Kernow Pete

Very nicely done. If you are running it full time with the 14xx you can use loco lamp on the auto and remember the loco then has no spare lamps. The red slide being used on the rear lamp whether loco or coach.

Remember that the whistle is connected by a wire through the roof of the trailers. Running with the bunker to the trailer as stated above has practical safety advantages in that there is no wire for the fireman to get caught up on when he climbs up to take water and crosses to open the far hatch to allow the air out for faster filling. Water columns deliver much more water that a water main and time was at a premium at Saltash as the shunt to the Up line had to be performed before another Down train to Cornwall could be run. A starting signal was provided to allow Up departures from the Down platform to keep things moving and remained in use even with DMUs. Obviously when running with 4 trailers the wire will be in the way and the fireman will just have to be careful. The instructions on formation are interesting and it is worth paying attention to them. Alec Swain told me of a situation to which he was called relating to DMU unpowered trailers which with their Single Unit DMUs were of course the auto train's replacement. Apparently there was a working into Paddington in the mornings where a DMU was to be split off and left in the platform to form another service. The driver who came to take this unit out failed the train having been unable to start the engines and when Alec went to investigate he discovered it was i fact two trailers back to back so no chance of going anywhere. The instructions about storing all of Southalls single unit trailers pointing the same way had been broken. He didn't tell me which way was correct and I never thought to ask. Alec was a mine of operational information as well as a cracking photographer. best regards Pete C

The water column at Saltash was in the middle of the Down platform and it was usual for Saltash Motor trains to take water there on all down services as there were no other "convenient" facilities on the route including Plymouth North Road. Water could also be taken at Tavistock on the Down Platform end before crossing over to the Up Platform to return to Plymouth.

Hi Brian, The front and rear ends of the loco have separate rods in the cab, basically they are clamped back out of the way for normal running or either one pinned to the regulator handle as required.

Regarding lamps on auto trailers, the loco lamp was carried on the centre bracket throughout. The red slide is stored in the headlamp and just pulled out from the back or side and slid into the front when a red light is required. A clue to when auto trailers are being used without auto gear is the use of a tail lamp on the tail lamp bracket. Tail lamps are easily recognised by the clinched handle that allows them to hang steady on a coupling hook. Auto train headlamps on locomotives are often left on the centre lower bracket with the red slide being used when running at the rear.

I was told by a Newton Abbot driver that unoffically it was 4 bells = pull out the pin. He was a regular Ashburton and Moretonhamstead driver. The comment was also echoed by a Passed Laira fireman who presumably had worked Saltash and Tavistock Motors. The linkage was certainly stiff to move and it takes several full swings of the regulator in the trailer cab to make the loco regulator move and there is certainly little precision. The Driver always had access to the vacuum brake provided that he removed the pin in the trailer cab and also had ATC for the distant signals, so could always brake or stop the train. Auto working was hard work for the fireman who to work auto had to be a "Passed Fireman" in other words a trained driver.

Brian, Disconnecting the control rod from the regulator is merely a case of removing the pin on the loco, as you would do at each change of direction, there are separate control rods to the front and rear of the engine. Lining up the the big universal joint between engine and coach is relatively simple, the crank under the loco bufferbeam being kicked to alter the position until it lines up. Just hope loco is not "In Gear" and the rod pinned to the regulator handle when you do it! Pete

State of W240W broke my heart recently when I revisited the DVR (SDR). Not sure why it was allowed to deteriorate but would love to see it restored to service again. The galvanised sheeting was certainly a problem as I remember it being in good condition back in the 1960's but as evidenced elsewhere does not hold paint well, the autotrailers often having a very crazed paint finish by the end of service and the maroon ones we stripped had little other paint under the top coat but remember at that time they were only just over 10 years old! They suffered the usual Western problem of the stopper dropping out of the screw holes all along the lower edge of the body which made the Collets and particularly the Hawkesworths in Maroon so easily noticeable in photos. As for the driver sitting down in the picture in 206, I think the regulator is open but remember the number of cranks and rods in involved that may bear no relation to where the push rod connected to the regulator handle actually is. Driver Jack Arscott on the DVR was a small man and when the DVR first opened 4 coach auto working was the order of the day and if you rode with him in the cab, starting was as much a feat of athletics with him swinging the lever from side to side until he had coaxed the regulator in the engine open, often assisted with a gentle help from the fireman who would notch as necessary. You learnt to pin yourself against the cab door when Jack started swinging the auto's regulator. Of course closing the regulator was a similar problem. Check out the video of Chaffinch earlier in this thread and you can see the amount of movement necessary on the Auto trailers regulator. The idea of working a two coach train topped and tailed all day must have filled crews with horror especially for the fireman who would effectively run the show all day single handed. Certainly on the Ashburton Branch the strengthening coach was always added at the Ashburton end, to make it two trailers plus 14xx. Pete

The curtains on W228W when it arrived on the dart valley railway back in the mid 1960's were a shabby gold colour (and heavily nicotine stained). They were removed over time as they rotted before restoration started. The seats were the usual BR red moquette and the small compartment was labelled no smoking (triangular labels on each window). I don't remember white lines on the driving cab windows of 228 at that time but was informed that they had been provided for the benefit of drivers who were unused to having glazed cab sides to avoid them putting their heads through the glass when looking back before departure. The lines on the front were to remind them it was a window although there was enough stuff in front of them to stop them getting too close (handbrake, vacuum brake valve and ATC in use/out of use flag and box which were painted green as on locomotives). W228W was the home of the rolling stock gang for many years on the DVR being the last trailer to be restored. The small compartment being a cosy place to warm up and eat lunch on cold winter days whilst restoring the other trailers in the mid - late 1960s. W240 being the first to be restored inside and out (it having the later bus type seating which was a sort of Pea Green colour). Bus type seating was said to be the reason the later batch were 1 ton lighter. Tokens were not exchanged by the driver in the front cab but by the Fireman on the locomotive (observed on regular trip with the Saltash Motors in the early 60s). Interestingly this meant that there was no check for the correct token/staff as on a normally manned loco where the fireman is required to show the token to the driver. On the Saltash Motor it was common for the fireman to give 2 bells to let the driver know he had the token at Royal Albert Bridge Signal Box. On arrival at Saltash, the token was normally handed to the Porter who would walk it across to the signal box and hang it on a metal hook outside the front left hand window for the signalman to retrieve. The auto gear is very heavy and the unofficial bell code 4 from the driver was often used I believe on the Saltash Motor to allow the Fireman to drive and the driver to look after the brake. The use of the bell by the guard for starting was not common as the 2 bell code is for the fireman to blow off the brakes and is often given before the "Right Away" by the Guard. The second headlamp from the loco was normally used on the trailer on the centre bracket with the red slide being inserted when it was on the rear of the train so an auto tank would not normally have spare lamps on the side brackets. Some drivers also used the Handbrake in preference to the vacuum brake to control the trains speed although this was frowned upon as it caused excessive wear on the leading bogie brake shoes and wheels. The GW locos were fitted with vacuum pumps which restored the vacuum when small applications were made but the driver could bell 2 if he need the fireman to blow off the brakes from a more severe application.