Coulped

I really like this type of photo, and yours would make a nice 8x10 hanging in someones train room or office.

Jimmy

How odd that the glad hands are wrapped. Any particular reasoning?

Hi Guys

Thanks for the comments. I just might frame it. As to the glad hands I was curoius about that too, but your guess is as good as mine as to why.

Mike

Ken and Mike,

They wrap them so the snow and ice doesn't, during flanger activity, break the connections. That's my understanding.

Jimmy B
Reno, NV

In the Pentrex video on Donner Pass, there is footage of the spreaders and flangers in service, and the video shows them wrapping the gladhands in duct tape, too, before sending the equipment out to do battle. Its to keep flying snow and ice from breaking the connections. Spreaders and flangers work best at speeds above 25 mph, and at that speed, snow and ice gets pitched pretty fast. Interesting how they did the angle cocks as well, to keep snow and ice from turning the handles and 'bottling' the braking on part of the consist.

Ironically, C&NW used to duct tape the gladhands on their Falcon hotshot intermodal trains, too. I guess with the priority of those trains, they didn't want delays due to air hose seperations.