Triple heading

[pH]

Were there many (any?) trains triple-headed on British railways - steam or diesel? I’d exclude light engine moves.

 

The only situation I can remember reading about (and I can’t remember where) was trains of tanks being moved from training areas on the Moray Firth to the south coast of England in preparation for D-day. Those were triple-headed over the Highland mainline with 8Fs. 

Edited December 26, 2021 by pH

[Dunsignalling]

There was a period when iron ore trains from docks to steelworks in South Wales employed triple Class 37s, later displaced by pairs of Class 56.

 

Light engine workings used to be limited to a maximum of five coupled except where more restricted on specific routes by maximum bridge loadings etc. I'm not sure if that still applies across the board.

 

John

[Hal Nail]

Somewhere in between a light engine move and genuine booking, I was at Eastleigh a few weeks ago when 4 66's came into the yard hauling a long engineering train. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kris]

Not quite a triple header but on the line to Newquay some passenger services were double headed and had a banker. This was a steam era thing. The 1953 working timetable lists the working load for a Castle or 10xx combined with a 78xx + assistance at the rear to Luxulyan as 450 tons.

Edited December 26, 2021 by Kris

[LMS2968]

I don't know what's going on here as the caption isn't too informative. 8F 8504 leading LNER J35 9208 and J37 6234 at Dundee on 3 October 1946. The 8F is carry light engine lamps so might have been called out to assist a failure. Photo from Neil Dimmer's page on Nat Pres.

 

 

[Dagworth]

Triple headed class 20s on a railtour

 

https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/80s/870502c2.htm

Edited December 26, 2021 by Dagworth

[Phil Bullock]

3 minutes ago, Dagworth said:

Triple headed class 20s on a railtour

 

https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/80s/870502c2.htm

Always thought there should have been some follow up tours to that one. Four to Dore …. Seven to Loch Leven etc

[keefer]

Ravenscraig ore trains (and possibly MGR) were 2x37 but had another (or occasionally a 26) added from Mossend-Ravenscraig to get up Holytown bank.

[ardbealach]

Another one was the Grand Scottish Railtour back on 25 March 1967.  Details attached taken from Six Bells Railtour site.  The three diesels D5122 / D5127 / D5070 headed us over Drumochter from Aviemore to Perth.  Also on the roster that day was Class 40 [D368] double headed with Class 47 [D1973] and A4 No.9 and Black 5 44997. (Alisdair) 

[Johann Marsbar]

Instamatic shot of one of the Llanwern workings, taken from a passing Railtour (behind a 50 and a 37..) in 1979...

 

[njee20]

The last seven (new build) 66s were delivered as one train, hauled by an eighth.

Photo from Flickr.

 

Edit: sorry, excluding light engine moves, my bad!

Edited December 26, 2021 by njee20

[keefer]

18 minutes ago, ardbealach said:

Another one was the Grand Scottish Railtour back on 25 March 1967.  Details attached taken from Six Bells Railtour site.  The three diesels D5122 / D5127 / D5070 headed us over Drumochter from Aviemore to Perth.  Also on the roster that day was Class 40 [D368] double headed with Class 47 [D1973] and A4 No.9 and Black 5 44997. (Alisdair) 

Southbound Inverness trains in the 60s were usually 2x24 with another sometimes being added en-route

[hexagon789]

The Royal Highlander was frequently triple-headed by various classes of Baby Sulzers in the 1960s-1970s over the HML Inverness-Perth a vice-versa. 

[black and decker boy]

Watching a YouTube video the other day suggested some MGR workings in the Welsh valleys were triple 37s in the 1990s

[Steadfast]

2 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

Somewhere in between a light engine move and genuine booking, I was at Eastleigh a few weeks ago when 4 66's came into the yard hauling a long engineering train. 

 

 

 

 

 

Was it this working?

 

66721 'Harry Beck' in London Underground map livery leads 66751, 66725, 66798 and an RDT on 6O39 Westbury - Eastleigh, seen in the Down Yard before departure

 

Two top and tail trains had come back into the yard, and all 4 locos had to go to Eastleigh, one for the back working of the tripper, the others for other GB trains. Of the four, only one was powering.

 

Mendip trains can be seen with three locos up front too, but this tends be to get the locos in position to work onwards trains, not for power, as a solo 59 would do it. The front pair might be multi'd up, but the extras are probably being towed dead.

 

Jo

[Tankerman]

Not a booked service, but sometimes seen at Truro in the late 1950's and early 1960's, were a pair of Class 22's hauling a failed/dead Class 41/42/43 westbound. I never saw this formation heading east, presumably because the booked Warship hadn't had time to fail.

 

Double headed Class 22's, presumably replacing a Warship, in both directions, were not uncommon.

Edited December 27, 2021 by Tankerman
typo

[Rivercider]

The incline between Exeter St Davids and Exeter Central had special instructions in the Appendix to the Working Timetable. Passenger trains exceeding 80 wheels required two assisiting engines in the rear. Stone trains from Meldon Quarry required assistance sometimes one assisting engine front, and two more at the rear. At times there were three locos at the front coming up the bank. Also in order to reduce the number of train movements back down the bank to Exeter St Davids the banking locos were attached to the front of down  trains. The Appendix mentions four locos was the maximum permissible number of locos (including train loco) that were permitted to run together, three locos together was a common occurrence,

The weekly Cleethorpes to Sidmouth/Exmouth service was sometimes hauled by three tank locos between Sidmouth Junction and Tipton St Johns where the train divided,

 

cheers

Edited December 26, 2021 by Rivercider
spelling

[Hal Nail]

3 hours ago, Steadfast said:

Was it this working?

 

66721 'Harry Beck' in London Underground map livery leads 66751, 66725, 66798 and an RDT on 6O39 Westbury - Eastleigh

Yes, looks like it. I just happened to be there, I didn't have any knowledge of the working.

 

Actually thinking about it, i had a feeling it came off the Romsey line and that would make sense now.

Edited December 26, 2021 by Hal Nail

[turbos]

In the 1970s the Seafield Colliery to Longannet Power Station MGR trains used three Class 20 throughout, two at one end and one at the other. Double manned so all three were powering on the journey and avoided running round and a full brake test.

 

Brian.

Edited December 26, 2021 by turbos

[Rugd1022]

Triple headed Warships in South Devon....

 

[jim.snowdon]

2 hours ago, Steadfast said:

Two top and tail trains had come back into the yard, and all 4 locos had to go to Eastleigh, one for the back working of the tripper, the others for other GB trains. Of the four, only one was powering.

Technically, that's only single heading as the other locos are just dead train load.

 

21 minutes ago, Rugd1022 said:

Triple headed Warships in South Devon....

Only if all three were working.

 

[ColinK]

Bickershaw Colliery trains were top and tailed by pairs of 20s, as were deliveries of tube stock from Derby.

 

A long time ago I was on one of the SLOA weekend trips which departed south from Inverness behind a class 40 and a pair of type 2s  All three were needed to get the huge train over the hills to Perth.  Unfortunatly photography was almost impossible as it departed at dusk with many coaches off the platform at Inverness. Somewhere I’ve got a very blurred pic taken from the train.

[Joner]

10 minutes ago, jim.snowdon said:

 

 

Only if all three were working.

 

Zooming in, it does look like the third one has heat haze from the exhaust. Probably just a blur.   Could they have worked in multiple? 

[jim.snowdon]

1 minute ago, Joner said:

Zooming in, it does look like the third one has heat haze from the exhaust. Probably just a blur.   Could they have worked in multiple? 

The Westerns were not fitted for multiple working.

 

 

[Hal Nail]

 

7 minutes ago, jim.snowdon said:

The Westerns were not fitted for multiple working.

What about Warships?

 

I think I've just proved the pedants here are firing on all cyclinders

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by Hal Nail