Link and pin coupling

When I first visited the Ferrocarril de El Salvador (FES) they were still largely a link and pin railroad, although some newer equipment had knuckle couplers. However, even the knuckle coupler equipped cars had split knuckles so that a link coupling could be made. The original engines only had links on their front end for coupling, although some newer engines from the Oahu Railway and IRCA were knuckle coupler equipped on both ends (again with the split knuckle). The linked picture shows rather graphically just how dangerous railroading was in the old days.



Link and pin coupling



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2008 08:07PM by John West.