Uncoupling in "Real Life" How's it Done??

[Trog]

On site the Engineering Departments staff would often uncouple odd wagons that needed to be shunted separately, usually with a loco that looked a lot like a JCB or tracked 360' excavator.

 

I think this was a PW thing as I remember arriving on a bridge waterproofing job where I was putting the track back, only to be told that the train had gone to the local station and failed. I said to the member of the Works section technical staff who had been in charge of the middle shift while the water proofing was done. That I would go back to my van and eat my food as I would probably be rather busy once the train came back. On my way back to the van I walked out of the loom of the lights to water a lineside bush, and noticed something shining. Closer investigation revealed it to be the shanks of the buffers on the end wagon of the bottom stone train. It turned out that it was only the loco that had left site to save the poor train crew a walk and the loco had then failed at the local station.

 

I called my works colleague over, put the rear wagons handbrake on and asked him to shine his torch on the couplings, to his amazement I then went under and uncoupled the wagon. I then called up a JCB and explained to its driver that I wanted him to move the wagon onto the bridge, pulling the wagon using his bucket buried in the ballast load, (That way the pull is distributed and you don't have the embarrassment of explaining why a wagon has no end) and that under no circumstance was he to remove the bucket until I told him to. I then went to the handbrake and released it, signalled the JCB to move the wagon and off we went with me holding the brake lever up, and with my works colleague looking on at a procedure that was clearly not in his experience. Once the wagon was in place I applied the hand brake and told the JCB driver to unload the wagon. Once the wagon was empty we pulled it clear of the job bucket resting on the wagon floor and reapplied the hand brake. I did this for about ten wagons, until the bridge was nicely reballasted, at which point a loco turned up to work the train. I did wonder if the guard would say anything about finding his train in ten sections, but he just coupled it up and off they went.

 

But to my point of view the interesting fact was that the PW technical staff, and the Works technical staff despite working for the same boss on adjacent floors in the same office obviously had a totally different experience of what you could do with wagons on site.

 

[NS Peak]

Andi,

 

I think you missed the step where the second man swears  like hell when some idiot in the leading coach flushes the toilet in the station mid uncoupling.

 

(i did see that happen once at Ipswich)

 

 

 

 

[Steadfast]

1 hour ago, mervyn said:

I have often attended call outs to wagon couplings breaking  ( send the bits off to Derby for testing ) but never a loco ! And I have never had to change a Loco coupling either. Lost count of Loco buffers  I have changed !!

A pair of 59s in multi will snap a loco coupling!

 

Jo

[Dagworth]

12 hours ago, NS Peak said:

Andi,

 

I think you missed the step where the second man swears  like hell when some idiot in the leading coach flushes the toilet in the station mid uncoupling.

 

(i did see that happen once at Ipswich)

 

 

 

 

We got 40p a shift "dirty work allowance" because of that risk!!

 

Always more pleasant to be working under the end of a brake coach, no risk there.

 

Andi

Edited September 22, 2020 by Dagworth

[NS Peak]

5 hours ago, Dagworth said:

We got 40p a shift "dirty work allowance" because of that risk!!

 

Always more pleasant to be working under the end of a brake coach, no risk there.

 

Andi

I had to read that twice before I realised you said shift.

 

I do remember that at the time that in most of the formations it was a first or second open that was placed next to the locomotive with the break further back.  Must have been a good reason I am sure. 
 

stephen 

[Dagworth]

1 hour ago, NS Peak said:

I had to read that twice before I realised you said shift.

 

I do remember that at the time that in most of the formations it was a first or second open that was placed next to the locomotive with the break further back.  Must have been a good reason I am sure. 
 

stephen 

Our London-Norwich sets generally had the brake 2nd at the Norwich end up against the loco but the brake 1st at the London end was normally the second coach of the train. 
 

Andi

[Clive Mortimore]

On 15/09/2020 at 20:03, Dagworth said:

 

 

Andi

Hi Andi

 

It isn't the film of a skinny second man coupling a 47 at Ipswich? I bet you would be too tubby to get in between these days.

 

I know you're not a rotund as me...............yet. 

 

There was a group of us, including Andi, watching a video of Ipswich when the traction was being changed and all of a sudden a very young looking Dagworth was seen climbing out between the loco and train. A small cheer went up. 

Edited September 22, 2020 by Clive Mortimore

[uax6]

Trog,

 

I'm sure it wasn't just shunting that you did in an unconventional way on jobs, I would guess that de-railing and re-railing was done in a similar manner?

 

Andy G

[Wheatley]

2 hours ago, uax6 said:

Trog,

 

I'm sure it wasn't just shunting that you did in an unconventional way on jobs, I would guess that de-railing and re-railing was done in a similar manner?

 

Andy G

Shortly before it closed, the NCB at Dodworth managed to derail an HAA in their yard. They tried dragging it back on with ramps and chocks but only succeeded in putting it on its side. It was righted using a Drott shovel, but then tipped over again whilst being rerailed. After more attention from the shovel it was eventually rerailed and one of the NCB shunters wandered over to the box where my colleague had been enjoying the free entertainment. 

 

"You might want to get your lads to look at that, it had a bit of a bump".

"You mean that one that you've shoved all over the yard every way up but on its wheels ? I've already phoned 'em". 

Edited September 22, 2020 by Wheatley

[Trog]

13 hours ago, uax6 said:

Trog,

 

I'm sure it wasn't just shunting that you did in an unconventional way on jobs, I would guess that de-railing and re-railing was done in a similar manner?

 

Andy G

 

Derailing tended to happen naturally without outside assistance when 4 wheel wagons were run over roughly packed track and on rails buried in ballast.

 

Rerailing however we did do, if you still had a 360' machine on site you could lift the end of the wagon by putting the bucket under the end of the wagon or under a buffer. Slewing the wagon round until the wheel was above the rail then lowering it back into place.

 

More usually it was the Cat and Dogfish hopper wagons that derailed after the machines had gone, in which case you would lift the wagon until the wheels were above the rails with a Duff Norton hand Jack under each axle box. You then got some men and pushed the wagon off the jacks in the direction of the rails. This was repeated until the wheels landed back on the rails where they belonged. 

[DCB]

It seems to me the loco's screw coupling was used because the Buckeye coupled coaches didn't have a screw coupling fitted to the coupling hook. I believe the screw coupling was carried in the guards van.

[DCB]

On 22/09/2020 at 19:13, Clive Mortimore said:

Hi Andi

 

It isn't the film of a skinny second man coupling a 47 at Ipswich? I bet you would be too tubby to get in between these days.

 

I know you're not a rotund as me...............yet. 

 

There was a group of us, including Andi, watching a video of Ipswich when the traction was being changed and all of a sudden a very young looking Dagworth was seen climbing out between the loco and train. A small cheer went up. 

 

That's a great video. Especially the sound track and smoke effects, all that drama before the 47 even turns a wheel.   Something DCC sound never seems to capture, engine revs rising and falling while stationary and while accelerating...

[Steadfast]

16 hours ago, DavidCBroad said:

It seems to me the loco's screw coupling was used because the Buckeye coupled coaches didn't have a screw coupling fitted to the coupling hook. I believe the screw coupling was carried in the guards van.

The loco coupling is always used on wagons and screw coupling coaching stock too, it's a  standard whatever the stock being hauled is fitted with.

 

Jo