Are there exceptions to the 1893 Safety Appliance Act?

Question

Included within in the Act was a requirement for all rail cars to be equipped with couplers which would engage automatically and could be released without workers having to pass between cars, i.e. the adoption of Janney couplers. A seven year period was allowed for full compliance.
My question is "did the 1949 French 'Merci' train tour the US as a complete train or were the box cars sent individually to the various States by other means?"
All of the illustrations of the preserved 48+8 box cars show European hook and draw screw couplings. If a dispensation was allowed, was this the last time that a freight train in the US operated without being equipped with Janney couplings?

Angry Sailor 302 · Accepted Answer

The Merci train did not run on the rails by themselves. They were loaded up on flatcars that were owned by American railroads. 

There were exceptions, but none for railroads that operated in interstate and interchange service. The exceptions were primarily meant for smaller operations which were mining and logging types for the most part, and almost without exception, all were narrow gauge. 

Not all of the "40 and 8" (forty men or 8 horses) cars have retained their running gear or couplers. The Tennessee Merci Train car is now on truck axles, and can be seen in it's ruined state in Bristol, TN.

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Are there exceptions to the 1893 Safety Appliance Act?

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