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Uncoupling levers - How do they work

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  • Member since
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Posted by WSOR 3801 on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 1:19 AM
Not all locomotives have Top-operated couplers.  Our E-units have the pinlifter (uncoupling lever) on the bottom.  When using the uncoupling lever, it raises the toggle.  When making a joint, you look for the toggle ("pin") to drop.  By the rules, you should then stretch the joint to make sure it is good.

Mike WSOR engineer | HO scale since 1988 | Visit our club www.WCGandyDancers.com

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Posted by Robert on Monday, March 19, 2007 7:43 PM
el-capitan Laugh [(-D]Bow [bow]Laugh [(-D]
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Posted by route_rock on Monday, March 19, 2007 4:57 PM

Now thats funny

so lets lock it up on a happy note :D

 

Yes we are on time but this is yesterdays train

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Posted by dano99a on Sunday, March 18, 2007 8:33 PM
 el-capitan wrote:

Husband: Hey honey, could you pick me up some pencil lead for my mechanical pencil.

Wife:       You moron. It's not lead it is graphite. They haven't used lead in pencils in 50 years.

Husband: Well where I come from they call it lead.

Wife:      They do everything backwards where you come from.

Husband: I know 50 people that work at the pencil factory and they all call it lead.

Wife:      I found the copy of the patent and it clearly states that graphite is used instead of lead because of the health concerns.

Husband: It doesn't matter what it's made out of. IT'S STILL CALLED PENCIL LEAD!

Wife:      YOU ARE A MORON JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER!

Husband: WELL YOU COOK JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER!

 

Divorce paper have been filed.

 



LOL!!

DANO
C&O lives on!!!  
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Posted by el-capitan on Sunday, March 18, 2007 7:46 PM

Husband: Hey honey, could you pick me up some pencil lead for my mechanical pencil.

Wife:       You moron. It's not lead it is graphite. They haven't used lead in pencils in 50 years.

Husband: Well where I come from they call it lead.

Wife:      They do everything backwards where you come from.

Husband: I know 50 people that work at the pencil factory and they all call it lead.

Wife:      I found the copy of the patent and it clearly states that graphite is used instead of lead because of the health concerns.

Husband: It doesn't matter what it's made out of. IT'S STILL CALLED PENCIL LEAD!

Wife:      YOU ARE A MORON JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER!

Husband: WELL YOU COOK JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER!

 

Divorce paper have been filed.

 

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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, March 18, 2007 3:07 AM

"Pulling the pin" while it started with link & pin coulpers still applies today as every locomotive coupler has a top lock lifter. So when you operate the uncoupling lever it pulls the lock lifter part of the way up out of the coupler. The part of the lock lifter that raises up out of the top of the coupler while not round does looks like a pin.

The correct name for testing for cracks in a coupler is "Magnetic particle inspection" or as it is commonly called Magnafluxing after the Magnaflux company that pattened the procedure and equipment in the mid 1930's.

http://www.magnaflux.com/index.asp

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Posted by marknewton on Sunday, March 18, 2007 2:15 AM
 Robert wrote:

"NDT bloke to come in on Monday morning and crack test them."

 

Actualy he is probably going to flourescent penetrant inspect them but you got the point across even if the terminology was wrong.

Cheers

 

Laugh [(-D]



How is the terminology "wrong"? The couplers are tested for cracks, hence we use the term crack testing. What other terminology would you use?

And, actually, our NDT bloke uses mag particle flaw detection, not dye penetrant.

Mark.
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Posted by marknewton on Sunday, March 18, 2007 2:07 AM
G'day Crandell,

I'm glad to see you understand plain English!

The thread seems to have been over-run by smartarses who want to split hairs over semantics - because they have no substantive arguments to counter the facts that have been presented.

Cheers,

Mark.
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Posted by selector on Saturday, March 17, 2007 8:25 PM
Funny, I understood Mark perfectly.  We use "non-destructive testing" in the Canadian Armed Forces on aircraft components, on main armaments of the battle tanks, and on propellar shafts and blades in the Navy...among many other applications.  And, I always understood that they were looking for structural defects, cracks among them.
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Posted by Robert on Saturday, March 17, 2007 9:23 AM

"NDT bloke to come in on Monday morning and crack test them."

 

Actualy he is probably going to flourescent penetrant inspect them but you got the point across even if the terminology was wrong.

Cheers

 

Laugh [(-D]

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Posted by Eddie_walters on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 5:15 PM

So, really - this whole dispute is about nothing.

I think that everyone agrees that railroaders use the term "pulling the pin" in reference to uncoupling cars.

I think that everyone agrees that despite the wording of the above phrase (which apparently dates back to the days of link and pin couplers), that in a type E coupler the part is actually called a "lock", not a "pin", the pin being the pivot for the coupler.

So... what's the problem?

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Posted by TomDiehl on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 9:18 PM
 BigJim wrote:

Call the parts anything you like.

When you uncouple cars, it's still called "Pullin' the pin"! A term that can also be used when refering to "marking off".

And another railroader heard from, with the complete statement quoted.

Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to. Chief of Sanitation; Clowntown
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Posted by TomDiehl on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 9:17 PM
 marknewton wrote:
 TomDiehl wrote:
 nbrodar wrote:

"Pulling the pin" is slang for operating the cut lever.  It's a hold-over from the days of link and pin couplers.

Nick

It looks like a "real railroader in the US"would disagree with you.



Nice bit of selective quoting there, Dihl. Pity that you had to snip the bit that supports my position. But the full quote from Nick Brodar not only confirms my original point, but also mentions a component you claim doesn't exist in US couplers, which makes me wonder how much you actually know, as opposed to what you claim to know. Add the posts from 1435mm and jeffhergert, and it looks like 3 "real railroaders" in the US agree with me.

You laughably claim that you fix trains - next time you re-assemble a knuckle coupler, leave the lock and knuckle thrower out. See whether the lock lifter - the "pin" you are so enamoured of - keeps the knuckle closed, or opens it when "pulled".

plonk!

Actually, it supports my position if you can actually comprehend what you read. Regardless of whether you want to call it a lock or a pin that you pull with the uncoupling lever, it will still release the coupler knuckle to open.

You laughably claim you know what you're talking about when all you can quote is a diagram from the internet for your terminology. The only time it matters is when you're ordering parts, and yes, I do fix trains. If you'd care to read my profile you'd find I'm part of the crew restoring the K4 at Steamtown, and the restoration crew at the East Broad Top railroad, more experience than just a "driver." But with the comprehension skills you've displayed so far, that still probably wouldn't help.

Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to. Chief of Sanitation; Clowntown
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Posted by marknewton on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 6:51 AM
 TomDiehl wrote:
 nbrodar wrote:

"Pulling the pin" is slang for operating the cut lever.  It's a hold-over from the days of link and pin couplers.

Nick

It looks like a "real railroader in the US"would disagree with you.



Nice bit of selective quoting there, Dihl. Pity that you had to snip the bit that supports my position. But the full quote from Nick Brodar not only confirms my original point, but also mentions a component you claim doesn't exist in US couplers, which makes me wonder how much you actually know, as opposed to what you claim to know. Add the posts from 1435mm and jeffhergert, and it looks like 3 "real railroaders" in the US agree with me.

You laughably claim that you fix trains - next time you re-assemble a knuckle coupler, leave the lock and knuckle thrower out. See whether the lock lifter - the "pin" you are so enamoured of - keeps the knuckle closed, or opens it when "pulled".

plonk!
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Posted by BigJim on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 6:11 AM

Call the parts anything you like.

When you uncouple cars, it's still called "Pullin' the pin"! A term that can also be used when refering to "marking off".

.

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Posted by selector on Monday, March 12, 2007 2:18 PM

Okay, I'm calling both of you principals out. Mischief [:-,]

Any fool can tell that if you pull that long thingy that holds the two main knuckle parts together, you know, the one that allows the front curved part to swing open, the knuckle will fall apart.  It's like pulling the pin on a door hinge, for crying out loud!

(pauses for effect...) Whistling [:-^]

(umm, no one's laughing....) Sigh [sigh]

I guess you had to be there.

I wish you all a good day, gents.

-Crandell

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Posted by el-capitan on Monday, March 12, 2007 10:08 AM

I think that the point here is, the term "pulling the pin" has absolutely nothing to do with operating a knuckle coupler, it is just a slang term for uncoupling cars. It's just like the term "the whole nine yards" which refers to ammunition and going through an entire gun belt which happened to be 9 yards long (please don't argue origins of this, it's just what I heard). If I were to say that I went through the whole nine yards, I am not necessarily talking about ammo, I could be talking about how much milk I drank. This is not used as a literal phrase.

"Pulling the pin" is an american term still used today. However, it has not been a literal term since the days of the link and pin. When you pull the uncoupling lever you are not pulling a pin. The pin in a modern coupler is located in the knuckle and works as a hinge mechanism to allow the knuckle to pivot. It does not lock the knuckle in place.

And as for railroad employees calling it a pin, if they do, that really doesn't mean anything. Operators of equipment often do not know the technical terms for items they are using everyday. Just because a brakeman or many brakemen or all brakemen think that it is still a pin they are pulling, doesn't necessarily make it a pin.

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Posted by TomDiehl on Monday, March 12, 2007 9:48 AM
 nbrodar wrote:

"Pulling the pin" is slang for operating the cut lever.  It's a hold-over from the days of link and pin couplers.

Nick

It looks like a "real railroader in the US" would disagree with you.

Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to. Chief of Sanitation; Clowntown
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Posted by marknewton on Monday, March 12, 2007 9:35 AM
 TomDiehl wrote:

It's your obsession with stating that calling it a "pin" is wrong.
We could say this is an example of your sum total of knowledge of US terminology (from down under) used by
every day railroaders.



Poor old Tom, madly flogging a dead horse.

You demonstrated your ignorance of Australian usage with your earlier comment about "carriges". And you demonstrated your lack of comprehension with your repeated assertion that I wrote calling it a pin is wrong. I've never done that. What I've repeatedly written is that saying the "pin" keeps the knuckle closed is wrong - big difference for those capable of understanding it.

And for what it's worth, Australian train crew also use the phrase "pulling the pin" - have done for about fifty years. But those "down under" train crew know it isn't the "pin" that keeps the knuckle closed...

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Posted by marknewton on Monday, March 12, 2007 9:09 AM
 TomDiehl wrote:

The "pin" that seems to confuse Mark is the pivot pin for the knuckle.



Good grief! Where did you get that idiotic idea from? I never mentioned the knuckle pivot pin, since it is not relevant to the original question. When are you going to address the things I've actually written, instead of the things *you think* I'm confused about?

This is not the "pin" that US railroaders refer to when they "pull the pin." "



No, it isn't, but then no-one other than you claimed otherwise. I sense another strawman argument in the making.

Let's try one more time. When US railroaders talk of "pulling the pin", it's the lock lifter they are operating. It in turn operates the lock, WHICH IS WHAT KEEPS THE KNUCKLE CLOSED...
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Posted by TomDiehl on Monday, March 12, 2007 9:05 AM
 marknewton wrote:
 TomDiehl wrote:

Actually Tom does run and especially fix the real thing.



But not for a living...

Why this obsession with the phrase "pull the pin?" You've harped on this straw man argument now for three pages, when no-one, least of all me, ever disputed it? Or is this the sum total of your knowledge?

It's your obsession with stating that calling it a "pin" is wrong. We could say this is an example of your sum total of knowledge of US terminology (from down under) used by every day railroaders.

Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to. Chief of Sanitation; Clowntown
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Posted by marknewton on Monday, March 12, 2007 8:56 AM
 TomDiehl wrote:

Actually Tom does run and especially fix the real thing.



But not for a living...

Why this obsession with the phrase "pull the pin?" You've harped on this straw man argument now for three pages, when no-one, least of all me, ever disputed it? Or is this the sum total of your knowledge?
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Posted by TomDiehl on Monday, March 12, 2007 8:31 AM
 wjstix wrote:

Well OK let's take a hook here...the original question asked what uncoupler levers - a detail part commonly added to model freight cars - did. The first answer said that by pulling up the lever, you pulled a pin out of the coupler that opened the coupler. That is correct, but the way the answer was phrased, it did sound like they were saying the 'pin' was what held the coupler closed, rather than being the device that caused the coupler to open.

So the actual thing that holds the coupler closed is a "lock" that is activated by the pin to open it(??) Note that the cited patent application does refer to a "pin" being part of the coupler.

So we were basically talking about two different things. The pin is different from the lock, but both are part of the coupler.

 

The "pin" that seems to confuse Mark is the pivot pin for the knuckle. This is not the "pin" that US railroaders refer to when they "pull the pin." "Pin" in this case is a slang term that's a holdover from the old days.

Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to. Chief of Sanitation; Clowntown
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Posted by TomDiehl on Monday, March 12, 2007 8:27 AM
 marknewton wrote:
 Eddie_walters wrote:

Tom - Mark isn't disputing the venacular form used by railroaders. He's disputing what the part is actually called. The patent is by the inventor, so I'd say that is pretty authoritative.


So would I - but apparently Tom knows better than the rest of us, who only run, fix or build trains for a living. He seems unable, or incapable of understanding my original point - it is not the so-called "pin" that keeps the knuckle closed, it is the lock.

Cheers,

Mark.

Actually Tom does run and especially fix the real thing. The thing that Mark can't seem to grasp is the US slang term for uncoupling being "pull the pin." Whether some design engineer has another term for it is irrelevent, an operating railroader calling it the "pin" is not incorrect.

Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to. Chief of Sanitation; Clowntown
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Posted by wjstix on Monday, March 12, 2007 7:59 AM

Well OK let's take a look here...the original question asked what uncoupler levers - a detail part commonly added to model freight cars - did. The first answer said that by pulling up the lever, you pulled a pin out of the coupler that opened the coupler. That is correct, but the way the answer was phrased, it did sound like they were saying the 'pin' was what held the coupler closed, rather than being the device that caused the coupler to open.

So the actual thing that holds the coupler closed is a "lock" that is activated by the pin to open it(??) Note that the cited patent application does refer to a "pin" being part of the coupler.

So we were basically talking about two different things. The pin is different from the lock, but both are part of the coupler.

 

Stix
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Posted by marknewton on Monday, March 12, 2007 7:28 AM
 Eddie_walters wrote:

Tom - Mark isn't disputing the venacular form used by railroaders. He's disputing what the part is actually called. The patent is by the inventor, so I'd say that is pretty authoritative.


So would I - but apparently Tom knows better than the rest of us, who only run, fix or build trains for a living. He seems unable, or incapable of understanding my original point - it is not the so-called "pin" that keeps the knuckle closed, it is the lock.

Cheers,

Mark.
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Posted by TomDiehl on Sunday, March 11, 2007 8:35 PM

 marknewton wrote:
As I wrote earlier Tom, learn to read for comprehension. The only person having difficulty grasping the concept is you. The original question asked how the coupler functioned, not what the slang term for opening it was. But you still can't get it...

Since I'm not the only one to point that out to you, it seems the "comprehension" problem started with the writing.

Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to. Chief of Sanitation; Clowntown
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Posted by marknewton on Sunday, March 11, 2007 8:28 PM
As I wrote earlier Tom, learn to read for comprehension. The only person having difficulty grasping the concept is you. The original question asked how the coupler functioned, not what the slang term for opening it was. But you still can't get it...
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Posted by TomDiehl on Saturday, March 10, 2007 9:57 PM
 Eddie_walters wrote:

Tom - Mark isn't disputing the venacular form used by railroaders. He's disputing what the part is actually called. The patent is by the inventor, so I'd say that is pretty authoritative.

Actually, yes he is disputing that. Look at the first and second posts on the first page of this thread. User "jsoderq" posted the answer to the original question using the common terminology you'd find railroaders in the US use in everyday operations.

Mark answered him stating that "There is no "pin that keeps the knuckle closed". Pull a knuckle coupler apart and you'll find a lock, a lock lifter, and a knuckle thrower."

I was the first of several posters here to point out to Mark that "pin" is the common or slang terminology used in the US, probably dating back to the link-and-pin days. If you tell a railroader today to "pull the pin" he/she would know you want to uncouple cars, so logically they would refer to the part the uncoupling rod lifts in the coupler as a "pin." Obviously, he can't grasp this.

Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to. Chief of Sanitation; Clowntown

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