Preserved main line steam locomotive support in the United Kingdom

The support coach and crew are an essential part of the long distance operation of preserved steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

s in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

on the main line network, as opposed to their use on heritage railway

Heritage railway

thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

s. Since main line steam operation ended in 1968, the static infrastructure and paid staff required to support steam locomotive operation no longer exists, requiring the use of support coaches and crews to travel with the locomotive. The crews are made up of volunteers from locomotive preservation societies, or in the case of operational main line certified locomotives of the National Collection, from their permanent custodians. The support crew supplements the three-man professional train crew consisting of the engine driver

Railroad engineer

A railroad engineer, locomotive engineer, train operator, train driver or engine driver is a person who drives a train on a railroad...

, fireman and Traction Inspector, who are employed by the train operating company

Train operating company

The term train operating company is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand...

for charter trains and railtour

Railtour

A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not available using timetabled passenger services...

Support crew

The support crew is formed from volunteers, giving their free time as holiday

Holiday

A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...

s from work, if they are not retired

Retirement

Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...

. The support crew will often have to travel long distances just to assemble, before carrying out their duties on the locomotive. Support crews will usually number around a half dozen people, and depending on their roles, will often include either professional railwaymen, or volunteers or employees of steam heritage railway

Heritage railway

s.

A typical commitment of a support crew's time is 100 hours for 5 hours of actual train running, although commitments of up to 7 days are not unknown. Support crew members are required to obtain a Personal Track Safety

Personal Track Safety

Personal Track Safety is a system of safer working practices employed within the United Kingdom designed to ensure the safety of railway workers who have to work on the lineside....

(PTS) certificate, before being allowed to be part of a support crew. The PTS is not however, a general trackside access permit when not operating as part of a support crew.

Support coach

Support coaches are drawn from passenger brake van railway coaches of the British Railways Mark 1

British Railways Mark 1

British Railways Mark 1 was the family designation for the first standardised designs of railway carriages built by British Railways. Following nationalisation in 1948, BR had continued to build carriages to the designs of the "Big Four" companies , and the Mark 1 was intended to be the...

or Mark 2 era, taking advantage of the existence of the guards/parcels van space in these coaches for ease of conversion to workshop/stores/mess functions. The seating portion of the coach will often be of the compartment with side corridor style layout. One part of the former van area contains a storage and workshop area, another serves as the mess

Mess

A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...

room, while the passenger area may provide seating and/or sleeping accommodation for the crew. The support coach will invariably be the first vehicle in the rake of coaches, immediately behind the locomotive.

The spares compartment carries all sensible equipment and spare parts that might be required should the locomotive develop a fixable problem. In addition to the traditional steam locomotive spares and consumables, spares are also required for the modern electrical equipment required for operation on the modern railway, such as radios

GSM-R

GSM-R, Global System for Mobile Communications - Railway or GSM-Railway is an international wireless communications standard for railway communication and applications. A sub-system of European Rail Traffic Management System , it is used for communication between train and railway regulation...

, event recorders and signalling

UK railway signalling

The railway signalling systems used across the majority of the United Kingdom rail network use lineside signals to advise the driver of the status of the section of track ahead...

/ train protection equipment.

Storage is also required for the miscellaneuous items required for train operation, such as bulk amounts of sand (for wheel traction), water hoses

Fire hose

A fire hose is a high-pressure hose used to carry water or other fire retardant to a fire to extinguish it. Outdoors, it is attached either to a fire engine or a fire hydrant. Indoors, it can be permanently attached to a building's standpipe or plumbing system...

, train lamp

Lantern

A lantern is a portable lighting device or mounted light fixture used to illuminate broad areas. Lanterns may also be used for signaling, as 'torches', or as general light sources outdoors . Low light level varieties are used for decoration. The term "lantern" is also used more generically to...

s and headboards. The coach may even carry a wheelbarrow

Wheelbarrow

A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles to the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is made of two words: "wheel" and "barrow." "Barrow" is a...

and oil drum

Drum (container)

A drum is a cylindrical container used for shipping bulk cargo. Drums can be made of steel, dense paperboard , or plastics, and are generally used for the transportation and storage of liquids and powders. Drums are often certified for shipment of dangerous goods...

for transporting and storing the ash raked out of the ashpan, if there is no pit available at the terminal stop.

The mess will usually feature a gas cooker and wash room, and the mess will carry all food and drink supplies required for the entire trip, as work schedules and locations usually mean sourcing supplies while operational is not possible. The coach also carries all the water required for cooking, washing, cleaning and operating the toilet.

Operations

Before any steam locomotive railtour

Railtour

A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not available using timetabled passenger services...

can commence, the support crew must prepare the locomotive for operation. The crew will then accompany it on any required positioning moves (known as light engine moves), as well as on the actual railtour. The crew will service the locomotive at stops for coal/water, and at terminal stations. While stationary at terminal stops, and at the end of the run, the crew will also clear the ashpan as part of a disposal routine.

Preparing the locomotive is a time-consuming activity, involving an unofficial physical inspection of the locomotive and support coach. After the locomotive and support coach passes an official fitness-to-run exam, the crew lights the locomotive fire, and will then commence cleaning and oiling the engine while the steam pressure is raised. The largest of the preserved mainline British steam locomotives, the Pacifics

4-6-2

4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...

, can take between 18 and 24 hours to reach operating steam pressure.

During water stops, as well as refilling the locomotive tender with water and possibly coal, the support crew will also inspect the engine oil levels and check for overheating in mechanical bearings. The crew will also tend the fire and provide food for the footplate

Footplate

The footplate of a steam locomotive is a large metal plate that rests on top of the frames and is normally covered with wooden floorboards. It is usually the full width of the locomotive and extends from the front of the cab to the rear of cab or coal bunker just above the buffer beam. The...

crew.

While on the move, most of the support crew ride in the support coach. One crew member rides on the footplate, to act as the locomotive owner's representative. This person assists the train crew – who have general knowledge of steam locomotives and the UK mainline – by offering specialist knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of the specific locomotive, and reacting to matters arising. On the move, the remaining crew in the support coach will also record the locomotive's performance while operating, including punctuality and fuel efficiency.

Water stops

The UK no longer has any water troughs

Track pan

A track pan or water trough is a device to enable a steam railway locomotive to replenish its water supply while in motion...

and very few water crane

Water crane

A water crane or standpipe is a device used for delivering a large volume of water into the tank or tender of a steam locomotive. As a steam locomotive consumes large quantities of water, water cranes were a vital part of railway station equipment, often situated at the end of a platform, so that...

s on the mainline railway network, as opposed to on heritage railways. Cranes that remain include Appleby, Scarborough

Scarborough railway station

Scarborough railway station serves the seaside town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It lies east of York and is one of the eastern termini on the North TransPennine route operated by First TransPennine Express...

and Grosmont

Grosmont railway station

Grosmont railway station serves the village of Grosmont in North Yorkshire, England. It is located on the Esk Valley Line which serves one platform and is operated by Northern Rail who provide the station's passenger services...

. Most water stops today are therefore carried out using firehoses

Fire hose

carried on the support coach. Water is sourced either from road tankers

Tank truck

A tank truck or road tanker is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquefied loads, dry bulk cargo or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars which are also designed to carry liquefied loads...

, or from hydrant

Hydrant

A hydrant is an outlet from a fluid main often consisting of an upright pipe with a valve attached from which fluid can be tapped. Depending on the fluid involved, the term may refer to:*Fire hydrant*Oil depot*Yard hydrant...

s, but with tankers preferred due to pressure variation and the risk of boiler contamination from hydrant sources. The traditional water stop is 45 minutes, although the lack of available sidings and scheduling requirements often mean that short 'splash and dash' arrangements occur using road tankers, which can deliver 2,500 gallons in 12 minutes, using two pipes.

External links

'The Kings Own' a report on a support crew turn on No. 6024 King Edward I
GWR 6000 Class 6024 King Edward I
Great Western Railway 6000 Class 6024 King Edward I is a preserved steam locomotive.The locomotive was built at GWR's Swindon Works in June 1930. For most of its working life it was allocated to Plymouth Laira MPD. Transferred to Old Oak Common MPD, London, in March 1959, and finally to Cardiff...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Support crew

Support coach

Operations

Water stops

See also

External links