Out of curiosity, would a banking engine at the rear of a train be coupled? It seems easier to shove a train up the gradient and then let it go on its merry way at undiminished speed, whilst the banking engine slows and returns to the bottom of the hill but I suspect it's not as easy as that.
Some of my favourite photos of 1960s Western Region's workings, are of a "pilot" hydraulic diesel - it just looks so incongruous, coupled behind the steam "train engine".The GWR was unusual in insisting that the pilot was sandwiched between the train engine and the train (rather than just being tied on in front), so that the designated driver of the train had the optimal view of the road ahead and kept control of the brakes.
This rather old thread may be of interest:Could someone explain to me please just what was a pilot engine during steam days?
For example, would they shunt stock around a station or yard? could they be used for banking duties?
Thanks,
Andy.
The "Railway Roundabout" TV series has excellent footage of operations up Lickey incline. The banking engines were not coupled to trains; locos simply "dropped back" at Blackwell summit.Off the top of my head, my feeling is that a banking engine at the rear would be coupled to it and only removed from the train at a signal box except where local instructions permitted otherwise.
My earliest memories of Glasgow Queen Street in the late 1960s were of a pair of unrebuilt North British class 21s acting as coaching stock pilots/banking engines and they were fitted with a crude (Eastfield-made?) uncoupling device consisting of a stiff wire cable with a metal handle at its upper extremity, presumably operated by the secondman leaning out of the cab window and giving it a sharp upward yank. There is at least one photo of a loco fitted with such a device in Anthony Sayer's seminal history of the class 21 and 29 locos. In later days the banking engines were not coupled and dropped back once the rear of the train had cleared the top of Cowlairs incline.Out of curiosity, would a banking engine at the rear of a train be coupled? It seems easier to shove a train up the gradient and then let it go on its merry way at undiminished speed, whilst the banking engine slows and returns to the bottom of the hill but I suspect it's not as easy as that.
A small number of Class 66 are* equipped with something similar to act as Lickey banking engines today.I'll add a further refinement re banking engines. In some places locos were coupled to the rear but were fitted with means to slip the coupling to be released from the train. Funnily enough I saw a photo yesterday of one of the BR Class 3 tender locos (77XXX) so fitted - basically just a long cable from the front coupling to the cab; all a bit Heath Robinson!
The report below describes a fatal collision when a full train (plus banking engine) assisted a train ahead that was struggling, without being coupled up, and the two separated before colliding. Interestingly the quote uses the term "pilot" for the banking engine.On the three main West Coast Main Line inclines - Oxenholme/Grayrigg, Tebay/Shap and Beattock/Summit - the banking locos were never coupled AFAIR. In such circumstances, the banking loco had to start the train, using a series of coded whistles to communicate with the crew of the train engine.
Arrangements were then made for the 22.15 Euston to Glasgow express passenger train, consisting of 12 coaches including sleeping cars, with the Beattock pilot locomotive coupled to the rear, to be used to assist the Inverness train to Beattock Summit.
The Glasgow train was carefully brought up to the rear of the Inverness train, but the two trains were not coupled together prior to assistance being given. Shortly after the assisting movement commenced, the Inverness train pulled away, with the result that a gap of 6 to 10 yards developed between the two trains. After travelling approximately 400 yards, the Inverness train suddenly came nearly to a stand, with the result that the locomotive of the Glasgow train struck its rear at about 10 m.p.h.
you'd think it would have been more time-effective simply to double head all the way from Oxenholme to CarlisleOn the three main West Coast Main Line inclines - Oxenholme/Grayrigg, Tebay/Shap and Beattock/Summit - the banking locos were never coupled AFAIR. In such circumstances, the banking loco had to start the train, using a series of coded whistles to communicate with the crew of the train engine.
Time effective maybe but a lot of extra coal, water (probably not a concern in Cumbria), crew and locos.you'd think it would have been more time-effective simply to double head all the way from Oxenholme to Carlisle
My understanding is that the Great Western/BR western region requirement was that if a smaller engine was attached as a pilot it had to be coupled inside the larger engine. This was folowing a derailment at Loughor in 1904 when the smaller pilot engine derailed and was thought to have been pushed off the track by the larger engine. If a large engine was provided as pilot it stayed in front.There were two meanings of the term "pilot engine". This could refer to station pilots, (typically but not always small tank engines), which were used to shunt ECS, vans, etc around large stations. Alternatively, a "pilot engine" could be coupled to the train engine to double-head (mainly) heavy express trains to enable them to keep time, especially over routes with challenging gradients.
Double-heading was sometimes timetabled, but could on occasion occur if the train engine was under-performing and suitable assistance could be found from a convenient stabling point en route. This could lead to some unusual combinations of motive power and sometimes some unexpected main line experience for a relatively junior crew. The GWR was unusual in insisting that the pilot was sandwiched between the train engine and the train (rather than just being tied on in front), so that the designated driver of the train had the optimal view of the road ahead and kept control of the brakes.
Banking engines were required at some termini, because they were located at the base of significant gradients. Glasgow Queen Street is such an example. In these locations banking was often required. Others will know if there were designated banking locos in these locations, or if banking was part of the regular duties of the station pilots, the assistance being provided by the loco which had worked the empty stock into the platform in the first place.
On West Highland trains out of Queen Street almost always. Using the loco that had brought the train in to bank it up to Cowlairs also got it out of the way as quickly as possible!I was only once aware of being on board a banked train, a West Highland Line service out of Glasgow Queen Street in the 1980s. After emerging from Queen Street Tunnel I popped my head out of the door window and was surprised to see a Class 27 assisting at the back of the train. When the top of the incline was reached, the banking engine slowed to a stand while our train continued on its way without stopping, so it obviously wasn't coupled. I wondered how many times I might have travelled on banked trains before without realising it.
There is a bell code 2-2-1 to advise the signalman at the next box that there is a banking engine - and therefore "train out of section" should not be given until that, as well as the train itself, has passed the box.Off the top of my head, my feeling is that a banking engine at the rear would be coupled to it and only removed from the train at a signal box except where local instructions permitted otherwise. There were locations where locos on the rear would drop off and return to their starting point, but this would not be everywhere. The one thing you did not want is a misunderstanding leading to a loco running back wrong line while the next train is starting up the bank. Where it was permitted there would be appropriate regulations to ensure that all concerned knew what they were doing.
There is a bell code 2-2-1 to advise the signalman at the next box that there is a banking engine - and therefore "train out of section" should not be given until that, as well as the train itself, has passed the box.
Mea culpa2-2-1 was the normal code for an empty coaching stock train. 2-2 was used to indicate a loco or locomotives assisting in rear (2-3-1 was used when the assisting loco had one or two brake vans), but only where authorised. (1972 Regulations.)
I believe the components of the cable release device had been taken from the old North British N15 0-6-2T which used to do this work.My earliest memories of Glasgow Queen Street in the late 1960s were of a pair of unrebuilt North British class 21s acting as coaching stock pilots/banking engines and they were fitted with a crude (Eastfield-made?) uncoupling device consisting of a stiff wire cable with a metal handle at its upper extremity, presumably operated by the secondman leaning out of the cab window and giving it a sharp upward yank. There is at least one photo of a loco fitted with such a device in Anthony Sayer's seminal history of the class 21 and 29 locos. In later days the banking engines were not coupled and dropped back once the rear of the train had cleared the top of Cowlairs incline.
On the three main West Coast Main Line inclines - Oxenholme/Grayrigg, Tebay/Shap and Beattock/Summit - the banking locos were never coupled AFAIR. In such circumstances, the banking loco had to start the train, using a series of coded whistles to communicate with the crew of the train engine.
The GWR was unusual in insisting that the pilot was sandwiched between the train engine and the train (rather than just being tied on in front), so that the designated driver of the train had the optimal view of the road ahead and kept control of the brakes.
There was a long thread on RMWeb on this topic that got very heated. robert thomas seems to have got it mostly right from what I can tell, but it seems there were all sorts of exceptions.My understanding is that the Great Western/BR western region requirement was that if a smaller engine was attached as a pilot it had to be coupled inside the larger engine. This was folowing a derailment at Loughor in 1904 when the smaller pilot engine derailed and was thought to have been pushed off the track by the larger engine. If a large engine was provided as pilot it stayed in front.
I am happy to defer to the experts!There was a long thread on RMWeb on this topic that got very heated. robert thomas seems to have got it mostly right from what I can tell, but it seems there were all sorts of exceptions.
(There was also strong umbrage taken at the use of "pilot engine" to mean the engine at the front of a double-headed train, but then again that same user takes umbrage at the rewriting oof the rulebook done in coordination with the Plain English campaign).
The train crew were probably in the staff club or the muckmans.Before reconstruction in the early 1990s, Manchester Victoria's station pilot used to stand on one of the through lines between platforms 11 and 12 (platform 11 being the current platform 3). In my teenage spotting years it was generally a Class 25, and I can recall seeing it assist an eastbound freight up Miles Platting bank just the once - in fairness, we didn't go to Victoria that often. Whether it was ever required for other station duties by this date I don't know.
In the years leading up to the station's reconstruction, when passing through occasionally with our young son, it was a Class 37 ('big-nose diesel') and eventually a Class 60 ('see-through diesel'). With these family visits usually being on a Saturday, I don't recall seeing it ever move.
A wonderful video, thanks for the link to it, a great watch.The "Railway Roundabout" TV series has excellent footage of operations up Lickey incline. The banking engines were not coupled to trains
Some beautiful photos there of shunters, nice, clean and shiny.Station pilots were usually small shunting engines. Because they were very much in the public eye, they were kept in a much more presentable condition than most of their classmates, some even being given express passenger livery. The LNER, and later the Eastern Region, took particular pride in their presentation.
The origin of the word pilot is maritime, and predates the advent of the railway. A pilot provides safe passage through dangerous channels and currents to get ships in and out of harbours. Railway usage borrows from the maritime origin and probably goes back almost to the beginning of railway history.It seems the term of pilot engine has been around a good while, which makes you wonder where and when did this term first appear.