If you've ever tried to mount a Kadee coupler on the front of a steam locomotive, or on the rear of an F-unit, or in any of a number of other tight spots, you know it's sometimes impossible to fit the coupler and box in there and keep something close to a prototypical coupling distance.  Usually, that means the coupler sticks out too far, or you have to resort to drastic measures like cutting off the rear of the coupler shank and drilling a new hole in the remaining shank stub.

But maybe there's a better way?

I was looking at the Kadee web site today, and I noticed the NEM couplers.  I've never bothered to look at them, since I don't run any European equipment which might need such a coupler.  But look closely...

I see a Kadee coupler head with a VERY short shank, mounted to the NEM adaptor via a (metal?) pin, and centered with a bit of spring wire.  I'll bet you could modify that adaptor (or simply build your own) to fit in all sorts of super-tight spots.  Coupler swing would be very limited, but I'm thinking you'd get enough to make it work in most cases.  The worst case scenario would be two such couplers coupled together (such as between F units) trying to go through an S-curve.  It might take a little experimenting to figure out what the practical limits are.

Is this another hair-brained idea, or could this actually work in some cases?