean, time will tell, but let's not be naysayers. 

[peteski]

FIFY

Seriously I am old enough to remember when all but one manufacturer sold their models with Rapidos and most modelers who actually had layouts (as opposed to snap track on the floor) changed them all out to MTL.  I also remember the brief period when Atlas was shipping locomotives with both Accumates and replacement rapidos in the box.  Lo and behold, a few years later and at least in North America the rapido was gone on RTR models. 

I mean, time will tell, but let's not be naysayers.

Sure, I remember when Kato and Atlas locos had open pilots with truck-mounted rapido couplers (with MTL supplying pilot mounted coupler adapters) and later when Atlas supplied rapidos and Accumates with their locos.

Growing up in Poland in the '70s I remember that all N scale models had rapido couplers. They weren't even called "rapido" (since they were the only couplers), so they were just "couplers", and in the third decade of the 21st Century they are still being used in a large part of the world as a standard coupler.  Sorry if my worldly N scale couplers view is annoying. Just reporting the facts.

I also don't think I'm being a naysayer - just being realistic when I replied to jwaldo's post about the MTL couplers.  We will have to wait and see, but I think the death of the MTL (and even rapido) couplers is greatly exaggerated.   And you know me - I sometimes end up stirring things up by providing an alternative view.

[OldEastRR]

Well, maybe newcomers to N will start right off with their beginning equipment and put these couplers on them, but how many guys with tons of MTL-equipped cars are going to switch them all out, at great cost and effort? Maybe young guys with lots of money and energy. I heard about one of them who dumped all his too-tall Kadee/MTL PS-1s and replaced them with Atlas PS-1s when they came came out. Wow. I just did some trimming of the MTL bodies so they were the correct height, that's all.
I'm sure sooner or later somebody here will report they've switched everything to these new couplers on hundreds of cars and engines. Will  anybody replace the couplers on Kato cars? We'll see.
Me? Hell, I haven't even replaced all my pizza-cutter wheels yet. And I've got less than 150 of everything, freight, passenger, locos.

 These DO mate with MTL, right?

[dandopinski]

Very excited about this. Another obstacle to fine scale modelling has been breached.   

[PRRS]

Congratulations on what looks like quite an impressive coupler...and...perhaps dethroning a dominant design that has been around for at least the past 40+ years. 

I will definitely get some of these when they are available.

Question:  Could these be adapted for HOn3/HOn30 use or are they too small?

[garethashenden]

FIFY

Seriously I am old enough to remember when all but one manufacturer sold their models with Rapidos and most modelers who actually had layouts (as opposed to snap track on the floor) changed them all out to MTL.  I also remember the brief period when Atlas was shipping locomotives with both Accumates and replacement rapidos in the box.  Lo and behold, a few years later and at least in North America the rapido was gone on RTR models. 

I mean, time will tell, but let's not be naysayers.

We didn’t start seeing other knuckle couplers on rtr models until after the Micro-Trains patents had expired. Then suddenly there was a flood of compatible couplers. So we’ve got 20 years to wait for that to happen with these ones.

[Englewood]

I'd like to try these new couplers, but as far as converting the fleet, I don't ever see that happening. I'm still at about 60% of changing over to metal wheels, and even have a dozen or so cars with the old Rapido couplers that still need converting. Then there's decoders....

[robert3985]

Sooo...what does "age" have to do with switching to a scale-sized, prototype-looking coupler??  Or, changing out pizza-cutter wheelsets to low-pros??  I'm 75 and the only cars I have that still run on pizza-cutters are my Masonite Track Cleaning Cars.

I started changing all of my engines and cars to Kadee N-scale couplers in the mid-1970's, not giving a rat's a$$ about compatibility with Rapido equipped cars, just using transition cars until all the Rapidos were in my garbage can.

THEN, in the 90's I started changing everything to MTL Z-scale couplers, with about half of all my engines and cars being equipped with them now.

THEN, when MTL came out with their True Scale Couplers, I started changing a few of them...but wasn't as enthusiastic about them because of their obvious design flaws...until modifications to them (along with 3D printed coupler pockets) were offered here.

But, I wasn't happy with the total lack of improvement in function or looks that the True Scale Couplers got from MTL...so I haven't been as enthusiastic about changing them out as I was with either the Kadee N-scale couplers or the MTL Z-scale couplers.

HOWEVER, I am highly impressed with the appearance of the N-Possible Couplers along with the efforts to make them easily compatible with both available coupler pockets or replacing coupler pockets with a more prototype-looking version.  When I get some to test, and they live up to the claims as far as ease of coupling, and other operational positives, I'm all-in, and conversions will start immediately!

And, once again, I don't give half-a-damn if they're compatible with any other N-scale coupler because I'm even more enthusiastic about these than I was in the mid-70's when I started changing from Rapidos to Kadees!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[jagged ben]

I heard a rumor they may actually couple to MT.  In which case I will be quite motivated to make these my go to replacements for Accumates, McHenrys, and Scale trains.  Not to mention locomotives. 

Time will tell.  Still super excited, and fingers crossed they work as well as advertised once put through the tribulations of the grades and curves on the club layout. 

[GaryHinshaw]

I was able to test some pre-production samples of these on my layout a year or so ago (thanks Andrew!) and they performed very well, so I am not too concerned about reliability. 

My main concern is compatibility: I have a large operable fleet (400+ cars on the layout, with plenty more offline) and I don't want to have two fleets in play.  If these production samples are as easy to retrofit as advertised, then it should be possible to do an initial round of bulk conversions right away.  If they're not.... "¯\_(ツ)_/¯".

I'm also a bit concerned that this is a one-man operation, but Andrew seems to have the chops and drive to pull it off.  It's then on us to step up so they remain viable.  I'm definitely committed to trying.