It became a staple recently, due to the fact that 2 female connector ends can be connected together. Before the coupling existed, we had to saw off half a male connector to connect the 2 female joints but there is a risk of breaking the male connector the wrong way due to the high pressure of the saw onto the connector. The Green Works Unit car has both male connector ends, so it is expensive and is a staple when making modified Plarail.
C-57 is definitely a push SL, but I’m just giving an example that it can be used as the tender car and the SL has the same type of connecting scheme as the crane car. It doesn’t work at tight corners but it still works on normal curves. Another example for this is to connect a SL to a powered DL as both ends are female. This allows the formation to move backwards and forwards and is used in Plarail Driving Parties to recreate real life formations.
C-57 is definitely a push SL, but I’m just giving an example that it can be used as the tender car and the SL has the same type of connecting scheme as the crane car. It doesn’t work at tight corners but it still works on normal curves. Another example for this is to connect a SL to a powered DL as both ends are female. This allows the formation to move backwards and forwards and is used in Plarail Driving Parties to recreate real life formations.
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