The SAL B7 boxcar patterns will be ordered this week following last-minute design tweaking (more details added). This project incorporates new items that will be spun off as detail parts sold separately in my product line.
There has been a lot of discussion over the years about excessive slack action in Kadee's 802 coupler. Some modelers don't mind, others hate it. Following several months of discussion and exchanging design ideas with John Degnan (he's the "inspiration" to this new product), I'm pleased to announce that the basics of his idea will soon become a reality in the form of a coupler box that incorporates a Phosphor Bronze spring and the 802 coupler . with NO slack action! The design is done, reviews are wrapping up and preliminary patterns will be ordered with the B7 parts later this week. The SLAs will be copied in urethane and testing started soon after. At present, the spring design remains to be finalized but testing will provide suitable information to make a production decision. At that time, additional patterns will be purchased for use as production "masters" and the draft gear set will be available as a kit with and without 802 couplers for modelers wanting to upgrade without having to purchase extra couplers. BTW, the coupler box/lid combo has the same screw boss spacing as the Kadee box so simply swapping old Kadee boxes with my design is easy. No new holes to drill or old holes to plug! Here's the link to proposed draft gear set (minor changes are likely but these images provide the general idea): http://www.smokymountainmodelworks.com/S_detail_parts.html Jim King President, Smoky Mountain Model Works, Inc. Ph. (828) 777-5619 www.smokymountainmodelworks.com Trainmaster, Craggy Mountain Line RR www.craggymountainline.com
