Starting from 9 north at York without slipping
Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:52 pm
Can anyone point me towards the location of an article on this subject, written, I think, by W A Tuplin and appearing in, probably, TI in the 50s but quoted elsewhere.
Anyone who watched a Pacific start from 9N, especially the gantry watercolumn spot just N of the footbridge where the rail was always greasy, will be familiar with the spectacular slips and pyrotechnics which accompanied many starts.
In this article W A T compared two starts, actually from the platform end column. The first was accompanied by much slipping and delay. The second was very quiet and efficient.
W A T put much of the problem down to the additional drag induced by the curve in the track and not very competent driving.
As I recall, he put the successful technique down to something like the following. The train was brought to walking pace on the vacuum brake, then the tender handbrake was applied causing the train to buffer up to the loco, the vacuum brake then being reapplied to hold the train buffered up. On restarting, the tender brake was released, then vacuum created allowing the train to give the loco a gentle push and overcome the initial inertia.
Interesting, especially as the ex LNER or BR Mk 1 stock would (should?) have been buckeye coupled and the buffers pinned back to rely purely on the buckeye which surely should have allowed little buffering up.
Any memories/comments on this?
Anyone who watched a Pacific start from 9N, especially the gantry watercolumn spot just N of the footbridge where the rail was always greasy, will be familiar with the spectacular slips and pyrotechnics which accompanied many starts.
In this article W A T compared two starts, actually from the platform end column. The first was accompanied by much slipping and delay. The second was very quiet and efficient.
W A T put much of the problem down to the additional drag induced by the curve in the track and not very competent driving.
As I recall, he put the successful technique down to something like the following. The train was brought to walking pace on the vacuum brake, then the tender handbrake was applied causing the train to buffer up to the loco, the vacuum brake then being reapplied to hold the train buffered up. On restarting, the tender brake was released, then vacuum created allowing the train to give the loco a gentle push and overcome the initial inertia.
Interesting, especially as the ex LNER or BR Mk 1 stock would (should?) have been buckeye coupled and the buffers pinned back to rely purely on the buckeye which surely should have allowed little buffering up.
Any memories/comments on this?