Did BR have a policy of switching off Diesels at Terminus Stations?

[Dagworth]

From memory, crews wouldn't shut anything down unless they had to, chances are that they wouldn't start again, and the heaters only worked with the engine running.

 

Management wanted everything shut down unless it was moving, to save fuel.

 

Andi

[Arrochar]

....

Edited May 23, 2017 by Arrochar

[Southernman46]

I remember standing at the blocks at KX listening to the Deltics Start up, most locomotives seemed to be shut down then to contain the fog of fumes.

 

oooo -   remember that lovely "tipping a bag of bolts on the floor" noise as they shutdown ................  it's 1973 again

 

Still a policy where appropriate - there is a modern sign at the country end of Swindon Down Goods Loop adjacent to the lineside properties advising crews to shutdown the engine for noise reasons

Edited May 23, 2017 by Southernman46

[Arrochar]

I suggest that Drivers bringing DMUs in from Swansea to Shrewsbury in the 70s never read those directives.

Likewise at Edinburgh Waverley in the 1980s if the blue haze was anything to go by.

[RJD]

_{​in August 1966, I was on a canal boat holiday and we moored at Oxford, near the station.  A diesel locomotive was left idling all night and we hardly got any sleep.}

[manna]

G'Day Gents

 

I don't know if there was a directive, but we a KX would automatically, shut down a loco at the buffer stops, if we were going to be there more than a few minutes, IE, after bring in ECS, a class 31 could be there for at least 30/40 mins, the loco would be restarted a couple on minutes before departure, so that there would be enough air/vacuum so the loco could slowly follow the departing train.

 

An incoming express loco, would be shut down upon arrival, as again the ECS, wouldn't be leaving for at least 20mins, the crew rostered to take the express loco to the passenger loco, for refuel, would again, start up the loco 5/10 mins before departure of the ECS.

 

manna 

[HillsideDepot]

Not a direct answer to the question, but I did come across this undated image on Flickr

Untitled by Dee Dye, on Flickr

 

 

[APOLLO]

oooo -   remember that lovely "tipping a bag of bolts on the floor" noise as they shutdown ................  it's 1973 again

 

(New) Baby Deltic Startup & shutdown

 

 

Deltic start up

 

 

Brit15

Edited May 30, 2017 by APOLLO

[The Johnster]

I suggest that Drivers bringing DMUs in from Swansea to Shrewsbury in the 70s never read those directives. Engines left running unattended from around 11:00 until 15:43 departure weekdays in Platform 6.

 

The WR's dmus were in pretty poor nick in the 70s, and were unreliable starters in cold or excessively hot weather (the summers of 75 and 76 were hot).  The fug over Riverside in Cardiff on still winter mornings from them was dreadful!

[The Stationmaster]

_{​in August 1966, I was on a canal boat holiday and we moored at Oxford, near the station.  A diesel locomotive was left idling all night and we hardly got any sleep.}

 

Probably a Hymek - they were almost invariably left running overnight to avoid having to try to start them the next morning and if any frost was likely the Instruction was that they had to be left running; darned noisy things when idling.

[Grumbleweed]

Basically as I understand it, notwithstanding the aspiration to save fuel on the poster above, when locos couldn't be trusted to restart (I'm sure I remember 47s having crap battery problems), they would be left running. So a universal policy wasn't possible.

[Davexoc]

Everything used to be shut down after servicing on a Christmas Eve, but then each shift would have a C supervisor, fitter, electrician, mate and labourer to go around and start everything up once per shift until the shutdown was over. Don't know if there was a crew in case anything needed shifting to put batteries on charge or such like. I did do the Christmas Eve night shift once, got away early leaving a couple of local lads to man the fort, the M40 was totally empty at 2am back in the 80s.

 

Dave

[roythebus]

Back in the 70s, a Canton 08 outstationed at Cardiff Docks developed a fault with it's starter, and was kept running for several years, succumbing eventually to a blocked oil filter IIRC.  

 

There's no starter on the 08s that I know of, they use the generator to provide power to turn the diesel engine.