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Shunting wagons left on the main line


Brassey

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Excuse my ignorance on these matters but I have a picture of Woofferton Junction in pre-grouping days with goods wagons on the main line but without a break van attached. The loco, if attached, would have been out of shot.  I have assumed that the loco (and break van) were off somewhere else shunting.  My question is, was it common practice to leave goods wagons on the main line when this occurred?  The line in question is the Shrewsbury to Hereford and the train is on the main line not on the branch.  Cheers.  Peter

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Given a sufficient gap in traffic and as long as the line is suitably protected and the wagons firmly braked, there's no reason why not.  I thought it was a very common practice as long as traffic allowed. 

 

We sometimes do it on Stainsby when I operate that, but you have to be fairly slick as by definition you've blocked the line and stopped trains running while you faff about in the yard.

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Thanks.  I assumed that was the case and the positioning of the turnouts on the layout i am proposing to build would suggest that's how it happened as I can't see any other way of shunting the small yard.  Cheers.  Peter

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Even non-fitted wagons had handbrakes which could be pinned down, and I doubt that it was allowable to rely on the air / vacuum brake not leaking off, even with a fully fitted train. It was a matter of pinning down a sufficient number of wagon hand brakes to ensure the detached wagons didn't wander off anywhere!.

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I remember reading the incident report aboutnear disaster with doing this at honeybourne.

loco had left wagons on main line, forgot them and replaced the token once they had the loco in the sidings, thus allowing the next box to launch an HST.

que frantic phonecall to signal box and semaphore returned to danger . secondman thought signal went back a bit sharpish so told driver to stop.....wouldn't have been able to with a colour signal.

Saved HST from running into wagons at 100 mph !!

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I remember reading the incident report aboutnear disaster with doing this at honeybourne.

loco had left wagons on main line, forgot them and replaced the token once they had the loco in the sidings, thus allowing the next box to launch an HST.

que frantic phonecall to signal box and semaphore returned to danger . secondman thought signal went back a bit sharpish so told driver to stop.....wouldn't have been able to with a colour signal.

Saved HST from running into wagons at 100 mph !!

 

Colour light signalling would not prevent this it is the tying in of track circuits to signalling that would prevent this!

 

Mark

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Colour light signalling would not prevent this it is the tying in of track circuits to signalling that would prevent this!

 

Mark

 

I suspect he means the arm returning to danger caught the second man's eye rather than anything more sophisticated

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