Railway Forum - No Buckeye.

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Just got back from a holiday in Austria, visiting the narrow gauge railways of the Tyrol which we really enjoyed. We also travelled on the standard main line ( Munich to Milan) i was amazed to find that our electric loco was fitted with a shackle and screw! on the draw bar, and not the safer buckeye coupler, does anyone know why they use this old fashioned haulage system? also i was amused when the driver lit up a fag in the cab, are our drivers allowed to smoke whilst driving?

Quote:

Originally Posted by keith morgan (Post 81170)

Hi Keith. Often buckeyes and shackles can be interchanged. It's possible that your loco had it on for a specific reason. I'd be surprised if they used shackles universally because as we all know, buckeyes are much less work. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith again

also i was amused when the driver lit up a fag in the cab, are our drivers allowed to smoke whilst driving?

If you mean on the mainline railway - absolutely not !: Tis the law of the land.

Quote:

Originally Posted by https://www.gov.uk/smoking-at-work-the-law

Smoking at work: the law

Smoking isn’t allowed in any enclosed workplace, public building or on public transport in the UK.

Penalty for smoking in the workplace
Workers can be fined up to £200, or up to £50 in Scotland.

The law doesn’t apply to e-cigarettes. Employers can decide if they can be used on their premises.

What businesses must do
Businesses must:

display ‘no smoking’ signs in all workplaces and vehicles - make sure people don’t smoke in enclosed work premises or shared vehicles

I didn't know the bit about E-cigarettes being OK. I saw an RPI instruct a passenger to stop using one on a train recently. I shall have a discrete word with him when I see him next and tell him he to look at the website mentioned above.

Hope this helps, BW

For standard gauge loco-hauled stock the screw coupler is still the standard throughout Europe except for Russia where a type of auto coupler is in use.
Changing to buckeyes or something similar has been considered over the years but because of the number of vehicles involved the cost would be far too great for very little gain. Screw couplers are perfectly suited to European train weights and in many respects can be more flexible.

Thanks for the info John, i didn't realise the screw shackle was the norm, but as i always say, "every day is a school day".

I remember a derailment on the GWML in the sixties due to track buckling. The buckeye couplers were credited with keeping the majority of coaches upright.

Quote:

Originally Posted by keith morgan (Post 81170)

You will find that nearly (if not all) locomotive hauled passenger stock in the UK are coupled up with a "screw coupling" between the loco and stock,the stock is usually fitted throughout by buckeyes.However there are several freight trains that use an automatic coupler between the loco and vehicles.