I am going to cast n sharon Knuckes for our ex-NYC commuter coaches. If anyone would like to add to our order, please advise. I an estimating a cost of $200 a knuckle, fob Northwest Ohio.

Keith Brigode - 419 874-8667

Hello Keith:

Southern Pacific 80' commute coaches (popularly known as "Harriman subs"), some of which operated in San Francisco - San Jose commute ("suburban") service 1920s- 1985, have Sharon couplers. The coupler heads are the same size as "E" couplers, but the knuckle locking tongue contour is quite different than a standard "E" coupler knuckle.

Many of these coaches are in museum / tourist railroad service, including:
Niles Canyon Railway http://www.ncry.org
Golden Gate Railroad Museum http://www.ggrm.org
Grand Canyon RR
California State Railroad Museum
Sierra RR / Railtown 1897 Historic Park (division of CSRM, Sacramento)
Virginia & Truckee restoration (5 cars stored at FRRS, Portola, CA)
Western Railway Museum, Rio Vista Junction, CA
Yreka Western RR (??)
etc

I suspect that the earlier S.P. and U.P. 60' Harriman coaches also have Sharon couplers.

I bought all remaining Harriman coach parts from the S.P. West Oakland shops in 1985. But there was only 1 good Sharon coupler knuckle in the lot, and that has since been used. So new knuckles will be needed. We have zero spares.

Do you have photos and/or a drawing of the Sharon knuckle you will have made?

I will contact NCRy and GGRM mechanical departments regarding purchase of these knuckles.

- Doug Debs

408-433-3672 office daytimes
650-856-3469 home
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We have some wood bodied side dump gravel (stone) cars at HVRM that are missing the knuckles. I have been told that they are Sharon couplers. Is there a difference between Sharon couplers for freight cars and those for passenger cars?

Les

There's an outfit that advertises in TRAINLINE-- Irwin Transportation Products in Irwin, PA. The ad shows an "Industrial Mill Sharon Coupler", and mentions that they stock parts for them. Is this something that may be interchangeable with the passenger-style Sharon couplers? There are about as many Jersey Central coaches running around the northeast with those things as there are SP "subs" in the west.

I'm sure glad our CNR cars have Type Es.....

Howard P.

Irwin borrowed a "near mint" sharon knuckle from a Reading car and used it as a pattern for new knuckles. These knuckles are different from the "industrial" knuckle they list in Trainline. Those industrial knuckles are different and will not work on RDG cars. The newer knuckles are known as "Septa" knuckles as they fit RDG MU cars in addition to RDG passenger coaches. I suspect they will fit other "eastern" road cars also, perhaps CNJ cars.

Rob