I was on an eastbound Empire Builder in December 1993 when the rear coach separated from the rest of the train.

The coach, a former ATSF Hi-level car, had been added to the train in Minneapolis after coming up from Chicago the night before on the westbound Builder.

It was a bitterly cold morning when the ground crew coupled the car onto the rest of the train, and everything was fine until between Winona and Red Wing, Minn. when the coach separated. The air brake system worked as it should have, and we came to a stop.

Apparently ice had formed in the coupler pocket of the coach during the night at the Minneapolis station, and when the ice melted from the friction caused by the moving train, the coupler pin, which had not fully engaged, came loose.

We were already about an hour late out of Minneapolis, and lost another hour for the train crew to re-couple the separated coach and walk the rest of the train to check every other coupler.