Historical usage of siding bufferstops

[devon_belle]

These days, in most cases, a collision with bufferstops in a siding or platform would be considered an incident. Historically, were bufferstops used differently? I.e. would goods trains have backed right up onto the bufferstops, and would they be used to stop wagons during loose shunting? I've definitely seen photos of carriages and rakes of wagons right up against the buffers in sidings, so I am wondering if this was just (frequent) sloppy shunting or common practice?

 

[pdeaves]

There were definitely cases where a slightly-too-long train would ram the buffers, compressing the buffers, to get the loco behind a point end, which was then very smartly swung before it all sprang back. Whether this was 'local practice' or officially sanctioned, I don't know.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Arriving into Llandudno back in the early late 80s early 90s on class 101 or similar we were all standing to ready to get off and we hit the buffers and everyone went flying. I'm sure this would be a big deal now, but back then everyone just got up brushed themselves down and got off and went about their business. I was only about 9 but remember it vividly to this day.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Here is a short film showing actual tests involving collisions with Stop Blocks.

 

[ac6000cw]

These days, in most cases, a collision with bufferstops in a siding or platform would be considered an incident. Historically, were bufferstops used differently? I.e. would goods trains have backed right up onto the bufferstops, and would they be used to stop wagons during loose shunting? I've definitely seen photos of carriages and rakes of wagons right up against the buffers in sidings, so I am wondering if this was just (frequent) sloppy shunting or common practice?

If you read about steam-age working practices, in an era when most wagons only had handbrakes and there were yards all over the system, minor derailments of wagons in yards were commonplace and yard staff were very adept at re-railing wagons as a consequence.

Given that probably most buffer stops (outside of major passenger stations) were not energy-absorbent - often built out of old rails etc. - shunting wagons hard into them would risk derailments and/or wagon/load/bufferstop damage. But it happened sometimes - loco gave wagons too hard a shove and/or the shunter couldn't get the handbrakes on hard enough - and I suspect that staff that dealt with 'damaged goods' claims from freight customers knew well which yards were the 'rough' ones...

 

[Andy R. A.]

I can remember a number of times when buffer stops were hit, sometimes at no more than walking pace, and the fishplate bolts on the section of rail that the stops were fitted to, sheared off, pushing the stops forward. Although the vehicle involved wasn't derailed there was now a two to three feet gap in the running rails underneath it !

 

[Ashley Hill]

Although the vehicle involved wasn't derailed there was now a two to three feet gap in the running rails underneath it !

A couple of stout bits of wood to bridge the gap and drag the wagon back over then square up with the local ganger.
There are several examples of this in various books of footplate crews reminiscences.

 

[Ken H]

What about the magnificent huge buffers at main line termini. I assume compressing those buffers cause a buuild up of air/water/oil in a tank somewhere. But would a whack with a heavy train break them?

Taking of trains up to the buffers, the 12 coach Kent Coast EMU's (the ones used in the 60's just after electrification) used to be coaxed right up to the buffers at Charing Cross so the train cleared some points on Hungerford Bridge. Dont know if the train actually touched the buffers or not. They always went from the furthest east platform at CX. Sorry memory hazy, I was a kid!

 

[Taunton]

The coal stage at Taunton had about a 1 in 10 gradient up (it was far steeper than the one remaining at Didcot), and was a morning spectacle to see it shunted. Up at the top held about four wagons, the Pannier tank would make a flying start to get up propelling these, full regulator, wheels spinning, sometimes they didn't make it (especially if wet) and had to try again, sometimes they just stopped nicely at the stage - and sometimes they overshot, because there was only a very short distance before the buffers, which were bent and twisted from periodic over-exuberance!

 

[Harvester]

There have been incidents over the years when buffer stops have been hit hard at speed in bay platforms. One that springs to mind was at York when the driver of A3 60036 thought he was on a through road, when being routed on a passenger train into one of the north bays.

 

[Rescars]

What about the magnificent huge buffers at main line termini. I assume compressing those buffers cause a buuild up of air/water/oil in a tank somewhere. But would a whack with a heavy train break them?

Presumably these buffers were tested in some way, by the Board of Trade inspector if no-one else. I wonder how this was done.

By the by, in my youth, my tinplate O gauge layout had a set of spring-loaded buffer stops, Great fun pinging a wagon or three off them! Apart from Ken H's main line terminal installations, were there such things as spring loaded buffer stops (as opposed to spring loaded buffers on rolling stock) on the real railway?

 

[AngusH]

Presumably these buffers were tested in some way, by the Board of Trade inspector if no-one else. I wonder how this was done.

I recently found some youtube videos showing some recent testing of buffers with locomotives at Glasgow central:

 

[furnessvale]

Traditionally, the buffer stop and the last few feet of the siding were inclined sharply uphill so that a loose shunted wagon would lose momentum before striking the buffers and, more importantly, roll back away from them providing an open gap ready for the next loose shunt.

I remember as a child enjoying finding brake vans screwed down hard against the buffers. We could release the brake and have a ride down the sidings!

 

[Rescars]

I recently found some youtube videos showing some recent testing of buffers with locomotives at Glasgow central:

Interesting to compare these Glasgow videos with Ashley Hill's further up thread. Glasgow seems much kinder to the installation. I wonder if original BoT tests would have been rather more brutal, in order to verify performance claims made by the manfacturers.

 

[matchmaker]

There have been incidents over the years when buffer stops have been hit hard at speed in bay platforms. One that springs to mind was at York when the driver of A3 60036 thought he was on a through road, when being routed on a passenger train into one of the north bays.

The worst example being at Glasgow St Enoch in 1903 - 16 killed.

 

[Snow1964]

There were some buffer stops with a three link style coupling attached, I am sure the one in the siding between platforms at Andover had them, hook the wagons on, won't roll back onto the line.

So would have had to shunt into buffers to be able to hook the wagons on, coupling wouldn't have reached if they had stopped short

 

[Dr_Paul]

Looking back over the years, I recall seeing buffer stops on quite a few sidings with the buffers bent backwards and pointing upwards somewhat and the track bent in a shallow inverted V shape as a result of being biffed by a wagon. Of course, many, perhaps most, of the sidings I used to see no longer exist. The buffer stop at the end of the shunt at the east end of Wimbledon yard, alongside the main up fast, was hit quite a few times over my years of commuting to Waterloo by EMUs, presumably being driven from the other end's cab; on one occasion, the first carriage went through the stop and ended up hanging down the embankment almost into the River Wandle.

As for hydraulic buffers, I think that I read somewhere that the ones at Waterloo were supposed to stop without damage a train moving at up to 10mph.

 

[LWB]

There is a fascinating BR (edit: LNER) film (or even earlier) on YouTube entitled “buffer stop tests Bradford”.
Well worth a look

 

[AngusH]

This one?

Buffer Stop Tests Bradford (Youtube)

(Video can't be embedded so I've linked it for convenience)

That's much more exciting than the ones I found!

They completely smashed some of the wagons and it looks like some of the track was destroyed too.

Brilliant video!

(Enjoyable obviously only because the whole exercise was staged and not an actual accident)

 

[devon_belle]

Thanks, I love those old films - hadn't seen the buffers one.

 

[delt1c]

Remember in the early 80's saw 37.001 had hit the buffers inn the midele road in betweemn the longest platforms at Liverpool St. Had moved the buffers a couple of feet and leading wheels derailed

 

[contrex]

I remember as a child enjoying finding brake vans screwed down hard against the buffers. We could release the brake and have a ride down the sidings!

Wasn't that very dangerous, and something you should have been prosecuted for?

 

[furnessvale]

Wasn't that very dangerous, and something you should have been prosecuted for?

Yes! I put pennies on the line as well.......slap my wrist!

 

[contrex]

Yes! I put pennies on the line as well.......slap my wrist!

Well, I think trespassing on the railway is a serious matter, and also interfering with the brakes of a secured vehicle and causing it to run away.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

There were some buffer stops with a three link style coupling attached

I recall seeing examples of these, can't remember where (they were) or where I saw them (book or ?). On the subject of main line termini, that which I was involved with in the planning sense, use to have those huge hydraulic buffers as per in the clip up thread about Glasgow, and I believe in the old days, platform capacity was measured from the buffer stop head outwards. In more recent times with newer style buffers in place, there was/is a compulsory two meter stand off from the buffer head, that had to be factored in to any platform capacity planning.

 

[delt1c]

Wasn't that very dangerous, and something you should have been prosecuted for?

A different generation , you had to be there to understand

Well, I think trespassing on the railway is a serious matter, and also interfering with the brakes of a secured vehicle and causing it to run away.

Don’t judge previous generations if you weren’t there. It was different times

 

[contrex]

A different generation , you had to be there to understand


Don’t judge previous generations if you weren’t there. It was different times

I am aged 71, and was brought up next to a railway. A fellow pupil at my junior school was killed while trespassing.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Well, I think trespassing on the railway is a serious matter, and also interfering with the brakes of a secured vehicle and causing it to run away.

There is a picture in a book, somewhere in my collection, of a diesel loco hanging precariously over the North Circular Road; somebody had sneaked into the big Midland yard at Cricklewood and released the brakes. Not a good idea.

 

[Ashley Hill]

There is a picture in a book, somewhere in my collection, of a diesel loco hanging precariously over the North Circular Road; somebody had sneaked into the big Midland yard at Cricklewood and released the brakes. Not a good idea.

Was this what you meant?

Photo:Thames News.

 

[Dr_Paul]

Was this what you meant?
View attachment 139722
Photo:Thames News.

That's the one. I forgot that the incident involved two locos and one ended up on the North Circular. I presume the one at the bottom was a write-off. A couple of lads' larking about cost BR quite a bit of money.