Railway Tall Tales and Folklore

[D6968]

Wasn't that due to 92203 having a few parts marked 92220, which would hardly be unusual in the loco world, and some green paint being discovered on the cylinder covers, something 92220 herself only carried for a short time, and then unofficially? Again, it doesn't take a great leap to imagine the covers being swapped when one was coming in for work and one going out, and a bit of black paint being applied to the green ones.

Can’t remember but I recall Ray Towell had an interesting reply regarding what he thought of it!

 

[Elecman]

Which story?

The one about the hat being blown off is recounted in "Ribblehead - The Story of the Great Viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle Line" by W.R. Mitchell (2015), but is no doubt also made reference to in various other publications.

The one about a platelayer being blown off under and back onto Ribblehead viaduct

 

[O L Leigh]

A colleague told me a tale of working an MGR power station coal train from the days when freight trains were still fully-manned.

They were bowling along at whatever speed it is that MGRs used to run at when the guard came into the leading cab of the loco with a fresh can of tea. "Alright lads", he says. "Who fancies a cuppa?"

My mate thinks this an excellent idea and is rooting in his bag for his cup when suddenly he has a realisation. "Hang on", he thinks. "We're on a 58".

 

[D6968]

A colleague told me a tale of working an MGR power station coal train from the days when freight trains were still fully-manned.

They were bowling along at whatever speed it is that MGRs used to run at when the guard came into the leading cab of the loco with a fresh can of tea. "Alright lads", he says. "Who fancies a cuppa?"

My mate thinks this an excellent idea and is rooting in his bag for his cup when suddenly he has a realisation. "Hang on", he thinks. "We're on a 58".

I like that!

 

[Western 52]

I like that!

Me too! If true it must have been like the conductors on the Manx Electric Railway years ago checking tickets clinging on to the outside of a moving tram.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

I like that!

Splendid tale - akin I think to one of D L Smith on the Glasgow and South Western Railway in the 19thC when the driver of a pilot engine clambered over the tender (en the move obviously) to see how the crew on the train engine were getting on.....(which also involved cleambering along the boiler side) - mental.

 

[Rescars]

Splendid tale - akin I think to one of D L Smith on the Glasgow and South Western Railway in the 19thC when the driver of a pilot engine clambered over the tender (en the move obviously) to see how the crew on the train engine were getting on.....(which also involved cleambering along the boiler side) - mental.

D L Smith's tales of the wild Sou' West do make splendid reading. Real frontier stuff. Where else would p-way staff place detonators to stop a goods train because they were lonely and fancied a chat?! Makes social media feel very tame.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

D L Smith's tales of the wild Sou' West do make splendid reading. Real frontier stuff. Where else would p-way staff place detonators to stop a goods train because they were lonely and fancied a chat?! Makes social media feel very tame.

Probably many good anecdotes on other railways , but the preservation of these stories is a boon to society over a hundred years later.

A mate had a signalman send "stop and examine" for a nocturnal freight on the North London line in the Camden Road area. Strange noises from the rear..Careful dialogue showed no technical problem with the train , but the guard admitted to practising his trumpet on the rear veranda , as he could not do so at home.

The fact that he disturbed the sleep of a few thousand people on the viaduct section between Gospel Oak and Highbury was neither her nor there.

 

[D6130]

D L Smith's tales of the wild Sou' West do make splendid reading. Real frontier stuff. Where else would p-way staff place detonators to stop a goods train because they were lonely and fancied a chat?! Makes social media feel very tame.

It would seem that the Sou'West railwaymen - and particularly Stranraer drivers - had a certain reputation right up to more modern times. The late Derek Cross had many a tale to tell about their exploits in the 1960s....particularly Driver McCann, who only recognised two positions on the regulator - off and full. Allegedly he was forced to take early retirement after propelling a couple of parcels vans off the end of the pier at Stranraer Harbour and into Loch Ryan. I wonder if they're still there?

 

[Strathclyder]

A colleague told me a tale of working an MGR power station coal train from the days when freight trains were still fully-manned.

They were bowling along at whatever speed it is that MGRs used to run at when the guard came into the leading cab of the loco with a fresh can of tea. "Alright lads", he says. "Who fancies a cuppa?"

My mate thinks this an excellent idea and is rooting in his bag for his cup when suddenly he has a realisation. "Hang on", he thinks. "We're on a 58".

Took a few seconds for this one to piece itself together in my head. Brilliant.

 

[Gloster]

Took a few seconds for this one to piece itself together in my head. Brilliant.

I am not entirely sure if I have worked this one out. I presume that they were bowling along on the mainline, not going through a power station on Slow Speed Control.

 

[Strathclyder]

Further investigation in recent years has determined that whilst no such accident ever happened at the Glenfinnan ("Harry Potter") viaduct, the remains of a horse and cart are still to be found at the bottom of a support pier on the Loch nam Uamh viaduct further on towards Mallaig.

Aye, I've heard about this one. It was found in the large central pier using advanced scanning technology in 2001 after a 1997 survey only found rubble (this first survey was done using a pinhole camera inserted into a specially made borehole; this method was also used in a 1987 inspection at the Glenfinnan Viaduct on the two piers deemed large enough for such a incident to transpire). Canmore & the Moidart Local History Group's site have more info on it. Links below:

Loch Nan Uamh Viaduct | Place | trove.scot

Find out about Loch Nan Uamh Viaduct on trove.scot, a website from Historic Environment Scotland that holds details of more than 340,000 buildings, archaeological, industrial and maritime sites across Scotland.

canmore.org.uk

Morar

I am not entirely sure if I have worked this one out. I presume that they were bowling along on the mainline, not going through a power station on Slow Speed Control.

Yeah, sounds like they were bowling along the mainline at anywhere between 45 & 60 mph (depends on the specific type of HAA wagon and whether or not it was loaded). But I'm letting myself get bogged down in the details here, it's a darn good story no matter the specifics!

 

[O L Leigh]

I am not entirely sure if I have worked this one out. I presume that they were bowling along on the mainline, not going through a power station on Slow Speed Control.

I may be misremembering the details of the story, but I seem to think that the setting for this scene was Hatton Bank.

 

[John Luxton]

That must be to augment the strategic steam reserve hidden at Long Marston Mod depot.

Then there was the other strategic reserve locos at Rhydymwyn ..... didn't all that nonsense start with an article in Steam Railway sometime in the 1980s?

That was finally disproved when the Rhydymwyn Tunnels at the former Valley Works chemical warfare site were opened to visitors. Never even had rail lines laid in them.

Only track was in the open around the site which connected to the Mold - Denbigh line.

 

[Pigeon]

You may have mis-recalled a crucial detail of that one; the version I've heard was that it was a track ganger's hat that was blown off on a particularly windy day, and which disappeared over one side of the viaduct, through an arch, and then back up the other side before being deposited back on the man's head, albeit back to front.

No, it was definitely a whole bloke everywhere I've come across it. I hadn't heard the hat variant before at all.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

No, it was definitely a whole bloke everywhere I've come across it. I hadn't heard the hat variant before at all.

Your published source? Mine quoted in post #25.

 

[Rescars]

It would seem that the Sou'West railwaymen - and particularly Stranraer drivers - had a certain reputation right up to more modern times. The late Derek Cross had many a tale to tell about their exploits in the 1960s....particularly Driver McCann, who only recognised two positions on the regulator - off and full. Allegedly he was forced to take early retirement after propelling a couple of parcels vans off the end of the pier at Stranraer Harbour and into Loch Ryan. I wonder if they're still there?

With the ferries now based at Cainryan, is this a further justification for the proposals to move Stranraer station back from the water's edge and locate it nearer the centre of things?!

 

[D6968]

One from the preservation era, a now deceased driver on the SVR taking Major Olver on the newly opened extension to Kidderminster way above 25mph, and Maj Olver passing it on the basis that ‘if it’s good enough for x mph’ it must be good enough for 25mph in your LRO’

 

[O L Leigh]

No, it was definitely a whole bloke everywhere I've come across it. I hadn't heard the hat variant before at all.

I’ve been thinking about the likelihood of this and I think on balance it is unlikely and, therefore, a tall tale. As such, it’s entirely appropriate for this thread.

The terminal velocity for a human in free fall (the speed at which acceleration due to gravity balances with aerodynamic drag) is about 120mph, so any gust of wind capable of blowing someone off the viaduct, catching them, carrying them under an arch and depositing them back onto the deck must have been significantly stronger than this.

 

[Western 52]

One from the preservation era, a now deceased driver on the SVR taking Major Olver on the newly opened extension to Kidderminster way above 25mph, and Maj Olver passing it on the basis that ‘if it’s good enough for x mph’ it must be good enough for 25mph in your LRO’

A similar story I heard involving Major Olver on another preserved line concerned some rail he said was excessively worn. A member of the railway PW team then announced the rail was in fact fine, and he knew because he was a professional metallurgist! The Major said something like "ok then " and duly passed the track as safe!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Of course, it could be asserted that the biggest railway "tall tale" concerning the Settle and Carlisle line was the alleged high cost of repairing the Ribblehead viaduct, as put forward by British Rail in the early 1980s.

 

[Western 52]

Of course, it could be asserted that the biggest railway "tall tale" concerning the Settle and Carlisle line was the alleged high cost of repairing the Ribblehead viaduct, as put forward by British Rail in the early 1980s.

Yes indeed. Creative accountancy at it's worst and there will be many similar examples.

 

[pdeaves]

One 'railway folklore' amongst the general populous is that Dr Beeching 'invented' (for want of a better word) railway closures.

 

[fwsmVor]

A colleague told me a tale of working an MGR power station coal train from the days when freight trains were still fully-manned.

They were bowling along at whatever speed it is that MGRs used to run at when the guard came into the leading cab of the loco with a fresh can of tea. "Alright lads", he says. "Who fancies a cuppa?"

My mate thinks this an excellent idea and is rooting in his bag for his cup when suddenly he has a realisation. "Hang on", he thinks. "We're on a 58".

Pardon me for being ignorant, but what prevents having tea on a 58?

 

[D6968]

A similar story I heard involving Major Olver on another preserved line concerned some rail he said was excessively worn. A member of the railway PW team then announced the rail was in fact fine, and he knew because he was a professional metallurgist! The Major said something like "ok then " and duly passed the track as safe!

Interesting character would be the phrase I’d use to describe Maj Olver!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Jan 2022 ==

Pardon me for being ignorant, but what prevents having tea on a 58?

There’s no interconnected corridor, to go from cab to cab you have to walk on the outside running plate.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Jan 2022 ==

Pardon me for being ignorant, but what prevents having tea on a 58?

 

[seagull]

Pardon me for being ignorant, but what prevents having tea on a 58?

Nothing as such: but the design of the Class 58 (and why their nickname is "egg-timer") is such that one can only access either cab from an external side facing door at each end of the narrower part: in other words there is no walking through the engine compartment like there would be on most locomotives. So that guard would, at the very least, have had to leave the rear cab, using the outside door, along the narrow and exposed walkway on the outside of the locomotive, to access the front cab.
What I'm less sure about is if he started the journey from a brake van at the rear of the train: that would be an even more incredible feat...

 

[Gloster]

MGRs didn’t usually have brake vans, but there was no handrail or anything else to hang on to as you used the walkway on a 58. It doesn’t really pay to analyse a joke...unless you were Barry Cryer.

 

[RPI]

There is a well told tale about a ghost at Bristol Temple Meads, a child's face appearing in one of the office windows somewhere above where the main gateline is, about three years back I read this story and a few days later I was rostered at Temple Meads gateline for a late night block, I'd forgotten about this and late on around 23:00 I was stood near the gates and out of the corner of my eye saw something in one of the office windows above, quickly looking up and remembering the story I'd read a few days before and there it was..... an office fan in the window.

 

[Pigeon]

Your published source? Mine quoted in post #25.

No idea I'm afraid, it's just one of those things that pops up. I first encountered it in the 80s when the S&C closure plans were big news and got me reading up about the history of it, and ever since then I've occasionally come across it being repeated in random places and thought "oh yeah, that one again". The original occurrence is far too long ago for me to remember any details, and having read it once meant none of the repetitions were notable after that.

I've been thinking about the likelihood of this and I think on balance it is unlikely and, therefore, a tall tale. As such, it's entirely appropriate for this thread.

The terminal velocity for a human in free fall (the speed at which acceleration due to gravity balances with aerodynamic drag) is about 120mph, so any gust of wind capable of blowing someone off the viaduct, catching them, carrying them under an arch and depositing them back onto the deck must have been significantly stronger than this.

Exactly my reasoning. It's certainly possible to get local eddies which are significantly faster than the average windspeed, but the sheer magnitude of the 120mph figure means it's still a bit much to ask for.

 

[Spartacus]

I think the one with the whole man's just an evolution of the hat one, either intentionally embellished, misheard or misremembered at some point, that sounds so good it gets repeated. I reckon that that hat one's possible, but still very unlikely. I can see it being blown off and potentially blown back onto the viaduct, but onto someone's head? Chances are just too slim for me to believe that's any more than someone either embellishing, mishearing or misremembering a tale of a hate being blown off a head and back onto the viaduct. Even it doing the full loop might come into that category. And this is from someone who's hit a tennis ball playing back garden cricket, it go straight up and down and hit on the head, it go soaring into the sky again, then come back and hit me on the head once more just after I'd got up!