Hook up the tender

[Anonymous]

Hi guys, I would like to know what kind of coupling device was (used on the real train) to hook up a tender to the steam engine. thanks, Jamie

[Anonymous]

Steam locomotives were connected to their tenders with solid drawbars generally nearly four feet in length with a hole at either end. Often a second drawbar with slightly slotted holes at both ends and refered to as safety bars. A drawbar pin of 4.5 to 6 inches or more in diameter was inserted from below and held in place with a retainer plate. A spring loaded buffer and chaffing plate were located just above the drawbar.

[Anonymous]

Gregg, thanks a lot for the info. It was done just like the model trains. But what about the pictures I've seen were and engine is pulling an extra tender. Are they able to disconect from the one on the road and rehook to the other? Jamie

[Anonymous]

The drawbar connection was considered semi-permanent. The engine and tender were only separated for shopping purposes as the engine and tender usually went to different areas to be worked on. Auxiliary tenders, as they were called were strictly for carring additional water, so there would be no reason to swap positions. There were many connections between the engine and tender including water, air, steam and fuel oil. Coal fired engines had a stoker auger centered above the chaffing plate. Separating the two was not a simple matter and required shop personel to do the work. Steam locomotives used a lot more water than fuel over the road, so these auxiliary tenders were used to reduce the number of stops for water during the trip. The connection between tenders could be either another drawbar connection, or more frequently a standard coupler with the cut lever blocked or disconnected to prevent unintentional seperation. Safety chains were often used as well. Some RRs assigned separate number series to these tenders, others carried the number of the road engine they were assigned to. Santa Fe, Chicago Great Western, Missouri Pacific and M-K-T were among the users of these auxiliary cars. Hope this gives you a better insight on these cars.

[Anonymous]

Greg, thanks again for the additional info. Not being able to see to many of these beauties up close if at all, often leaves me with many questions. Thnks again for answering mine. Jamie