The LNER Encyclopedia

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Daft answer, if climbing the bank would'nt the water level be smokebox end leaving the fire box dry, like the Mallets on the Uintah minning railroad ? where the crews would not use them because the gauge showed empty, to overcome this a second dome was fitted.

mr B

Not out of KX but I have been hauled by 4472 running tender first. In the 1980s there were steam specials out of Salisbury. One possiible journey was a return trip to Andover, loco t/f on the outward leg because no turning facilities at Andover. I believe the speed limit is 45 mph for t/f running.

mr B: wouldn't climbing and descending be simply reversed?

(the exception being a back-and-forth operation like at Snowdon)

Richard

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richard wrote:mr B: wouldn't climbing and descending be simply reversed?

(the exception being a back-and-forth operation like at Snowdon)

Richard

Maybee British boilers arnt as long as US ones, look at the S160's only one gauge and it told lies, next it went bang !

mr B

I seem to remember that much to his embarrassment, 'Gordon' was made to run tender first once, after some trouble with a turntable...

Seriously, it's not how they were designed to run, so these days they are limited to 45mph on the main line, I'd imagine that in the days of steam when every major station had a turntable, it would had have to have been a real crisis for the operating people to allow an express engine to run backwards.

Unless we're talking about a rack railway, I doubt the orientation of the engines would make much difference to the chances of the boiler exploding, I know several preserved railways, std and narrow gauge, that operate the majority of their engines one way or the other due to the prevailing gradients, but I thought this was due to improved efficiency, better engineering practice or leaving plenty of margin for error with inexperienced crews than any serious likelihood of a dramatic boiler failure.

PS - What about the Ffestiniog's double Fairlies?

Can be observed every day when engines in steam on the NYMR especially between Grosmont, Goathland and Levisham.
1 in 49 that everybody knows about between Grosmont and Goathland but there is the gradient the other way round between Goathland and Levisham over a longer distance as well and as much as 1 in 49 in places.
The engines are not normally turned either most facing uphill from Grosmont to Goathland.

When the LNER started to station pilot engines to cover failures on the non stops the southern depots tended to have two locos one pointing in each direction by the time they gor past Darlo there was only one but there was a convenient turntable or triangle at Darlo ,Gateshead and Tweedmouth so with a pretty smart move the pilot could be turned in time to face the correct direction to meet an ailing express.

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On the Great Eastern they ran the J66's boiler first out of Liv Street when on the suburbans as they pulled better that way round.

This tender-first running is a bit of a problem for us modellers. I have a V2 and a B1 on my O gauge railway, neither of which looks right running tender first. The V2 definitely looks wrong - so much so that I am about to make a double ended cassette for the fiddle yard. Having brought in a down train the loco will run back, light engine, to the junction (actually the fiddle yard) where there is presumed to be a turntable. The cassette will be used to turn the loco without the need to lift and re-rail it. Later it can return facing the right way round for an up train. operating will be enhanced by the excuse for a couple of light engine movements (all that lovely noise from the sound chips!).

Chaz

We had a job at Grantham,where we ran tender first with our A3 to Newark from Grantham , allbeit with empty coaches,No.one speed;ran round the train at Newark,ready to start the service to KX.Can't recall a 45mph restriction,as someone suggested;just a bit droughty!!
Roy.

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Just took a quick straw poll of my Bradford book and found no less than five B1s working tender first on goods trains - but none on passenger trains,

Peter