Coupler Covers?

Why does Metra put bags/covers over the couplers on cab cars? Thought I also saw this on a few locomotives. Thanks......

I usually see this in winter on leading cab cars - I would assume during the evening rush, snow compacts in the coupler and then freezes overnight, making shuffling of consists at 5am a total SOB of a task. I don't see it on locomotives much, as it's rare to see a double-head train. Usually there's one or two doubleheads per line, and they operate toward the end of each rush - they bring the protect power to the appropriate terminal where staging is done for the next rush.

Tadman's right. The bags help keep the cab car couplers from getting packed with snow and ice so it's easier to make up trains later. I think I've only ever seen them used on the former North Western lines.

MikeF wrote:I think I've only ever seen them used on the former North Western lines.

That's the only place I've ever seen them also.

It's kinda crazy how ingrained in modern Metra crews the operating practices of prior legacy roads are. You wouldn't see Amtrak doing something only on a former RI or UP line, but you would at Metra. I'm thankful for a modern and efficient commuter system that offers a little bit of the past still.

F40CFan wrote:

MikeF wrote:I think I've only ever seen them used on the former North Western lines.

That's the only place I've ever seen them also.

I'm a little surprised that Metra hasn't yet adopted this practice for its former Milwaukee and Rock Island lines, especially since adding/cutting equipment occurs much more frequently on those districts, particularly within the downtown terminal. Also, in reference to Tadman's point about Metra retaining certain practices of legacy roads, using coupler covers during the winter is an idea that would be beneficial to all Metra lines, and should be universally adopted, regardless of the legacy roads' previous practices, or where the idea originated from...

Tadman wrote:It's kinda crazy how ingrained in modern Metra crews the operating practices of prior legacy roads are. You wouldn't see Amtrak doing something only on a former RI or UP line, but you would at Metra. I'm thankful for a modern and efficient commuter system that offers a little bit of the past still.

Well don't forget it's not Metra - in this case it's UP crews - sure it's Metra equipment, but the host road and crews are not Metra

if we saw the Metra operated lines doing things differently than each other, that would be odd.