The Herne Hill-Tulse Hill spur ran on an embankment immediately behind my childhood home from 1952-1971. When I was quite small, steam locos hauling summer inter-regional trains used to often slip to a stand right behind us. Great fun. The usual remedy was to couple an EMU on the back, and we'd hear a series of toots from the electric train's (air) whistle and the steam loco. Eventually the whole lot would set off, and we'd see a green 4-SUB on the rear, motors groaning loudly. Often sparks from the loco's chimney would set the vegetation on fire, and we'd have the fire brigade as a bonus. Happy days. I often used to wonder how it was arranged, whether the guard went back to Herne Hill and got on the blower, and if they stopped the job on the adjacent Up line while the coupling was being done.
Yes, catch points would be provided. I hesitate to say "never" but for that reason banking engines would not return "wrong line" but rather be crossed over at the summit to return on the correct track. Stopping before each set of catch points to clip them and again after passing over them to un-clip them would have been very time-consuming, and risk a serious accident if either action was forgotten. All the while they would be blocking any ascending trains.
No problem Ken, ask away.
Nice story, wonder how common that was?
Thanks for sharing that, I'm sure they were happy memories.
That's what I see on this signal box diagram:
I would have thought that the train requiring assistance would stop and wait for the banking engine to buffer-up to the rear. Racing after a moving train would be highly dangerous with strong risk of collision and/or derailment should the train unexpectedly slow down or stop.
I was using the term "race" loosely, the train would slow down and allow the pilot to catch up. The sectional appendix is quite specific in stating the bank engine must stop at the signal box, there's no mention of uncoupling, and Stuart Taylor describes in detail the journeys across Lancashire, again, no mention of stopping and uncoupling. But I do get the general point you're making, thanks for that.
There is such a thing as a worked catch point, which would operate as a catch point when a train was ascending and would be set for through running when a train was descending. In that case I would expect the banking engine to drop off at the summit and return in the same way as any other train in the descending direction.
Catch points were not generally used on single lines, except for the entrances and exits of passing loops. The trailing points at the rear of a loop - where there was a rising gradient - would derail any train or vehicle which rolled backwards for any reason towards the single line. More commonly, facing trap points would be provided - regardless of the gradient - in order to derail a train which had passed the starter signal at danger and was heading towards a collision with something coming the other way on the single line. These often led into a sand drag to help slow down the train and prevent it from derailing. If you can find a photo of the North end of Goathland station on the North York Moors Railway, you will see examples of both in close proximity to each other.
In similar vein, D L Smith tells of occasions on the GSWR when a banking engine driver, being not over familiar with the road, lost his bearings and continued to try to catch up with the train he was supposed to be assisting well after the summit of the line had been reached. On that switchback route, knowing more adverse gradients lay ahead, it must have beens scary for the driver of the train trying to keep ahead and even scarier for the rear guard!
This shows several sets of worked catch points on the single running line between Darwen and Blackburn after re-signalling to Preston power box. The report linked off that page has more detail of how they were worked, and a track plan. Unlike the ones at loops, which were probably what is more correctly termed as trap points, these ones would have operated as sprung points when set for an ascending move.
Definitely "horses for courses" with specific instructions for each location.
The J69 #68619 shown in post #20 was the Liverpool Street "East Side Pilot." It was always there whenever I visited, happily simmering away and polished within an inch of its life. But I never saw it move! Around 1960 it was repainted in Great Easter Railway Royal blue, with red coupling rods and really looked resplendent.
The J72 68736 in green livery pictured at Newcastle, was York’s station pilot until July 1961. After diesel shunters took over at York it moved to Gateshead, and shared station pilot duties at Newcastle with green liveried 68723 for a few more years.Station pilots were usually small shunting engines. Because they were very much in the public eye, they were kept in a much more presentable condition than most of their classmates, some even being given express passenger livery. The LNER, and later the Eastern Region, took particular pride in their presentation.
(lined green)
I can't imagine that Big Bertha was ever quick off the mark, but I think she had been retired long before the start of the diesel era.
General practice was for the driver to whistle for assistance at a previous box if this was not booked, a special code being used.
As others have said, almost certainly by use of whistle codes.
Can anyone please explain if these whistle codes were standardised (like signalling bell codes), or were they specific to individual locations?
Relatively small driving wheels (and therefore low gearing), and built for high tractive effort at low speed, suggests she might have had pretty good acceleration, if only at very low speeds.
Well, I've had a good look through my 1960 sectional appendix (LM region, Central lines) and this is what I've found for engines requiring assistance:
Some codes were, and were laid down in the Rule Book. My 1950 (reissued with amendments up to 1961) copy gives several codes - regrettably they a scattered through the book and I may have missed some out.
There were both standard and local codes. The standard ones were listed in the Sectional Appendix (the entry from the 1960 ScR issue is attached) and local codes were variously given in the Sectional Appendix or published separately, depending on the time period and region. Many of the enginemen's Mutual Improvement Societies also published small pocket books listing whistle codes, as well as other handy miscellany such as location of water columns and troughs, locations and lengths of turntables etc... (image of an example from 1954 included below).
Wonder if she was Taunton’s west end pilot on 9th May 1964 when Hall 6999, hastily commandeered at Westbury, had to come off Z48. As it was Castle 7025 saved the day!
I'm sure there were plenty "old faithful" engines all over the place. There was one at Burnley Central, 42179 and old LYR engine which was withdrawn August 1960.
I'm guessing these local whistle codes were a throw back to the days before the big four? From what I've been told on other threads old habits persisted.
