NorthEndCab

I was watching Burt Lancaster’s 1964 film “The Train,” the other night, and noticed in this scene where the light loco is being pursued by a spitfire, that he appears to throw it into reverse once reaching the safety of a tunnel. Now, I’m aware that films take massive liberties with reality and this wouldn’t happen in real life, and even if it did I doubt it would have much more effect than just braking, but I was wondering, is it technically possible to throw a steam loco into reverse whilst travelling at speed without seriously bending something? Many thanks

Did he qualify for “Death in Service”?

I can well believe it. I’m told my depot had a reputation as being quite “stagnant,” for promotion until about the late 80’s. I’ve hear a lot of the older guys talking about people retiring as second-men. The running joke was that when men from our depot went to a “foreign,” messroom, the TCS couldn’t tell which was the driver and which was the second man.

Which is presumably why when you see photographs / footage of steam-era railwaymen they tend to look a lot older than they actually were. I took this screenshot from “The Elizabethan Express,” British Transport Film. I know a top-link express driver would have been one of the senior men on the depot, but he looks 10+ years older than he realistically was. (I could have used the other driver before the halfway change, but you get the point.) It also seems to be a common theme that they didn’t survive long after retirement. I don’t know whether that was peculiar the the footplate grade In those days though?

I was told that if you’re doing it correctly, you should be able to have someone in the second mans seat for the whole trip and not be able to describe what they look like when you get out.

That’s the key for the Strategic Reserve. Expect a visit from some gentlemen in suits......

It’s no more of a distraction than having a passenger in a car. There’s not many locos/units that have space in the cab for more than two. If you’re slim enough you can sit in the coat-rack on the second mans side of an HST maybe. I’ve only been knocked over once, and that was while road learning in a group. We had 3/4 runs up and down the branch we were learning. Three of us were in the back cab “familiarising ourselves with route maps,” whilst the instructor up front was assessing an ex-freight man who already signed the route who’d come over to us. He was a bit exuberant with the power handle, opened up too soon and took a 20mph junction a little over the limit.... I got knocked into the drivers seat and bashed my leg. My mate ended up on the floor and the guy who very definitely didn’t have the door open having a cigarette because that would be against the rules was an interesting shade of white afterwards, but otherwise unharmed The poster above who mentioned lower speed braking is 100% correct. Aiming to stop HST air brakes smoothly on a “rising brake,” is much easier from higher speed then lower.

I’ve heard that BR management training was genuinely world class? Didn’t LNER (and presumably other) companies management trainees have to do time in everywhere from a signal box to control to the erecting shops? Apropos of nothing, my “Non Technical,” Driver Manager was managing a branch of a bakery until 18 months ago.

On whichever TOC is it that I work for, there has to be a “safety critical,” person in each portion of a non-gangwayed train. In practice this would be the guard asking you as driver if you’re happy to be that person in the front whilst they travel in the rearmost set. You’re within your rights to say no however, as drivers aren’t given formal evacuation training much beyond, “Tell the Bobby if they’re jumping off.” I doubt many would refuse if it was their “going home,” train and control wanted them to wait for another staff member otherwise though.....

I seem to recall the grids for the 80 through Wellingborough on the Up are set at 80 and are a little way before the PSR, that caught quite a few people out.

I’d agree, but the first thing you must do, before anything else when stopped out of course is contact the signaller, which doesn’t appear to have happened here for whatever reason. At least not according to that statement. As ever, we don’t have the full picture and will have to wait for the report.

Which gives rise to the rather inappropriate question old hand drivers like to ask new starters, “Why do they use cats eyes?” Answer: “Because if they used ar****oles you’d need twice as many cats.”

Possibly, but there are currently empty stock workings to/from Derby, so it’s a vast improvement. There was a rumour at one time that Thameslink would take over Corby - St Pancras and EMR wouldn’t stop south of Kettering. That would only have involved TL drivers learning Bedford - Corby (Maybe 2 weeks Route learning at most). Far too simple a solution

Yes it will be a proper electric depot. I believe it’s main work will be the Corby-STP’s, but they will sign the bi-modes and 222’s as well, so can go a bit further afield.

They are built but I don’t think fully commissioned yet, I believe they were due to open with the December 2020 MML timetable and will stable the electrics. Predictably, this has fallen behind until May next year (unofficially). There’s a tamper normally stabled in the engineers siding there currently, The drivers that will be based there have been passing out for the new depot over the past few weeks, but have been working out of Derby.

Hi, I’ve noticed over the past few days that NR have been demolishing the wall that would have run along the top of Sheffield stations dive-under that ran alongside the Down Main going into Sheffield. (Along the back of B&Q on Queens Rd for anyone who knows the area) I know the dive under was filled in some time ago but the North end remains in use as Northerns carriage wash spur from their depot in the station. I did hear a messroom rumour about the dive under being brought back into use, but we all know about the veracity of messroom rumours. I was also wondering if anyone knew what services particularly used it, or if anyone has any memories of travelling on it? It appears 8 minutes into this video, which is well worth a watch, although it’s astounding how much railway infrastructure has been lost. It’s what would have been the top of the wall on the right of the photo that’s been demolished. https://youtu.be/FZ_LWvQeDBE

The North sidings at Cricklewood (where the EMR HST’s stable in the day) are due to be demolished from next month and EMR stock will stable in the new sidings just North of Cricklewood station.

Melton SB about 3/4 years ago, showing the cooking facilities. Also featured a rather comprehensive library on a homemade shelf. Toilet facilities IIRC are the station ones which are worth a trip to use. I think it was at one time the First Class waiting room when Melton was on the mainline, and features a single toilet and sink in an ornately Victorian room about the size of a squash court.

I have a vague recollection of there being an oil terminal somewhere near Ironville on the Erewash, possibly Doe Hill? Also somewhere that was something to do with explosives for quarries/collieries in the same general area.

Isn’t all this talk of audible warnings basically describing a “warbler,”? We have a few dusty ones, although I’ve never seen one used in anger! At our main depot we couple units and remartial HST sets. While the RSSB rulebook is obviously the main authority, each depot has its own working instructions which you are examined on before signing the depot.. The relevant one to this discussion is that for any coupling movement you take a shunter with you who gives you the nod and supervises the movement. (He gets his permission from the yard supervisor in turn) This prevents anyone wandering between the vehicles during the movement. We already have flashing lights for movements off fuelling roads and into sheds etc where there will be people close to trains. With regards to cameras and radar etc, if you’ve only been past a depot in the day then they look quite lonely and barren places. At night that all changes. You can have 3/4 movements occurring at once, drivers, shutters, fitters, cleaners, security all milling around the place. It’s noisy, it’s cold, people are tired at 04:00 on a winters morning, there’s oil and trip hazards all over, it’s organised chaos basically. There’s a LOT going on. As a driver you can’t see what’s going on immediately In front of you, but you need to make sure the road is set correctly for your movement (hopefully the shunter has done his job) that there’s no units foul, the fitters haven’t left a set of steps in the four foot, there’s no fuel pipes trailing over the rails etc etc. You need to look forward, not at various cameras etc in the cab. The simplest and best thing is to keep people to the authorised walking routes. That way there’s limited places they can be and you know where they’re going to be and can react accordingly. (I appreciate a lot of freight work doesn’t necessarily have this luxury.) Certainly a case of, “He without sin...,” (which I am not without in this instance) but during every rules exam we get given the PTS exam paper again. It ends with the same question, “Who is responsible for your safety?” Answer “I am.”

Skegness is the only one I can think of off the top of my head, but it’s been some time since I was in the front end there and it may have been resignalled.

I’m guessing this was the solution to speeding into termini before the use of TPWS? I’m only a humble boil-in-the-bag, and my instructor told me to regard red on the terminus blocks as a fixed red signal, hence always being checked down to it.

Hi, thanks for replying! Yes I am a driver and at our Depot we refer to them as job cards and the rolling stock follows a diagram. Although you would be understood if you asked for a diagram. I’m not sure if it’s an ex Midland thing or a Depot specific thing.

When I book on each day I pick up my job card for the day which tells me where I need to be and when, headcodes and station stops. When did this start in its present format? And does anyone know what happened in steam days? Eg; if I booked on in 1934, would I have a list of stops or would I just be told I’m driving “The 16:40 Sheffield,” and be expected to know the stops? Many thanks!