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Re: Replacing a busted knuckle, conductors task ?
Author: SBN
Date: 03-09-2019 - 19:10
Well, one thing you won't have is a loop of train order string if you are going to do it by yourself. (We are not talking about safety rules here, just the knuckle)
Before radios, the brakeman, (now a conductor) would walk back to the break. When he would find it, he would shut the angle cock on the head section after cleaning out the draw bar pocket. When the hoghead saw the air coming up, he would toss out a few fusees and a knuckle and start moving away from the break. When this happened, the man at the break would toss out a few fusees to mark the place so when he shoved back it would mark the area. The "rear man" would keep an eye out for the fusee and when it got close,(to where the knuckle was tossed) he would open the angle cock "carefully" and the engineer would see that in the cab. He would stop the head end. He would give it 5 minutes (to load the knuckle, etc.) and then start back. If the brakeman wasn't ready, he would open the angle cock. When everything was ready they would shove back, taking it easy.
Now, the head end was looking for the fusees and when they saw them they would slow to a crawl and watch the air pipe. The man on the shove would do the same. When it was close enough, the brakeman would open the cock and stop the train so there was enough room to work. The trainman would put the knuckle in, ...... you thought I would forget about the train order string..., The only trouble then there wasn't a second person to hold up the cutting lever while the brakeman lined everything up and dropped the pin. The brakeman would then close the angle cock. The head end would see the air coming up and start to shove back at a crawl. They could feel the head section come to a stop. Then they would wait a second and let the head end roll out a bit and see if the joint made. If it didn't, try it again.
Usually it only took the one shove. The reason for the TO string was when you moved towards the head end, the string would break and let the pin fall in the proper place.If there was a second person at the joint, they would hold the cutting lever up with a flag stick. (I helped on two of these but I was a fireman. But that is how we learned from those old heads.
Those old rails could come up with all kinds of tricks to get over the road. Now, with a radio its easy.
SBN
Before radios, the brakeman, (now a conductor) would walk back to the break. When he would find it, he would shut the angle cock on the head section after cleaning out the draw bar pocket. When the hoghead saw the air coming up, he would toss out a few fusees and a knuckle and start moving away from the break. When this happened, the man at the break would toss out a few fusees to mark the place so when he shoved back it would mark the area. The "rear man" would keep an eye out for the fusee and when it got close,(to where the knuckle was tossed) he would open the angle cock "carefully" and the engineer would see that in the cab. He would stop the head end. He would give it 5 minutes (to load the knuckle, etc.) and then start back. If the brakeman wasn't ready, he would open the angle cock. When everything was ready they would shove back, taking it easy.
Now, the head end was looking for the fusees and when they saw them they would slow to a crawl and watch the air pipe. The man on the shove would do the same. When it was close enough, the brakeman would open the cock and stop the train so there was enough room to work. The trainman would put the knuckle in, ...... you thought I would forget about the train order string..., The only trouble then there wasn't a second person to hold up the cutting lever while the brakeman lined everything up and dropped the pin. The brakeman would then close the angle cock. The head end would see the air coming up and start to shove back at a crawl. They could feel the head section come to a stop. Then they would wait a second and let the head end roll out a bit and see if the joint made. If it didn't, try it again.
Usually it only took the one shove. The reason for the TO string was when you moved towards the head end, the string would break and let the pin fall in the proper place.If there was a second person at the joint, they would hold the cutting lever up with a flag stick. (I helped on two of these but I was a fireman. But that is how we learned from those old heads.
Those old rails could come up with all kinds of tricks to get over the road. Now, with a radio its easy.
SBN
