The whole train doesn't necessarily have to be through-piped on a partially fitted train, but obviously anything behind an unfitted wagon will obviously be unbraked too.A partially fitted train is where the whole train is through-piped (i.e. the breaking system is continuous), but some wagons are not braked
The whole train doesn't necessarily have to be through-piped on a partially fitted train, but obviously anything behind an unfitted wagon will obviously be unbraked too.
I'm sure we're not the heritage railway to do so, but we do run partially fitted or unfitted freights fairly regularly at the GCR, which is a delight to watch (and listen to!), especially when shunting at Quorn to drop off, pick up and allow other traffic to pass!
They've made a bit of a comeback for us lately. Worked a cracking turn at Quorn a few weeks ago, with a through goods (which had to stand at the section signal for a while) followed immediately by a pickup goods (which was standing at the home by the time I got the preceding goods underway) which shunted clear inside to allow a following passenger and the postal to pass. While that was happening, they were busily shunting to drop a couple of wagons on the dock siding. Thoroughly enjoyable stuff!
Out of interest, what kinds of goods are conveyed?
You must be joking! Last freight I worked was utterly empty, apart from a few full of scrap metal. There were the closed wagons that I didn't know about, so ended up putting a few extra tonnes on the weight. Better overestimate than under.
No! I was genuinely asking! I thought it might have been for show or perhaps training.
Apart from stuff chucked in wagons because there's nowhere else to put it.
Didn't they have some trains where some of the wagons were braked and some were not? If so, how did that work and why not the lot? Also, didn't wagons have handbrakes, and were they ever used in service?
The hump marshalling yards used to employ stickmen to bring rolling wagons to a halt in the sidings using the handbrakes after they'd run through the retardation clamps coming over the hump. I believe stickmen were also employed in a similar role to brake wagons coming over the "kip" on rope worked inclines.Didn't they have some trains where some of the wagons were braked and some were not? If so, how did that work and why not the lot? Also, didn't wagons have handbrakes, and were they ever used in service?
Yep, that would seem to be one of the likely perils of the job.Are stick men the guys who invariably had missing fingers?
Sounds grisly I can well imagine that a guy could very easily come a cropper in a job like that, I've seen some old 1950s/60s BR promotional footage of the stickmen when the hump yards were brand new. A great-grandad of mine was lost to the railway in a similar way while working as a signalman for the North Eastern.I wish I knew more about this, my great granddad was a stickman, somewhere near Hull, until he lost his head in some sort of accident. I think I'm beginning to understand how.
Didn't they have some trains where some of the wagons were braked and some were not? If so, how did that work and why not the lot? Also, didn't wagons have handbrakes, and were they ever used in service?
Brakes on unfitted (with vacuum brakes) were manually pinned down at the top of steep inclines before descending when the brake force of engine plus brake van would not be able to control the train. There are numerous accident reports of trains running away down hills when brakes were not properly pinned down.
For a year in the early 70's I lived close to a large hump yard which was worked hard throughout the night.The hump marshalling yards used to employ stickmen to bring rolling wagons to a halt in the sidings using the handbrakes after they'd run through the retardation clamps coming over the hump. I believe stickmen were also employed in a similar role to brake wagons coming over the "kip" on rope worked inclines.