The absence of NEM coupler sockets on Hornby's new Seacow is as perplexing as it is annoying. My intention was to fit the excellent Roco close-couplers within a rake of these vehicles, and finish off with a Kadee at either end. Unfortunately, what should have been a fifteen minute plug'n'play job for a whole rake has suddenly become very difficult, arguably impossible and certainly not worth the effort.
There are many ways to provide a NEM socket on a model, as a study of different products will show. Ideally, to perform to it's full potential, the Roco close-coupler needs a NEM socket that's able to pivot and extend on curves, indeed Hornby's previous Gresley coaches had this feature. NEM sockets can also be fitted directly to the chassis (Bachmann 16 tonners) or the bogies (Bachmann JGA) where space or other factors dictate. Hornby has implemented none of these on the Seacow.
Space is a little tight on the Seacow, admittedly, but have a look at Bachmann's JGA to see one way of tackling this. There's a millimeter or so extra to play with on the JGA, but more than that has been wasted on the plastic moulding behind the NEM socket. Hold a Kadee Number 18 under the Seacow and you can see it will fit without the coupler's tail fouling the outermost axles.
Having given up on the NEM idea, my next thought was to fit Smiths Instanters, but this isn't an easy option either - the springing for the buffers runs the whole width of the wagon. Sprung buffers are nice-to-haves, rather than life-or-death features, so I'll probably go with the Instanters and discard the springing or even replace the rather under-nourished buffers completely. There are any number of possible work-arounds and I'll think on it for a while, but in the short term the inability to easily run these wagons with anything other than tension-locks is a definite problem. I've got a big enough 'to-do' pile without adding more to it.
Be careful when flipping these models onto their backs, by the way, as the wealth of fine detailing is worth looking after. My sample is resting on one of the ever-useful Lenz decoder boxes.
On the other hand, Bachmann's 'Mucky Duck' has the required NEM sockets at either end, and at pretty much the correct height too - give or take a little bit of slop.
Ironically, I don't want to fit NEM compatible couplers to my Ivatt, as screw couplings will suit my needs better with this particular loco. But that's how it's supposed to be - the choice should be the customer's and the manufacturer's job is to facilitate this. So ten out of ten to Bachmann in this instance, and a big fat zero for Hornby.
Currently On My Stereo: Fish - Raingods With Zippos