How is a tender uncoupled from a locomotive?

Question

Are the couplings the same as any other couplings or is there a different kind of coupler between a locomotive and tender?

Answer 1

Steam locomotives and their tenders are coupled by a steel bar called a "drawbar."  This is shaped like a dog bone with a hole at each end for a pin that holds the drawbar in place:  in a pocket in the frame of the locomotive at one end and the tender at the other end.

You have to be able to visualize the huge wrenches that are used to work on some of these parts.  The drawbar pins are like huge bolts, and the wrenches are of similar size.

But you can unscrew one of the pins and unhook the drawbar.  Locomotives and tenders are also connected by a collection of hoses that all have to be undone.  So it's a big job.

Answer 2

Like Avio describes, they don't uncouple easily, and there's a reason - all the interconnects.  The tender's purpose is to deliver water and coal/oil to the engine.  That means there will be

- A very heavy water line, to feed the boiler

- An even heavier steam line, to send steam back to the tender to preheat the water or oil

- A heavy oil line, if it's oil fired

Now, these are not rubber.  They are rigid pipes with several flexible joints in them.  

All but the smallest engines will have a mechanical stoker:

- A flexible drive shaft or another steam line to drive the mechanism

- A very wide pipe with an augur to push the coal

You will definitely have air lines, but these can be flexible rubber:

- Brake pipe line

- Main reservoir line

- Tender brake line

So you're looking at serious labor to uncouple a tender from an engine.

Answer 3

Most often, they were permanently coupled together. Think of the old style link and pin couplers - if you have seen photos of these. It works like that, but the link was very heavy cast iron and rectangular shaped, and each end resembled the end of a present day automatic coupler, the end that fits in the car frame. To secure this, two steel stepped pins were inserted. The engine and tender could be separated, but it took some time and work.