Two (unrelated) Questions regarding Diesels in the 1960's

[Art Dent]

Hi Folks

 

I am starting to put together an O-gauge payout and so far have several wagons and a couple of locos.

 

The locos, soon to be joined by a third, are going off for weathering shortly but before they do, I have a couple of questions.

 

The first relates to 08 shunters and shed plates.

 

Most 08's didn't seem to have shed plates athough I have seen a couple that do (pictures below).

 

My question is this.  If they had a shed plate on the front somewhere (e.g. bufferbeam) or on the rear cab, would they also have a shed plate on the other end?

 

I can find, as I said, some examples where for a specific loco I have a picture of the front end or of the cab end, but not of the same loco with a shed plate that shows both ends.

 

Examples:

 

 

08425 with shed plate 82C - Dunfermline Upper / Dunfermline Townhill - on the front buffer beam

 

 

08852 with shed plate 65A - Eastfield - on the rear buffer beam

 

or

 

 

08496 with the shedplate seemingly fixed to the rear of the cab (and painted over??).  This loco seems to have spent its entire life at Cambridge (31A) from initial entry to service through to withdrawal.

 

My second question relates to diesels with cabs at both ends and headcodes - e.g. Class 25.

 

Would the driver/secondman of a Class 25 ensure that the headcodes at both ends of the loco were showing the same or didn't it matter except when running light engine - the only code being applicable was that at the front of the train?

 

In other words, when pulling a train, would the headocode facing the train be the same as the headcode above the driving cab?

 

Cheers,

 

Art

[kevinlms]

Only the front code mattered when on a train. So you could have different ones at each end.

[dibber25]

1 minute ago, kevinlms said:

Only the front code mattered when on a train. So you could have different ones at each end.

 and usually did.

[Art Dent]

Thanks chaps, that's what I thought.

 

Light engine = same code both ends (or was supposed to be same code both ends)?

 

Art

[The Johnster]

Light engine only needed to carry the code at the front, so both ends if it reversed direction anywhere.  

[Art Dent]

2 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

Light engine only needed to carry the code at the front, so both ends if it reversed direction anywhere.  

 

Did this include reversing in the MPD or just when it was out and about?  I'm guessing the crew didn't suddenly think "We need to change the headcode at the other end" when, for example, reversing out of the fuelling point 

 

Art

[Merfyn Jones]

Headcode was for the signalman to know what the train approaching was.

[The Johnster]

Movements inside the confines of the MPD needed no headcode or even lamps.  They were made under the instruction and authority of the yard foreman, but were not handsignalled by ground staff as they were in freight yards or carriage sidings.  In practice, you had a good look round, blew the horn, and moved off carefully paying attention to anything else moving around.  Accepted working practice determined who had right of way where.

 

The headcode, as Merfyn Jones says, is to inform the signalman, not only for him to identify the working but as a train description code in panel boxes.  Traincrews communicating with signalmen on signal telephones used it.  On shed, the headcode was either what the loco was carrying when it arrived or the duty it was about to leave to pick up after the driver had prepared the loco.

[Clive Mortimore]

The location of shed plates, when fitted,  on 350s (Jockos, Pilots, etc) in most cases depended on the shed. You will need to find a photo of the loco you are modelling in the time period you are modelling for complete accuracy.

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Those pictures of the jockos are somewhat analagous, as those type of shed codes weren't in use when the loco was in TOPS livery, and were probably painted on at local level.

As Clive says, pictures are necessary.

 

Mike.