What traction did you learn?

[cb900f]

It is, the other side of the country was only briefly!

Who's that then?

PM sent

[Bert Cheese]

It seems rather a shame that traction knowledge is often limited these days...

 

My father started on the railway as a 15 year old engine cleaner on Eastleigh shed in 1953, firing turns came fairly rapidly and he passed out for driving in 1964 to catch the final years of steam on the LSWR mainline, by now working from Basingstoke shed with its varied duties across SR/WR territory.

During that time he worked on everything from ancient shunters to the various Urie/Maunsell/Bulleid and BR standard classes as well as Black Fives, GW 28XX, Halls etc that were frequent visitors to the region....it all came full circle again in the 1980's when mainline steam returned too.

 

Still being a young man he adapted to the coming of the diesels easily and at one stage or another passed out on classes 03/08/09/33/Hymeks/37/Swindon Warships/47/60 & 73.

On the MU side there were the old 4-SUB's etc and the usual REP/VEP/TC's etc as well as a brief foray into 455/508's which was avoided thereafter! and the Hampshire/Berkshire DEMU's of course.

I know he was involved with the Networker test units converted from the Class 210 too, there is a souvenir mug featuring electrical circuit drawings on somewhere which was given to all the staff who worked on the project.

 

The only major omissions from his ticket were classes 50, 71/74 and the 442 Wessex Electrics...Basingstoke men never learned these, though he had enough dealings with errant class 50's to describe them as "Typical Western junk" when asked

 

After years of working as a mixed traction driver doing whatever/wherever was rostered the coming of privatisation saw a choice between working for EWS or SWT back at Eastleigh, having had enough of working nights the latter was the lesser of two evils and he spent a couple of years plodding EMU's about before being one of the lucky souls offered a very good redundancy package by Stagecoach and taking early retirement in 1997.

[CovDriver]

As a Guard I signed 321,323,350/1/2/3 and of course the 153 and now as a trainee Driver I currently sign 323 and 350/1/2/3 and all being well before the end of the year I should sign the 153 oh!! I can't wait

 

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[coachmann]

Found this today of the Black Five I mentioned earlier. Ashton-Under-Lyne......It was No.45409. If I knew then what I know now I would have taken more care of that mop of hair...

 

[Lady_Ava_Hay]

I have nothing to add to this thread as I have never worked for the railways but I do have a yen to drive a Class 205 Hampshire unit. Before I indulge this wish, I have been researching anything that would give me a basic driving course i.e. which lever does what and when to push or pull it.

 

I do like to be well prepared before I embark on anything. Which book / manual should I be reading and who has a copy that I can buy/borrow?

[Boco_D1]

No traction but I've signed for well over 50 different signalboxes over the years......

JF

Blimey I've got a long way to go to beat that record I've only got 5 under my belt (and I'm still training on the fifth) and with the future of railway signalling I don't think I will ever work that many boxes/desks. But I suppose 5 in 5 years is not bad.

[brian daniels]

Over the years it's 08/09, 25, 31, 33, 37, 45, 47, 50, 56, 58, 60, 66, 67, 317, DMMU's and I have worked on 35, 52 as a secondman. The best out of that lot was the 50's. Unfortunatly all we get on now are 66's and the 08 at Hinksey. Ah well not long until retirement, thank god!

[Lord Flashheart]

Over the years it's 08/09, 25, 31, 33, 37, 45, 47, 50, 56, 58, 60, 66, 67, 317, DMMU's and I have worked on 35, 52 as a secondman. The best out of that lot was the 50's. Unfortunatly all we get on now are 66's and the 08 at Hinksey. Ah well not long until retirement, thank god!

That's an impressive list Brian, so from a drivers point of view what made you prefer the 50s above the others.

 

Rob

[brian daniels]

You can stand up and drive them is the best part (33's the same) but apart from that they sound good and some of them went like s**t off a shovel. Green light from the guard and open them up, full!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never failed to bring a grin from ear to ear. Worked on all of them and only had a compressor fuse go which I soon changed and off we went again.

[Bert Cheese]

You can stand up and drive them is the best part (33's the same) but apart from that they sound good and some of them went like s**t off a shovel. Green light from the guard and open them up, full!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never failed to bring a grin from ear to ear. Worked on all of them and only had a compressor fuse go which I soon changed and off we went again.

And to think the "experts" today blame Waterloo drivers for blowing them up while driving like that...

 

Mind you, slamming the controller shut EMU style was allegedly their worst driving habit?...especially when combined with ropey Laira maintenance on the Mule examples.

I always liked 50's myself and spent many happy weekends chasing them about on my priv...needless to say Dad just didn't get it, towing dead'uns about seemed to have affected his judgement over the years!

[brian daniels]

Never failed a 50 driving to the max , it's just a question of, as you say, shutting off and giving a little pause before shutting off fully.

[russ p]

It makes me cringe on preserved railways sometimes when you are on a train that takes off like a scalded cat ,playing to the crowd only to here the engine scream in disgust when the throttle is slammed shut!

[Supaned]

My all-time traction card reads : 47,57,86,87,90,DVT,158,220,221,253/254. Of those, only the latter 3 are still current.

 

Personal favourite was the 86/2. A good all round loco, and lots of driver involvement with notching power on and off , and good route knowledge needed for the location of neutral sections.

[stadman]

Some traction and other self propelled items.

USP5000C, GP-TRAMM, 07/16 Series 3-5 + 07/32

Then units, 150,153, 158, 159, adding 143 and 142 later, now dropped 142 and 159 and added 253 and 57

Also driven Lister, Ruston, Simplex and Kerr Stuart Wrenn's Own A BEV/ WR5

[roythebus]

You certainly did need route knowledge on the class 81-87s with neutral sections! Especially with the hand notching. 

[Swindon 123]

As a Drivers Assistant at Kings Cross worked on Class 08, 31, 40, 46, 47, 55, HST, 312 & 313. Also drove Class 305/1 and 315 whilst travelling between Chingford and Liverpool Street on a daily basis when the Chingford drivers wanted a rest.

Passed out as a Relief Driver at The Cross on 47's then converted to 31's and 08. Last day at Kings Cross was passing out on 08's before transferring to Hereford. Whilst at Hereford also drove the 08's close cousin, 09 as they where used as pilots at Hereford before the yard closed.

At Hereford learnt classes 33, 37, 50, 56, 60, 66 and blue square DMU's before the advent of sprinters, of which I learnt 150/1 & 2, 155 &156. Also learnt MPV's on which I also instructed. Also worked on 45's and was due to learn them, but a change of policy scuppered that.

Whilst at Hereford also drove (with a conductor driver) Class 20, 25, 26, 58 & 73. 

During my time as a driver also had the opportunity to drive classes 86, 87, 90, (also from a DVT but don't know if that counts as a loco??), DC EMU's and travel on a 57, 59 & 92. Whilst training on 31's our instructor took us on the APT whilst it was on testing runs between Euston and Bletchley which made an interesting view from the front cab going around the curves on the WCML.

Also have self taught myself 03, 04 & 05 whilst maintaining the loco's for the loco group I'm a member of.

Favorite loco from a driving point of view, class 56, especially when working 4S81 or 4V63 between Pengam FLT & Crewe Basford Hall. 30 set liner, 1500T and 75MPH. Good for a Thrash!!. I also had a soft spot for the Deltics. Flying machines, although very noisy from a DA's point of view if the boiler played up. I also liked 50's but didn't get on them often enough. Favorite loco from a "going to work for the shift" point of view was a 60. Roll Royce of locos, and capable of pulling a loaded Seacow back onto the rails when one pushed through the blocks in Hereford Yard. It was a toss up as to what would break first, the coupling or the drawbar on the Seacow. Knock spots of a 66, but then everything would as in my opinion the 66 was the worst loco I ever had the misfortune to work on!!

That was my official traction list. Have driven  or travelled on a few other locos, including driving a King, at various times over the last three decades, and hopefully a few more in the future as well.

 

Paul J.

[russ p]

I'd agree that the 66 is the worst loco ever. Hot in the summer, freezing in the winter. Horrendously noisy in the cab but no exhaust note of any note! They may be reliable (mind failed quite a few times) but they drink fuel,glad I don't get them very often.

Class 60s are OK but I always preferred the 56 awesome loco's (from a drivers point of view)

We sometimes had a pair on the Wilton- Felixstowe LINER. Where you struggled to get 50mph out of a 47 you were backing off to keep 75 with a pair of 56s!

The only diesel to match one 0 to 60 mph is a 68 they are OK but not keen on sitting in the middle