LNER Q6 cab interior

[Neil]

I've just started populating my loco cabs and while it's easy to work out who goes where for most I'm having trouble with my Hornby Q6. I believe that they were right hand drive but did the driver stand, perch on the box that Hornby have moulded under the cab side windows or was there a tip up seat? I've searched the internet but can't find a photo of the cab interior to give me a clue.

 

Many thanks.

[Yardman]

The boxes the crew sit on are the rear sand boxes. the crew sat side saddle on these. There weren't any cab seats as such. The Q6's were left hand drive ( not sure about all of them) ,but the regulator could be operated from either side. In this rather poor photo of mine (Taken in 1965), you can see the reverser on the LHS. The backhead in the colour photo is 63395 in preservation and is not correct for an in service loco. Q6's were not vacumn braked.

[Blandford1969]

Have a look here at the  NELPEG Blog shot of the cab . I have not driven one but looking at it would imagine most of the time you stand. I have got some other cab photos somewhere so will dig out. 

 

Kind regards

 

Duncan

[Neil]

Thank you both. I've been told elsewhere that the Q6 was right hand drive and looking at footage from the NYMR the preserved example looks to be rhd. Interesting that there may have been differences.

[Yardman]

I'm not really certain which side the Q6's were driven on. In the B & W picture it looks like the reverser on the LHS, but this loco was out of service in Tyne Dock shed and it may be partly dismantled. It was separated from the tender for a start. There isn't much space to stand on a Q6 footplate and when working the fireman would occupy most of that space. I've seen crews sitting on the sandboxes when running. Comfort was not a consideration in the days of steam. 63395 is RHD as the Vacumn gauge is on that side for the driver, but in BR days it didn't have that gauge.  I'm not sure they were all RHD.

[31A]

I don't believe any Q6s were ever left hand drive.  One reason why the driver's side may be less obvious than on many locos might be that they had steam reversers which were worked from relatively small levers in the cab, so there wasn't the usual screw reverser or big reversing lever on the driver's side.