narrow knuckles

[jettrainfan]

look closely at the couplers... is it just me or are those knuckles?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSx10-oYd0w&feature=channel

[J3a-614]

Oh yes, those are knuckle couplers.  It's not too unusual for British and other modelers to use them, even when the prototype roads didn't, because they do work well.  After all, can you imagine working with little pieces of chain between the buffers ("link and buffers" couplings) in O, OO, HO, or smaller?  It's been done, but what you would be looking at would be the equivelent of using links and pins in O or HO scales for a model railroad set in the 19th century--awfully fiddly, as the Brits would say. 

What fascinates me, though, is both the modeling work that we see, (which, if I interpret things correctly, is essentially On30), and the idea that there is a chanel just for model railways!  I know it is probably an internet-only thing, but it still looks impressive, with apparently regular commentators and all, and is sponsored by a publication over there.  Can you imagine something like that here, perhaps sponsored by Kalmbach (yes, I know about "Tracks Ahead," but somehow this looks to be of somewhat higher caliber), and can you imagine it getting a decent audience?

[RAM]

Does any one know how many counties still use the link & Buffer system?