The pantographic framing of those tip cars gives the unloader a tremendous leverage advantage. It almost overcomes the weight of the load. And, yes, the chains are hooked on both sides while rolling, or they might decide to dump on a curve. You unhook the chains on the opposite side of where you want to dump.
Link and pin: If you want to hook a set-out of link and pin cars to a loco with a standard coupler, do what the real guys did and make a transition coupler. They would have the shop weld one up for them. It is a standard coupler on one end and a pin pocket on the other end. I'm sure it took several men (or one really butch one) to mount one of them, but they were used frequently.
Link and pin: If you want to hook a set-out of link and pin cars to a loco with a standard coupler, do what the real guys did and make a transition coupler. They would have the shop weld one up for them. It is a standard coupler on one end and a pin pocket on the other end. I'm sure it took several men (or one really butch one) to mount one of them, but they were used frequently.
