When freight cars are being connected in a yard, does someone have to manually walk down the train and connect the brake pipe hoses? I’ve read about how automated people try to make the process and I know the coupling itself automatically locks when the cars bump together but I don’t see how the brake hoses could connect themselves without manual intervention.
Air hoses have to be manually coupled.
In yards that have Car Dept. personnel on duty, that is a part of their inspection and ultimately air test for a outbound track.
At outlying points where there is no Car Dept. personnel it is the responsibility of the Conductor/trainman/utility man.
A conundrum of railroad cars. They’ll couple together automatically (if one or both of the couplers are open), but the brake hoses must be connected by hand.
On the other hand, the couplers must be manually disengaged (by lifting the cut lever), but the glad hands separate automatically.
Either operation requires that anglecocks be opened or closed manually if there’s air on the train.