COUPLER IS SUBJECT OF TWO SAFETY PROJECTS

The freight car coupler's sphere of operation is one of almost constant violence. Couplers must take the brunt of crushing forces. But when something goes wrong, the strong coupler can damage other components. A key safety recommendation is that car couplers should be modified to prevent uncouplings in derailments. Both the Type F coupler, with a top shelf, and the Type E coupler, with top and bottom shelves, have the ability to reduce the probability of vertical separation. For better than two years, the Type F coupler has been required on new tank cars. It is felt the Type E coupler would not only do a better job of preventing punctures of tank cars, but would be more cost effective. Service testing of 200 car sets of the Type E coupler is now in progress. Plans call for an instrumented boxcar to be operated over 25,000 miles by more than eight railroads to produce a fair sampling of the railroad environment.

• Corporate Authors:

  Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation

  P.O. Box 350
  Bristol, CT  United States  06010
• Publication Date: 1973-2

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: p. 18-19
• Serial:
  • Railway Locomotives and Cars
  • Volume: 147
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Couplers; Crashes; Derailments; Hazardous materials; Safety; Tank cars
• Old TRIS Terms: Railroad coupler safety research and test project; Type e couplers; Type f couplers; Vertical separation control couplers
• Subject Areas: Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00044067
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Railway Locomotives and Cars
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 1 1976 12:00AM