To the question, “In what time frame were these levers phased out?” Eric replied, “…at a point in the 1930s, uncoupling moved to a bottom pin pull on new freight cars and the uncoupling hardware became somewhat standardized for a couple of decades. As the older cars with the Carmer hardware were retired, the design slowly disappeared. Some lines replaced the Carmer hardware early with the rotating rod similar to what I installed on the Canadian Pacific car in this post. I think the NYC did that on all of their USRA freight cars. You can still find freight cars in museums with the Carmer hardware. The last time I visited the Cass Scenic Railroad, a couple of their excursion cars had Carmer uncoupling levers.”

 

Was Carmer hardware banned from interchange or outlawed by law or regulation? If so, when?

 

Bob Chaparro

Hemet, CA