Valehouse Sand-Drag (on former Woodhead Route)

[Mcr Warrior]

Recently acquired a copy of "The End of the Woodhead Route: Electric Trains Stop Here" by Stephen Heginbotham (Amberley Publishing - 2020).

The book talks about a sand-drag siding located near to Valehouse Signal Box and used for runaway trains coming down from Woodhead tunnel.

Apparently loose-coupled freight trains were forbidden from using the route when Valehouse Signal Box was locked out of use.

Furthermore, should a runaway have occured, the driver of the train would be required to sound short blasts on the whistle/horn all the way down from Woodhead, and the Woodhead Signalman (five miles back up the line) or the Torside Signalman (one and a half miles back from Valehouse Signal Box towards Woodhead), or both, would comply with a special instruction and send a 5-5-4 bell signal to the Valehouse Signalman, who would set his points for the Valehouse sand-drag.

A handful of questions. At what point might a driver realise that his train (or part of his train) was a runaway?

Are we talking about brake fade / failure, and/or some alarm sounding in the cab that the train was no longer intact / automatic application of continuous brakes?

If there was a split in the train on a downhill stretch, couldn't the two portions of the train have been brought to a halt by gradual application of the brakes by the driver (as the relative speeds between the two portions of the train on the downhill section would be relatively small), or is the issue that the engine end of the train might initially speed away, before the loose portion catches up and crashes into the rear?

And what purpose did brake vans (if actually used in recent times) serve to prevent accidents, and when would they have last been used on the Woodhead Route?

 

[341o2]

The driver would know he was at the regulator of a runaway if it did not respond to a brake application. Some overseas railways used a bellcord, a length of rope tied to the rear of the train, which would alert the loco crew. The only indication in the UK I am aware of would be failure within the fitted (braked) section, if there was one

Loose couples freights could vary in braking ability, because some wagons had brakes, some were piped, that is to say that the wagon had the connections, but no brakes itself, and some wagons had no brakes at all. It was the guard's job to advise the driver of the makeup of the train.

If there is an unfitted section of a train then it is necessary to have a guards van at the rear, as in the event of a breakaway the guard would have to try and control the breakaway portion

 

[30907]

Very interesting, I didn't realised sand-drags like this (equivalent to an escape lane on a steep road) existed. This is the box diagram:
http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways/sbdiagrams/valehouse_sbd.jpg

Just to clarify, it is provided for a train running away on the right line, so unlikely to have involved the train becoming split. Failure to pin down sufficient brakes is a possible cause. Faults or human errors with braking systems are not unheard of even today.

 

[Trackman]

A handful of questions. At what point might a driver realise that his train (or part of his train) was a runaway?

What I did read a while back is that westbound trains from Woodhead tunnel the crew could pass out because of fumes and the train could become a runaway.
And it mentioned it happened in the new tunnel with electric trains! (???) I think after that they restricted diesel movements to one a hour.
Also mentioned was the Valehouse Sand-Drag and some 'incidents'
If I find the source, I will post it on here.