Mineral wagons

[Andy873]

Sorry to add a "granny sucking eggs" type comment but it needs to be borne in mind that the brakes need to be unpinned from the same side that they were originally pinned down.

That's okay, no problem.

It looks like the person pinning down the breaks (hopefully) would know this and pin down the right hand side of the wagons. That way, unpinning along side the Up platform you would be free from the platform, in between both Up and Down tracks.

Thanks,
Andy.

 

[Gloster]

That's okay, no problem.

It looks like the person pinning down the breaks (hopefully) would know this and pin down the right hand side of the wagons. That way, unpinning along side the Up platform you would be free from the platform, in between both Up and Down tracks.

Thanks,
Andy.

But that would mean that they might be pinning down the brakes out on the open line on the side of the train nearest to oncoming trains on the other line, quite possibly with no protection by signals. Do this after dark in foul weather and an oncoming train could creep up on the guard unawares and that is that. I think it is more likely that they would pin down the near side brakes and stop somewhere in station limits, but clear of the platform. Looking at the 1931 map of the station there appears to be enough length available.

 

[Andy873]

But that would mean that they might be pinning down the brakes out on the open line on the side of the train nearest to oncoming trains on the other line, quite possibly with no protection by signals. Do this after dark in foul weather and an oncoming train could creep up on the guard unawares and that is that. I think it is more likely that they would pin down the near side brakes and stop somewhere in station limits, but clear of the platform. Looking at the 1931 map of the station there appears to be enough length available.

Yes it's a strange one this and thanks for the reply.

I can only tell you what I know, from the WTT's I have seen the line from Rose Grove West junction to the power station was a quiet one. It seems trains coming up from Padiham power station with empties travelled first.

With that out of the way the train with coal would stop when it had left the junction on a curve section to pin those brakes down before going down the 1 in 40 bank.

Yes, you would be exposed to possible danger but given the timings I think it would have been possible. Regarding doing this at night, these train movements were all done during daylight hours.

Thanks,
Andy.

 

[EveningStar]

At Blackwell, at the top of the Lickey incline, an old GWR sign "Goods trains to stop to pin down brakes" survived at least until the early 1980s, see here:

Nearly There!

An up express from Bristol about to breast the summit of the Lickey Incline at Blackwell on Tuesday evening 9th June 1981.

flickr.com

This picture does not show the sign so clearly, but does give a description of the "pinning down":

An 8F at Blackwell (PJS 0302)

Standing at the top of the Lickey Bank is Stanier 8F 48056. The train has stopped to 'pin down the brakes' before the descent, in the distance a train climbing the bank can be seen as a plume of white exhaust. The picture is an evening shot and is from the long closed Blackwell station platform...

flickr.com

It is possible that there was a similar sign on "your old line".

Also up until the 1980s there was a brakesman stationed at Blackwell to help guards with pinning down the brakes, accommodated between trains in a hut close to the warning sign where creature comforts included a small television. For various reasons, there was not a lot of love lost between banker crews and brakesmen (and from personal experience, any of the brakesmen could be pretty surly towards any railway enthusiast who turned up at Blackwell), so when returning the Bromsgrove the banker crews would give their engines a blip of power before going over the crest of the hill, in the certain, oh so innocent, knowledge that the sudden surge of generator power from two class 37s will mess up the reception on any nearby television.

 

[Gloster]

Yes it's a strange one this and thanks for the reply.

I can only tell you what I know, from the WTT's I have seen the line from Rose Grove West junction to the power station was a quiet one. It seems trains coming up from Padiham power station with empties travelled first.

With that out of the way the train with coal would stop when it had left the junction on a curve section to pin those brakes down before going down the 1 in 40 bank.

Yes, you would be exposed to possible danger but given the timings I think it would have been possible. Regarding doing this at night, these train movements were all done during daylight hours.

Thanks,
Andy.

It was dinned into me at a very early stage that you should always regard other lines as live at all times. Trains can run at other times than given in the timetable: late, early, extra, etc. Even in daylight fog and snow can reduce visibility and the distance at which an approaching train can be heard. And people can concentrate too much on their jobs and let their safety slip.

 

[EveningStar]

Warning board at Blackwell partially visible in my photo from 1981, photo rather illustrating why there was need to pin down brakes! Train loco is 47502, out of sight down the incline.

 

[Andy873]

It was dinned into me at a very early stage that you should always regard other lines as live at all times. Trains can run at other times than given in the timetable: late, early, extra, etc. Even in daylight fog and snow can reduce visibility and the distance at which an approaching train can be heard. And people can concentrate too much on their jobs and let their safety slip.

Couldn't agree with you more. The worst one would be a break away wagon coming silently along the other track.

In 1877 the Board of Trade (BOT) conducted a test at Great Harwood station...

It's down hill from there to the next station at Simonstone. The BOT test included a wagon left to roll free down the incline to see if it would reach Simonstone, in the end it stopped half a mile short of the station.

Warning board at Blackwell partially visible in my photo from 1981, photo rather illustrating why there was need to pin down brakes! Train loco is 47502, out of sight down the incline.

Fabulous photo, you can really see the dip. I especially like the photo posted in #4 reply of the 8f loco - one of my favourite engines.

What was the gradient there?

Thanks,
Andy.

 

[ac6000cw]

The Lickey Incline is a 1 in 37 (or 2.65%) gradient and 2 miles in length.

It was built that way because it was cheaper to build a straight line between Bromsgrove and Blackwell instead of wrapping a longer route around the hills to gain height with a shallower gradient - the saving in first cost has doubtless been spent many times over in providing & crewing banking engines since 1840...

(It looks steeper in the photo due to the compression of distance effect you get with telephoto lenses).