Replacement for the loops in LGB couplers... has anyone tried them?

beavercreek

beavercreek

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TrainLi are distributing a modified replacement for the loop in the LGB's (and others') Hook 'n' Loop coupler. It is manufactured in Germany and available from: MDS-Muller 21000X S-KuPLiX 10 Stck.
Not only is it smaller in width, it can also shorten the distance between cars if the coupler shaft is shortened.
'Normal' style hook and loops can foul the underside of some rolling stock if the shaft is shortened to achieve the same effect.

Has anyone used these 'new style' loops yet?

I wonder if they have the strength of the 'normal' loops and also resist 'concertining' of rolling stock when navigating going down a heavy incline.

They look interesting but at about £6 perhaps expensive to kit out a whole train, let alone all the rolling stock that you may have if they are not compatible with the 'older style' hook 'n' loops.

As far as US outline is concerned they are obviously not prototypical but not sure about European stock..

S-Kuplix-new-coupler-for-LGB-2-pcs.jpg
 
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They are a German product, Train-Li is just a US dealer that stocks them..... bought from sources in Germany they are very much cheaper, around 11-12 Euro for a pack of ten.

Jon.
 
Yeah, they have been out a while... look nicer, not such a wide "capture angle" as the traditional h&l..

Note thread from December 9 on this forum about these couplers: S kuplix - G Scale Central

Interesting, someone in the UK ordering German products from an American dealer? (I buy from Train-Li, they are in Nevada, good folks)

Greg
 
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I have amended the original post with the correct information, the fact that they are not 'new to the market', are German in manufacture and also where they can be purchased in Europe.
We have also had one poster (Henri) who has given us his thoughts on using them, with a positive review.

I was wondering if they could resit 'over-riding' when a heavy train is coming down a heavy incline.
Hook and loops are pretty good at resisiting the 'over-riding' but not as good as good knuckle couplers in this regard (although knuckles can lead to concertining of the situation is really bad)
 
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Cool, and just fyi, Train-Li appears to have introduced them to the US market in 2012: short coupling with Hook & Loop - myLargescale.com > Community > Forums

But, your question interests me, and funny most pictures only show the part without the hook...

mds-muller21001-bi-01.85.jpg


I can only hazard a guess, but the flat buffer end would seem to support the theory that there would be less or no overriding as long as they were truck mount and the trucks had good articulation.

Body mounts might be more problematic, with longer cars especially.

But overall it would make sense they would be more override-resistant. I can't really find discussions comparing the two.

Greg
 
I bought some but they are not a screw-in replacement on my small cars. Took a lot of fiddling so I gave up - couldn't be bothered to fiddle on 2 ends of 7 cars.
 
  • I bought some from Grootspoor some time ago and they came without the hook. I initially used them on one end of some AMS Short Flat Cars so I could run them with my LGB Field locos. Also used them on some other AMS Iron Mountain Coal Cars. Very pleased with result, a small self tapping screw is used, the small half round bit provided in the middle of the loop [see the Train-Li pic in beavercreek’s post] as packing and a small dab of silicone sealant to stop things moving around.
I am also experimenting with them on some two axle LGB cars rather than fixing the turntable to stop it moving in the hope that the smaller loops will ‘self centre’ a bit better and reduce the drag these cars seem to have.

Hope the pics show up ok, my temporary track in on the deck outside my bedroom, working slowly on the one in the garden below.....

D2289E36-3BD8-45EA-AFE2-60FB457B5148.jpeg174BF818-B100-46CC-A35F-E90067E98F07.jpeg
 
My thoughts are to get some for use on just Locomotives in the hope that the front view will be made a little better to look at. As I do not use hooks on Locs this should work just fine.
 
This is exactly the reason why I will try to replace the so called "bottle-opener" with s-kuplix. on rolling stock ist fairly easy, on non-lgb locos it's a bit more challenging...
The buffer beam has nearly the same with as the s-kuplix Loop

1535270371661.png

OK - not an engineering marvel - but it works as long as the superglue holds everything together. The challenge was the clearance between the coach hook and cow catcher
1535270468049.png

The Gartenbahn Profi Magazine shared a pdf that explains how s-kuplix works even on reverse R1 radii.
It also explains where to shorten the holder to reduce the distance between coaches.
http://www.gartenbahnprofi.de/16128/GB_0212_S026-029_screen.pdf
 
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65 1057 said:
This is exactly the reason why I will try to replace the so called "bottle-opener" with s-kuplix. on rolling stock ist fairly easy, on non-lgb locos it's a bit more challenging...
The buffer beam has nearly the same with as the s-kuplix Loop

View attachment 242442

OK - not an engineering marvel - but it works as long as the superglue holds everything together. The challenge was the clearance between the coach hook and cow catcher
View attachment 242443

The Gartenbahn Profi Magazine shared a pdf that explains how s-kuplix works even on reverse R1 radii.
It also explains where to shorten the holder to reduce the distance between coaches.
http://www.gartenbahnprofi.de/16128/GB_0212_S026-029_screen.pdf
Click to expand...
I would have thought that a small BA Screw with Nut would secure the job forever? Looks etirely possible to me. If height not perfect washers could drop things down a little or file some meat off the top if too low. Some circumstances require just more than ummygummy sticky stuff!
 
They look very nice. At this point, I have too many cars and locomotives to change to them, but I can see that they would be a good choice for a conversion if someone wanted to.
 
I have just ordered 3 x 10 packs of black and one of grey from Grootspoor, should keep me busy for a while. Postage and the current exchange rate makes them a tad expensive but no one ‘down under’ seems to stock them.

I find that the hole moulded in them to accept the small round locating piece on the LGB coupler pocket needs to be slightly enlarged before it will fit. Any clues/suggestions here from other users?

As you might be aware that they come without hooks [you use the ones you have] but as some pictures show them complete this made me initially unsure what you actually received in the pack.
Michael van Hoof from Gspr kindly set me straight.

As an slight aside I seem to remember in another post, which I can’t locate at present [I am travelling and have limited access], with a reference to a similar commercial product but made of brass or steel. Can any one help. Please?

Cheers,

Monty
 
Monty said:
I have just ordered 3 x 10 packs of black and one of grey from Grootspoor, should keep me busy for a while. Postage and the current exchange rate makes them a tad expensive but no one ‘down under’ seems to stock them.

I find that the hole moulded in them to accept the small round locating piece on the LGB coupler pocket needs to be slightly enlarged before it will fit. Any clues/suggestions here from other users?

As you might be aware that they come without hooks [you use the ones you have] but as some pictures show them complete this made me initially unsure what you actually received in the pack.
Michael van Hoof from Gspr kindly set me straight.

As an slight aside I seem to remember in another post, which I can’t locate at present [I am travelling and have limited access], with a reference to a similar commercial product but made of brass or steel. Can any one help. Please?

Cheers,

Monty
Click to expand...
I have in the past mentioned Brass Coupling Loops that I got with varying Live Steam Locomotives, I have a set on my Jack. Not sure where they came from possibly Roundhouse or perhaps Merlin (Merlin ceased trading some time back). There were also White Metal ones produced by Brandbtpright and I believe that the new owners have reintroduced them. These are a flat screw fix to a buffer beam so cannot be considered an LGB replacement as such, but are very useful for making Live Steam Cenrptre Buffer fitted Locomotives LGB Compatible. Both of the above mentioned are not any smaler than conventional LGB Couplers.
 
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