@peter allen 072518 posted:So why do milk cars have buffers?
Because most/many milk cars were handled on the headend of passenger trains, thus the milk car, as well as REA express reefers & boxcars, had to couple up to a passenger car. Passenger cars, as well as baggage cars, were equipped with diaphragms, which included a "buffer" device over the coupler, so that when the diaphragms were compressed, there was a smooth passenger/employee transition between cars. Thus, milk and express boxcars had to be equipped with the same "buffer" device for coupling to passenger/baggage equipment.
