Standard coupling evolution

WARNING : Page only half complete!

I have had no problems with the Arnold Rapido coupling that has been with N since the start.  It works, it takes up little space (at least in Europe) and is simple and hardly noticeable in N scale.  True it looks totally unlike a real coupling but I really don't care, what I get upset about is coupling distance.  If the coupling distance is near to real life then you should hardly be able to see the coupling between coaches anyway! Over the years with new innovations such as KKK (Kinematisch Kurtze Kupplung = Kinematic Close Coupling, nothing more sinister!)  manufacturers have whittled down the gap and you can get damned close coupling even with Rapido (proof below...). If you want to reduce the distance further then Fleischmann make 'Profi' even closer couplings that still look quite unlike the real thing! (So did Roco but they are now discontinued.)

I have few Fleischmann or Arnold coaches so I've focused on Minitrix and Roco since at least I have pairs of everything!  A pair of Fleischmann Profi 9545 couplings were recently obtained to make a comparison, and help judge if a major investment in these expensive couplings would be worth it...

Where a comparison is made the Fleischmann couplings appear below the Rapidos.

Roco Wagons

These quite recent RCA (Rail Cargo Austria) Habbins (25285) wagons from ? have bogie mounted couplings and do look quite distant. At least no passengers are expected to jump the gap!  Minitrix are producing the same wagon in a new Alpine Transit set (15???) set this year and it will be interesting to make a direct comparison.

The very latest wagons such as these SNCF Shimms (25381) steel transporters narrow the gap nicely:

Minitrix Wagons

These Aral VTG 'knick-kesselwagen's (meaning that they dip in the middle) from a Minitrix start set () released in ???? show a very similar distance to the most recent Roco offering above: 

Roco Coaches

I don't really have much older rolling stock because having entered the hobby quite recently I'm part of the Flywheel Generation (i.e. What?! No flywheel...I'm not having that anywhere near my layout!) and once you're used to modern detail levels, close-coupling and the oft mentioned flywheels then there's no going back!  However I couldn't resist having some coaches from the age (epoch IV) when 'public transport orange' was all the rage on buses, trams and trains across Europe...and how could I know that Roco was soon to re-release them with closer couplings (again!)

Sadly the flush windows, crisp and tiny lettering and beautiful running properties of my Eurofimas below are even today (20 years later) rarely matched in UK outline N gauge - that's why I won't touch the stuff!  Compare these ÖBB Ampz's (027?A?) with Grafar Mark IIIs and get a shock:

The latest coaches (2006) such as these 'Liegewagen' Bcmz sleeper-cars (24384) have KKK, very detailed undersides and waft like a Rolls Royce on Peco Code 55 Finescale track:

Some of my favourite coaches of the ÖBB; Eurofimas in the red/grey livery of recent times (could you call it pencurrent livery?!) couple very nicely and look splendid with Profis.  I just can't get hold of enough of these Bmz coaches (24342):

It's fun to point out the mistakes of Fleischmann since it's hard to find any in the first place!  Their version of this coach has a completely red plastic interior which really looks ghastly, otherwise a fairly good model (8159??):

Minitrix Coaches

Well, what can I say other than...the best coaches I've ever photographed! With the Fleischmann couplings these SBB Bpm coaches (13709) appear to have a zero gap from all angles except those perpendicular. Although the gap is so small with Rapidos that it's not a priority for me to upgrade these coaches:

To be continued...