Rotary knuckle 'rotated' in consist?!?

Spent the better part of last (7/09) Saturday in Rochelle, IL watching the parade and saw this midtrain in a loaded EB towards late afternoon.

Having the knuckles rotated at 90 degrees can't be good for vertical movement, how serious is this to the saftey of the train?

TT

Most cars in a coal train have rotary couplers (if any) at one end of each car-- right? Tell me again why they need an occasional rotary-to-rotary couple.

I think a long time ago i saw the same thing, looked like the drawbars had been twisted, when actually there were two together. I'm guessing it's not a big deal. Theres alot of things that could have happened to get two of them together, we often set out or add cars to the coal trains we get.

Drawbars twisted or not, the knuckles pins are dropped and the drawbars are still in the cars, so it doesnt matter, the cars still move on the rails the same.

I suspected it was not a big deal, but all the same what happens should the cars encounter some extreme uneven spots where some up and down movement needs to occur? I know they won't slide like autoracks would , but still...

I remember back when you would always see the rotary ends all face the same direction in consist - now days they appear in random order more often than not.

TT

"I remember back when you would always see the rotary ends all face the same direction in consist - now days they appear in random order more often than not."

You mean some cars are coupled non-rotary-end to non-rotary-end? So if they go thru a dumper they have to be dumped together?

No rotary to rotary was what i was talking about. Thats no big deal. I think if someone put the train together with a bunch of them set up regular drawbar to drawbar someone would be in for a ripping.

When they are rotary to rotary, cock eyed, spun a little one way, how ever you want to say it, there is still alot of room for movement in the draw bars themselves. For the most part the knuckles might move a couple inches up and down against each other, have you ever saw those older five pack flats that are married together with solid drawbar? or those big locking drawbars on some hazmat cars? The end seals/housing still gives the drawbar movement up and down as well as side to side.