Railway coupling
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A coupling or coupler is a mechanism, typically located at each end of a rail vehicle, that connects them to form a train. The equipment that connects the couplers to the vehicles is the draft gear or
Scharfenberg coupler on a Southeastern Class 395
Three-link coupling on an antique tank wagon
UIC standard screw coupling, shown attached and tightened
A link-and-pin coupler
SA3 coupler
Videos
SA3 couplers or Willison coupler and Russian coupler are railway couplings used primarily in Russia and states influenced by the former Soviet Union, such as Finland, Poland, and Mongolia.
Railway coupling
…Different countries use different types of couplers. While North American railroads and China use Janney couplers, railways in the former Soviet Union use SA3 couplers, and the European countries use Scharfenberg and screw couplers. Challenges and complications arise when coupling vehicles with different couplers…
SA3 couplers
SA3 details
End view of SA3 coupler, with release lever to the left.
Unicoupler/Intermat/AK69e coupler on cargo train