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Class 03 runners on the Mainline?


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There's a nice photo here of an 03 out on the Tyne Yard to Blaydon trip freight in 1983 on the Newcastle-Carlisle line. I assume that the trip sometimes ran very lightly loaded.

 

http://ironroad.smugmug.com/Railways/BR-1980s-Colour-Ongoing/18275299_zCH45f#!i=1799059971&k=VbV3b3b&lb=1&s=A

 

As shown in Dave F's photo above, they also ran all the way up the ECML from Gateshead to Berwick quite often in the 80s when there was always one stationed there as pilot. That must have been a long old journey at 27mph!

 

Arp

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There is a photo by 'Rivercider' and thread elsewhere on this site that shows Bristol, Bath Road allocated 03382 in blue livery, shunting at Lawrence Hill coupled to a BR 'Conflat' TDB709457 which carries the TOPS Code ZSV.

 

http://www.rmweb.co....th-match-truck/

.

Until that photo surfaced, I was unaware of any 'runners' on the WR.

.

Brian R

Edited by br2975
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There's a nice photo here of an 03 out on the Tyne Yard to Blaydon trip freight in 1983 on the Newcastle-Carlisle line. I assume that the trip sometimes ran very lightly loaded.

 

http://ironroad.smug...bV3b3b&lb=1&s=A

 

As shown in Dave F's photo above, they also ran all the way up the ECML from Gateshead to Berwick quite often in the 80s when there was always one stationed there as pilot. That must have been a long old journey at 27mph!

 

Arp

Sometimes only a few wagons, but sometimes 20+ wagons. Given the access to the Dunston branch, locos would run on from here with loaded coal wagons for Blaydon behind the loco, and loaded scrap from Dunston being propelled as far as Blaydon yard.

The 08 at Bristol TM had a BR brake van (latterly in RES livery) as a 'runner'.

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But apparently - from evidence in this thread alone - only in certain parts of the railway network, elsewhere the locos ran about quite cheerfully on lines equipped with track circuits. And as these track circuits included ones which locked points and block instruments as well as controlling signals I'm quite sure there would have been Instructions galore should the slightest problem occur - there certainly were for all sorts of things (one of which on the Western was not only much longer than a 204 shunter but only ran anywhere coupled to its match wagon).

 

The match truck was there to cover situations where there were staggered ends to track circuits. This usually occurs through complicated pointwork.

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There is a photo by 'Rivercider' and thread elsewhere on this site that shows Bristol, Bath Road allocated 03382 in blue livery, shunting at Lawrence Hill coupled to a BR 'Conflat' TDB709457 which carries the TOPS Code ZSV.

 

http://www.rmweb.co....th-match-truck/

.

Until that photo surfaced, I was unaware of any 'runners' on the WR.

.

Brian R

 

I only managed to photo it that day, but there are other pictures of it at Bath Road with runner attached, (as well as with other acting runners).

The Lawrence Hill pilot duty also involved a trip up the main line to shunt the scrap yard at Stapleton Road,

so the Bath Road 03s would have been regularly working a mainline freight trip until about 1979,

 

cheers

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The match truck was there to cover situations where there were staggered ends to track circuits. This usually occurs through complicated pointwork.

 

IIRC the 03 had a 9' wheelbase. Track circuits on the LMR were designed to cover anything from 8'6" upwards, so runners would not be needed on that region. Where there was greater stagger in point work special controls were sometimes added to ensure that track circuits operated in the correct sequence under short vehicles.

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  • 8 years later...
19 minutes ago, russ p said:

I take it the runner was vac braked? Interesting that having that on an air braked train you would have air and vac brakes operative in the same formation 

I think they were vac and air-piped, as they were used on the shunters at Newcastle station, as well as on trip freights.

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1 minute ago, Fat Controller said:

I think they were vac and air-piped, as they were used on the shunters at Newcastle station, as well as on trip freights.

The Ipswich one shows a W TOPS brake code which is vac braked air piped

Would they let a vehicle on the mainline unbaked on potentially the rear of the train ie on its own 

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5 minutes ago, russ p said:

The Ipswich one shows a W TOPS brake code which is vac braked air piped

Would they let a vehicle on the mainline unbaked on potentially the rear of the train ie on its own 

They presumably treated them in the same fashion as brake vans. There were some unorthodox practices in the Blaydon area, perhaps a legacy of the days when it was freight-only from Blaydon to Low Fell. I have mentioned before seeing the working from Dunston Staithes to Blaydon sometimes having the loco in the middle of the train.

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3 minutes ago, Fat Controller said:

They presumably treated them in the same fashion as brake vans. There were some unorthodox practices in the Blaydon area, perhaps a legacy of the days when it was freight-only from Blaydon to Low Fell. I have mentioned before seeing the working from Dunston Staithes to Blaydon sometimes having the loco in the middle of the train.

 

Thats Tyne yard men for you!

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24 minutes ago, PenrithBeacon said:

Wonderful photos, I think the photographer's location was the footbridge to the left of this cropped image

 

Derwenthaugh.png

I think you're correct; the line the train's on is the one that led to the exchange sidings for Derwenthaugh coking plant. To the east of the river was Swalwell open-cast Disposal Plant. The train would have worked as far as Blaydon coal yard after finishing at Derwenthaugh. In later years, after the Miners' Strike, and the loss of most of the coal and coke traffic, it became a '31' turn, serving the various scrapyards around Dunston and Blaydon, before carrying on to Hexham.

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On 28/06/2012 at 10:32, br2975 said:

A number of the Landore based 'noddies' were also wired for multiple working, with the connections emerging from the rear cab wall - requiring them to operate "cab to cab".As such these locos could stay 'conjoined' for several months.The most common role for these locos were the Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley coal workings, commonly with the pair at the front and a single 03 banker at the rear on trains to Cwm Mawr, and usually with all three at the front on return trains to Burry Port. I have a BR drawing somewhere showing the cab mods for multiple working - must dig it out.Brian R

A terrible photo taken from a moving train of one at Llanelli taken on 7/1/84, showing MW cables.

D2152 (03152), seen here on the Swindon and Cricklade Railway, Oct 13th 2019, still has a patch on the rear of the cab where its MW cables emerged. 

 

I saw virtually all the survivors in 1983-85, photographing many, and the Norwich and Newcastle pilots had runners, but the Ipswich, Birkenhead and Landore allocated ones didn't.

1984 Jan 7th-14th (2).jpg

IMG_1011.JPG

Edited by Tim Hall
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When air brakes came in, a lot of the vacuum-fitted runners just seem to have had two pipes laid across the deck of the wagon which were then connected to the air/MR cocks fitted to the buffer beams

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6 minutes ago, russ p said:

Anyone know when runners were first used?

I take it no 04s never had runners

There is a Yarmouth one here with a "runner" (and side-skirts/cowcatchers...)

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/y/yarmouth_south_town/index35.shtml

 

and one at Ipswich by Mr "Crewcastrian"....

https://www.flickr.com/photos/86020500@N06/8561026883/

 

Edited by Johann Marsbar
extra photo
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