A retarder (97) for a railcar hitch (1) is disclosed. The hitch has an erected and a retracted position and the retarder slows movement of the hitch towards its retracted position. The retarder comprises a cylinder (99) fixedly mounted on a railcar. A piston (101) is movable in the cylinder. A rod (115) attaches the piston to the movable hitch element so that preferably only axial loads act on the piston during operation of the hitch. The fluid compressed in one end of the cylinder by the piston is bled (metered) from the one end of the cylinder so as to control the rate of movement of the movable element during hitch retraction.
