Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Jan 5, 2020 19:56:57 GMT
I like taking this route as my Mum's half sister's house backs onto the line right behind Barnes Bridge station, she likes me to toot the horn as I waft past, unfortunately her neighbours aren't exactly keen on me doing this at 4am....
Villain Hey, are you on The Flying Scotsman Villain!
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Sparky
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Post by Sparky on Jan 6, 2020 7:09:09 GMT
The stone traffic that comes out of Earles / Hope / Tunstead / Peak Forest is part of our bread and butter work, and has been for a long time now. It comes down onto our patch via the WCML or the Midland Mainline depending on the day of the week and the customer's requirements, we take the loaded train down to the unloading terminal in London on the site of the former steam loco shed at Stewarts Lane and bring the empties back up country. I'm on one of these jobs in the early hours of Tuesday and Thursday this week, taking the Tunstead - Battersea trip down the WCML and through Kensington Olympia before crossing over the Thames at Imperial Wharf, where the closing scenes of The Sweeney episode 'I Want The Man' were filmed in the old coal sidings which are sadly now long gone. Occasionally we take it across London via a different route, from Willesden we take a sharp right over the canal and head down through Acton Central and South Acton stations (both featured in 'Villain') then on past Kew Est Junction, Chiswick, Barnes (where we cross over the Thames), then through Wandsworth and Clapham Junction down to Battersea where we reverse right alongside the dogs home. I like taking this route as my Mum's half sister's house backs onto the line right behind Barnes Bridge station, she likes me to toot the horn as I waft past, unfortunately her neighbours aren't exactly keen on me doing this at 4am.... Villain That's quite a run out. The route across the Hope Valley is quite picturesque in good weather - it always reminds me of those summer scenes in the Railway Children.
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Villain
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Post by Villain on Jan 6, 2020 11:55:18 GMT
It's not all done in one shift though Sparky, it comes down from the Peak District with a Hope or Earles based driver, if it comes down the WCML we relieve it at Rugby at about 03.00 and take it to Battersea and get relieved by another Rugby man there, he finishes unloading it and brings it back up to Rugby in the afternoon where a Crewe man relieves him to take it back up north. If it comes down the Midland route we usually relieve it at Bedford and bring it across the branch to Bletchley where we regain the WCML route. There's a lot of travelling about involved in these jobs when relieving each other at certain locations, but it's still the most efficient way to get it done. On a bad day it can take six or seven hours to unload it at Battersea, add in all the shunting and potential delays due to outlying problems and you can see how it takes so long to get the entire job done from the quarries to London and back. If it were all done with lorries would take much longer and the roads would be even more be gridlocked, especially in and around London. Villain
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Sparky
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Post by Sparky on Jan 6, 2020 12:35:28 GMT
It's not all done in one shift though Sparky, it comes down from the Peak District with a Hope or Earles based driver, if it comes down the WCML we relieve it at Rugby at about 03.00 and take it to Battersea and get relieved by another Rugby man there, he finishes unloading it and brings it back up to Rugby in the afternoon where a Crewe man relieves him to take it back up north. If it comes down the Midland route we usually relieve it at Bedford and bring it across the branch to Bletchley where we regain the WCML route. There's a lot of travelling about involved in these jobs when relieving each other at certain locations, but it's still the most efficient way to get it done. On a bad day it can take six or seven hours to unload it at Battersea, add in all the shunting and potential delays due to outlying problems and you can see how it takes so long to get the entire job done from the quarries to London and back. If it were all done with lorries would take much longer and the roads would be even more be gridlocked, especially in and around London. Villain That makes sense. My eldest son will be doing his work experience at GBRF. Last year, they sorted out a Cab Ride for him, and we were lucky enough to go from Doncaster to Toton - with a double headed engineers train, destined for Warrington - via Crewe.
We (and the driver of course) took it as far as Toton yard, where the front loco came off to make up another train. The Engineers Train was then booked to leave Toton at 10pm that evening to head to Crewe, where there would be a driver swap again, who'd then take it up to where the works were taking place - in this case Warrington.
Quite an eye opener, as a bit of the run was over routes only open to Freight - and I never realised just how much as a driver there is to be looking out for. From keeping an eye on Signals, correct route, obstacles on track, people/animals on the track, idiots chucking crap from bridges - and any speed restrictions.
My Father in Law - now retired, worked at Tinsley Depot and was one of those responsible for rostering Drivers, ensuring they were trained on the various locos based there (20's, 45s, 47s, 37s, 56s etc) and also had the required "Route knowledge" too - and ensured that drivers were on regular route refresher courses.
I never understood that you have to know the route backwards - and possible diversions - and at night....
There used to be a 2 car DMU unit working out of Derby often out and about with drivers on it learning routes.
This is what members of the public don't see.
Steam Engine Drivers (somehow) knew the routes at night by the sound of the track.....
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Villain
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Post by Villain on Jan 7, 2020 16:34:58 GMT
Drivers in steam days often knew every inch of their routes from the sounds, yes, but they still had to learn and sign those routes properly off by heart, just as we do now - for a driver to take a train over a route they don't sign ''ist verboten!!'', and is punishable by having to ''hand in your papers!!'' . Just over a year ago I was 'wrong routed' twice, at Latchmere Junction and Longhedge Junction (both are close to Clapham Junction), luckily I was only doing about 10mph in both cases so was able to stop and question the route over the phone with the signaller, if I had taken the wrong route and carried on I'd have been effectively driving blind not knowing where the next signal was etc, and questions would be asked by the fifth floor brigade before the end of my shift! Villain
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Jan 7, 2020 16:44:55 GMT
Drivers in steam days often knew every inch of their routes from the sounds, yes, but they still had to learn and sign those routes properly off by heart, just as we do now - for a driver to take a train over a route they don't sign ''ist verboten!!'', and is punishable by having to ''hand in your papers!!'' . Just over a year ago I was 'wrong routed' twice, at Latchmere Junction and Longhedge Junction (both are close to Clapham Junction), luckily I was only doing about 10mph in both cases so was able to stop and question the route over the phone with the signaller, if I had taken the wrong route and carried on I'd have been effectively driving blind not knowing where the next signal was etc, and questions would be asked by the fifth floor brigade before the end of my shift! Villain You sure you're over complicating it Villain? Surely there's just go and stop and some sort of light switch?
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Cartman
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Post by Cartman on Jan 7, 2020 16:49:56 GMT
Do you still have AWS Villain, or has that been superceded by something more advanced?
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Villain
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Post by Villain on Jan 7, 2020 16:51:30 GMT
Tell you wahat, book on with me at 02.00 on Thursday morning and I'll show you...!! Oh, and don't forget the biscuits.... Villain
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Villain
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Post by Villain on Jan 7, 2020 16:52:48 GMT
Do you still have AWS Villain, or has that been superceded by something more advanced? Yes we still have it, plus there's now TPWS in various places too (Train Protection Warning System), which can physically stop a train running past a red signal. Villain
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Jan 7, 2020 16:53:52 GMT
Tell you watch, book on with me at 02.00 on Thursday morning and I'll show you...!! Oh, and don't forget the biscuits.... Villain If I could I would! Seems a bit frightening to me, you can't exactly swerve any obstacles and the thing must take about half a mile to stop!
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