Railroad couplers are made up of a large casting, called the drawbar, which is attached to the end of a car or locomotive. Attached to the drawbar is the knuckle, or portion which swings open, allowing equipment to be uncoupled. When the knuckle is closed, there is a metal block or pin which falls into place inside the coupler, holding the knuckle securely closed. When that pin or block is pushed or pulled up, it allows the knuckle to open freely and uncouple equipment. That block or pin is manipulated by a lever on the end of the car, right at the corner. That is called the cut lever. Pulling up on the cut lever moves the pin of block out of the way and allows the coupler to open. When this is done, and a car is released, it is called pulling the pin. During switching moves, the conductor might instruct his brakeman to pull the pin between specific cars in order to separate them.
A less common but more slang definition pertains to retirement or resignation. If you were looking for a particular person around the depot, and it had been several weeks since you had seen that person, you might has someone else if they had seen that person. They might tell you, "Oh no, he is gone now. He pulled the pin three weeks ago." Depending on the person's age and employment status, this would tell you that the person you were looking for either retired or resigned three weeks ago. Sometimes when train crews are frustrated by a long, lousy run, they might grumble and say that work is going to drive them to pull the pin. This is rarely serious, although it means they've had enough and want to quit. Usually a good night's sleep, a hot meal, and maybe a paycheck can fix that desire.
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