Station pilots

[Electrostar387]

One wonders how much work it actually had in the ten years after the 4CIGs went in 2005, maybe the depot just didn't want to lose it's pet which is fair enough

Lovers Walk were always very fond of it, for sure! According to Wikipedia, so take with a pinch of salt, it was used occasionally for heritage services to drag them backwards from Brighton to Preston Park to then go through via Hove. But nowadays not so much of an issue as heritage services tend to have a diesel loco on the rear for rescue/reverse movement purposes anyway!

 

[Sun Chariot]

When did Waterloo lose its 09 shunters? Did they last until the end of loco haulage or did they go before that?

I never saw a station pilot at Waterloo during my visits in the latter half of the 1980s. 33s and 50s parked in loco stabling platform, that was it.

1988, I saw and photo'd:

08 833 Liverpool Street Pilot, in pseudo-GER livery, shunting parcels stock at its namesake terminus.

08 xxx doing similar at the west side of London Euston.

08 xxx assembling TPO rake at Bristol Temple Meads.

 

[Harpo]

Traditionally in steam days there were two types of station pilots, one for shunting stock, vans, and anything else around, and the other as a main line standby in case of need, which also got used for stock pilot etc in between.

Taunton west end long had two, one of each, the main line standby, fully coaled, most commonly being Hall 4932, Hatherton Hall, while the other, a pannier tank, was replaced in 1962 by a Class 08. Early diesel days meant the Hall had gone not infrequently gone somewhere, and been replaced by a second pannier tank, I believe it was known to be at Paddington from time to time, especially in the deep winter of 1962-3 if a Warship steam heating boiler had packed in. The only turntable around was inside the shed, so it occasionally made a quick visit into there if it suddenly had to face the other way.

Honourable mention for the Taunton Twins, the engineer’s 31s that rescued so many failures.

 

[xotGD]

Birmingham New St used to have a celebrity station pilot - 08604 in green, complete with cast "604" number plates.

 

[Richard Scott]

Birmingham New St used to have a celebrity station pilot - 08604 in green, complete with cast "604" number plates.

Remember 08805 being at New Street in 1989, it was used to rescue 47836, which had collapsed near Proof House Junction.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

When did Waterloo lose its 09 shunters?

AFAIR their duties finished with the end of the Newspaper traffic, but will stand corrected.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Birmingham New St used to have a celebrity station pilot - 08604 in green, complete with cast "604" number plates.

Yep, I have a photo of it; also of same-era LMS black 08 601.

 

[Rescars]

Around 1980, special workings from the West Midlands offering full dining facilities (eg Ascot race specials) would include RKs in the consist. These were often victualled in the parcels bay at Wolverhampton HL. The RKs would be worked from Crewe to Oxley attached to a regular ecs working and were then tripped to Wolverhampton by an 08. Clearly a pilot type of working - but where did the 08 come from? Was it Bescot perhaps? I don't recall either Wolverhampton HL or Oxley having a regular 08 pilot at the time. but memories fade and perhaps I wasn't paying that much attention at the time - in any case it was all quite a while ago.

 

[Harvester]

The last station pilot at Sheffield was 08691 (unofficially named Escafeld). I last saw it in February 1994 before it was transferred away, and it was not replaced.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Birmingham New St used to have a celebrity station pilot - 08604 in green, complete with cast "604" number plates.

Yep, I have a photo of it; also of same-era LMS black 08 601.

She's now at Didcot Railway Centre, and acts as the pilot locomotive for the whole site. The cast "604" number plates are still there, together with a cast nameplate "Phantom" in the same style.

 

[Harvester]

Old Oak had long made use of main line locos to handle ECS to/from Paddington as well, back to steam days and indeed to "old" GWR, to save a light main line loco movement given shed and carriage sidings were adjacent. Only when there wasn't one going would a pilot loco be used. This accounts for the many photos of Paddington with main line steam locos against the buffers but facing outwards, with a train in front. They would haul the stock in, tender-first, then when it departed would move round to their intended main line departure. The opposite process for arrivals. Handled by the pilot link, who might have the kick of handling a King, albeit tender-first. The main line crew took over at Paddington.

The only photo (attached) I managed to take of a ‘King’ in BR service was of 6005 at Paddington on 4th September 1962. It was reversing out of the platform still attached to the stock of a Wolverhampton-Paddington arrival with a pannier tank on the front of the train. As mentioned this loco and stock movement was to save a LE movement out to the carriage sidings and servicing point. I recorded 10 locos on ECS duties into and out of the station in a four hour period that day, 8400 and 9400 panniers and small prairies. The King was one of six kept in service after the end of the 1962 summer service for a few months, as cover for unavailable ‘Westerns’ on the faster Paddington-Wolverhampton timings introduced in the winter timetable.

 

[eastwestdivide]

From my 1979/1980 edition of Inter City Railway Society’s “Shunter Duties”, I counted the number of duties specifically described as station pilots or with station pilot duties among others, and came up with the following, by region:
LMR 21
ER 26
ScR 9
SR 7
WR 18
for a total of 81.
Entirely possible that I missed some or miscounted in places, but it’s close enough for a big picture.
That included some 03s as well as the usual 08/09 suspects. So maybe something under a tenth of the total shunter fleet?

 

[Gloster]

From my 1979/1980 edition of Inter City Railway Society’s “Shunter Duties”, I counted the number of duties specifically described as station pilots or with station pilot duties among others, and came up with the following, by region:
LMR 21
ER 26
ScR 9
SR 7
WR 18
for a total of 81.
Entirely possible that I missed some or miscounted in places, but it’s close enough for a big picture.
That included some 03s as well as the usual 08/09 suspects. So maybe something under a tenth of the total shunter fleet?

I think that all of the 03 pilot duties were on the ER. Elsewhere the WR had a couple at Bath Road for Lawrence Hill and a few at Landore for the Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley. I think the LMR’s only 03 were at Barrow Hill, but I don’t know what they did. Otherwise you only had the 06 in Scotland that may have still been pilots although they were on the way out.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Yes I think I only noticed 03s as station pilots on the ER

 

[Falcon1200]

IIRC the Barrow Hill Class 03s were for shunting Staveley Steelworks (possibly on hire?)

Bournemouth in the 1970s had Class 03s, with a couple based at Weymouth, for the Boat Trains but also perhaps station pilots?

 

[Acathater]

IIRC the Barrow Hill Class 03s were for shunting Staveley Steelworks (possibly on hire?)

Bournemouth in the 1970s had Class 03s, with a couple based at Weymouth, for the Boat Trains but also perhaps station pilots?

There were normally three 03/04s outbased at Weymouth both on boat trains (until the 33s got warning bell fitments) but also to act as station pilots. During Warship days there were also a small number outbased at Salisbury to aid in the attachment/removal of coaches on the Waterloo-Exeter services.

 

[Gloster]

Bournemouth in the 1970s had Class 03s, with a couple based at Weymouth, for the Boat Trains but also perhaps station pilots?

There were normally three 03/04s outbased at Weymouth both on boat trains (until the 33s got warning bell fitments) but also to act as station pilots. During Warship days there were also a small number outbased at Salisbury to aid in the attachment/removal of coaches on the Waterloo-Exeter services.

The 04 left Bournemouth before TOPs and the 03, which had done station pilot work, left in May 1973.

By 1978 the 03 were long gone from Salisbury: the regular shunter was 08 202.

 

[sh24]

AFAIR their duties finished with the end of the Newspaper traffic, but will stand corrected.

That is my teenage spotter recollection too. Certain by the last days of loco hauled on the Mule (Waterloo-Exeter) it was loco release once the coaches had departed for either Clapham Yard, Old Oak or the return working.

 

[Big Jumby 74]

Yes I think I only noticed 03s as station pilots on the ER

My memories of ER 03's as pilots were at Kings Lynn, Norwich, Ipswich, Newcastle and Hull.

The 04 left Bournemouth before TOPs and the 03, which had done station pilot work, left in May 1973.

I have memories (and photos) of both 04 and 03 operation on Weymouth Quay in the mid 60's.

By 1978 the 03 were long gone from Salisbury: the regular shunter was 08 202.

Interesting comment about 08202. It did wander UP line to nearer Waterloo in my early days, and a former colleague from Salisbury did once tell me it was close to his heart (as a driver of same), but will say no more!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Sunday at 19:55 ==

That is my teenage spotter recollection too. Certain by the last days of loco hauled on the Mule (Waterloo-Exeter) it was loco release once the coaches had departed for either Clapham Yard, Old Oak or the return working.

In regard to locos being shunt released (West of E services) you are correct. That was how the diagramming was planned by my loco diagramming colleagues.

 

[86247]

Liverpool Lime Street used to have 08 856 think at the time it was the last 08 overhauled at derby works.

 

[Magdalia]

My memories of ER 03's as pilots were at Kings Lynn, Norwich, Ipswich, Newcastle and Hull.

The Cambridge station pilots, one at each end, were class 03s until late 1975/early 1976.

 

[Bevan Price]

Preston used a Class 08 (from Springs Branch) to shunt Liverpool or Manchester portions on to the rear of Northbound services to Scotland.

And back in the 1960s, Newton Abbot used a Class 03 or 08 to combine Eastbound services from Kingswear & Plymouth/Penzance.

 

[55002]

Grantham lost its steam loco station pilot duties when the loco depot closed in 1963. However, a diesel was outstationed here, usually from Lincoln during the 1970s, but that eventually ceased. It did retain a pick-up freight / loco move into the 1980s though.

Loved that pick up, 8J06 to Tinsley via Lincoln, later 6D87 to Belmont, saw it after school most days at Newark whilst waiting for the (usual) 40 on the parcels around 4.30. Newark had a Lincoln based 08 into the 80s also.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Lincoln Central's regular pilot in the 1970s (and therefore my very first "cop") was D3205, later 08137.

 

[xotGD]

I recall someone telling me how they 'accidentally forgot to get off' a terminating train at Dundee to get haulage from the Class 06 station pilot.

I suffered the same lapse at Carlisle a couple of times after arriving from Newcastle on 1M04 to get a couple of 08s in the book. More legitimately, had the Perth station pilot 08 shunting one portion of the northbound internal overnight onto the other.

 

[Falcon1200]

There were normally three 03/04s outbased at Weymouth both on boat trains (until the 33s got warning bell fitments) but also to act as station pilots.

Thanks! Our family holiday in 1974 was at Weymouth, with a stop-off at Bournemouth on the way home, and I have a clear memory of seeing 3 Class 03s, 2 at Weymouth and 1 at Bournemouth; 03084, 03086 and 03180. But I cannot recall which was where!

The Cambridge station pilots, one at each end, were class 03s until late 1975/early 1976.

Indeed, the first Class 03s I ever spotted, on a bus trip from Oxford in early 1974.

I also have a record of haulage by 03179, back when it was Colchester-allocated, but cannot remember how or when - Was there perhaps a booked shunt at Ipswich, this would have been late 1970s/early 1980s?

 

[Harpo]

I also have a record of haulage by 03179, back when it was Colchester-allocated, but cannot remember how or when - Was there perhaps a booked shunt at Ipswich, this would have been late 1970s/early 1980s?

There was a booked 03 passenger shunt at Ipswich, 23.20 ex-Peterborough onto the rear of the 23.45 Norwich to Liv St..

 

[Falcon1200]

There was a booked 03 passenger shunt at Ipswich, 23.20 ex-Peterborough onto the rear of the 23.45 Norwich to Liv St..

Thanks, that must have been my haulage!

 

[Harpo]

Thanks, that must have been my haulage!

Never did the shunt but I think I used that Norwich in a rancid overnight that started with the 37 on the last (23.xx) Liv St to Ipswich and returned for a +5 at Liv St into the 0400 to Cambridge. A once only leap!

 

[Lemmy282]

I remember the 03 shunter and flat truck duties at Scarborough in the late 70's