JonMyrlennBailey
Active member
Does each different coupling system have advantages and disadvantages?
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Does each different coupling system have advantages and disadvantaged?
It's the same reason we adopted different track gauges - the six Australian states were originally seperate independent British colonies that had their own ways of doing things, which included coupler standards. As JCitron stated above, the early lines usually were originally planned and designed by British engineers who adpoted then contemporary British practices, including British style link-and-pin/chain couplers and double buffers. Only in later after Federation and the gradual shift in social attitude from 'Mother England' were other ideas (read: American) practices adopted, one of which was the adoption of automatic knuckle couplers (helped by the national track gauge 'Standardisation' project from the early/mid 60's onwards).
As well, the narrow gauge systems were even more varied: Queensland and Tasmania originally used the double buffers and chain link couplings like the standard gauge NSW and broad gauge SA and Victorian systems, while WA and the SA/Commonwealth narrow gauge networks used the distinctive Norwegian 'chopper' couplings. Again this is no longer really the case and auto knuckle couplers are pretty much standard on all systems with only older legacy or heritage equipment still retaining older couplings.
Another standard that was wildly different between state rail systems in Australia was braking systems: some states used the British vacuum braking system (Tasmania, Western Australia), and the others used the American Westinghouse air braking system. Only recently was air braking adopted as standard Australia wide. It's one of those weird quirks of a nation that was created from seperate colonies that never really fully saw eye to eye with each other prior to Federation. A lot of of it was just plain stubborness.
As it seems that you had your mind made up, and answered your own question, yourself deciding which one was safer, and better, why was the question posed the in the first place ?
Internationally, the controls in automobiles are pretty much universal. Clutch pedal on the left, gas pedal on the right, gear shift lever in the middle, steering wheel below eye level and so on. I just couldn't understand the international diversity in railway equipment. It sparked my curiosity enough to make a thread about it.
Let's not also forget that in the UK, they drive on the left side of the road, and the driver of a UK car sits in what's the passenger's seat in a US car.
They drive on the wrong side of the road in Jamaica following the English custom.
An acquaintance of mine is a carpenter, he runs a table saw a lot, the nickname we refer to him as: "Fingerless Bill", he is about as bright as a Box "O" Rocks, never uses a "pusher stick" around revolving table saw blades. I myself, got myself out of the RR, before I got seriously kilt' ! I have met many a 9 finger employees who "got it" from goosing the knuckle pin, and a one arm hump tower operator who "got it" from pushing a boxcar plug door closed, and the dang thing fell off the sliding door track.
Where I live we would call that the 'right' side of the road, as in the 'correct' side of the road. But let's not start a flame war over that.
With the Uk system of two buffers and a chain and hook the forces on the buffers and the forces affecting the couplings are kept separate. Remember this system was devised in the early days of the railways when techniques for make good quality iron and steel are not as they are now. It seems to me that the Janey coupling by combining buffing and coupling together with automatically moving parts is very much dependent on being made from high quality steel forgings if it's not going to break in service.
My grandad and uncles worked on the railways and I can certainly appreciate that a coupling that works without anybody having to step between railway wagons to hook anything up is going to be a whole lot safer.
No one has mentioned the 'Norwegian' coupling which is what we used here in New Zealand for a very long time. I travelled to school by train when I was a lot younger than I am now and watching wagons being shunted in the goods yard was a highlight of waiting for the train each morning and evening.
No one has mentioned the 'Norwegian' coupling which is what we used here in New Zealand for a very long time. I travelled to school by train when I was a lot younger than I am now and watching wagons being shunted in the goods yard was a highlight of waiting for the train each morning and evening.