Support crew (UK steam locomotive)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Although steam locomotives were withdrawn from normal railway service in Great Britain in 1968, due to sustained public interest including a locomotive preservation movement, steam hauled passenger trains can still be seen on the mainline railway (i.e.
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
owned tracks as opposed to heritage railways) in the present day.


History

Following the ramping up of diesel trains in the 1960s, the last steam-hauled service trains on the standard gauge mainline of the British Railways network ran in August 1968, the last train itself being the '' Fifteen Guinea Special'' on 11 August, although
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
trains were still run until 1987 on the Vale of Rheidol Railway. The day after the final service, BR then imposed a complete ban on mainline steam services, with one exception, ''Flying Scotsman'', due to
Alan Pegler Alan Francis Pegler OBE, FRSA (16 April 1920 – 18 March 2012) was a British businessman, entrepreneur, and railway preservationist. Early life Born in London on 16 April 1920, he was the great grandson of Alfred Pegler, founder of the No ...
having secured a clause in the purchase contract when she was purchased from BR in 1963. After this time, the only place to see steam trains was on privately owned heritage railways and industries. The ban was lifted in 1971, paving the way for the earliest post-ban heritage services. A train hauled by ''King George V'' was the first to run after the ban, and it paved the way for BR to authorise more and more routes for steam operation (based on them having the necessary infrastructure and timetabling capacity); in response to growing public demand for such services, the
Steam Locomotive Operators' Association Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. ...
was formed in 1975 to bring together and assist operators wishing to run on the main line, negotiating a programme of tours with BR.


Operation

In the post- privatisation era, the typical manner in which mainline steam trains are operated is for a promoter or customer to contract a charter train operating company (TOC) to run it on their behalf. The TOCs are the legal entities which are licensed to operate trains; they are responsible for providing the three-man professional train crew consisting of the
engine driver A train driver, engine driver, engineman or locomotive driver, commonly known as an engineer or railroad engineer in the United States and Canada, and also as a locomotive handler, locomotive operator, train operator, or motorman, is a pers ...
,
fireman A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
and traction inspector,''
The Railway Magazine ''The Railway Magazine'' is a monthly British railway magazine, aimed at the railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it was, for three years running, the railway magazine with the largest circulation in ...
'', September 2009 issue, 5 August 2009, IPC Media, pages 40 – 44, ''A week in the life of a mainline line steam support crew''
and negotiating access to the network from Network Rail. Locomotives and coaching stock will ordinarily be hired by the TOC on an as needed basis (known as spot-hire), although some stock is owned by the TOCs directly. As of 2013, only two charter TOCs were licensed for steam operation – DB Schencker and
West Coast Railways West Coast Railways (WCR) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire. Using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the Steamtown Carnforth visitor attraction, in June 1998 the com ...
. Of the 410,000 miles of charter train operation in 2012/13, 103,000 of this was steam hauled. Due to their unique aspects, the safe operation of steam locomotives on the mainline is governed by its own Railway Group Standard, Steam Locomotive Operation, in addition to all other applicable standards. Depending on wheel diameter, locomotives on the mainline are permitted to operate up to maximum speeds ranging from 35 to 75 mph - the maximum permitted on minor and heritage lines normally being 25 mph. With water troughs having been removed after the withdrawal of mainline steam, trains must now stop for water, being refilled via hoses from road going tankers (preferred over static hydrants due to pressure inconsistencies and the possibility of contamination), although mainline water cranes do still exist in some places. Additionally, water scoops in the tender are also required to be removed as well. With the locomotives often away from their home base, or even any kind of operating base, support crews numbering around half a dozen people usually travel with the train, their role being to prepare the locomotive, tend to it on water stops and repair any fixable issues arising, and clear the ashpan as part of a disposal routine at the end of the day. As a result, as well as the passenger coaches, mainline steam trains will also feature a support coach, normally a
passenger brake van Brake van and guard's van are terms used mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard. The equivalent North American term is caboose, but a British brake van ...
of the British Railways Mark 1 or Mark 2 era, specially fitted out to provide seating/sleeping, catering and workshop facilities for the support crew, plus space to carry spares and equipment (i.e. hoses), including that required for the modern equipment needed on a mainline equipped train. While on the move, one support crew member rides on the footplate, to act as the locomotive owner's representative and assist 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.


Locomotives

Most locomotives used are examples built during the steam era and later preserved, being suitably modified to run on the modern mainline. In 2009 the locomotive ''Tornado'' hauled its maiden mainline train, being the first brand new steam locomotive to be built in Britain for use on the main line since Evening Star, completed in 1960. The most famous steam locomotive operating on the British main line is the 1923 built ''Flying Scotsman''. After being taken into public ownership in 2004, following a decade long refit it returned to mainline service in 2016. The fastest steam locomotive ever built, the 1938 built ''Mallard'', was also certified for main line operation briefly in the 1980s.


Services

Most steam-hauled mainline services are operated as public charters - i.e. trains organised by a tour operator and available to passengers on a pre-booked basis only. Certain services however are run as scheduled services. In some cases, trains are operated as private charters. A small number of journeys by the British Royal Train have been hauled by steam traction. Many of the services have names which echo the historic named passenger trains of the United Kingdom, and will often feature an appropriate headboard. ''The Jacobite'' is summer season daily service along the
West Highland Line The West Highland Line ( gd, Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean - "Iron Road to the Isles") is a railway line linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow in Central Scotland. The line was voted the top rail journey in the ...
in Scotland, voted the most scenic in the world in 2009. The ''
Torbay Express The ''Torbay Express'' is a named passenger train operating in the United Kingdom. The Torbay Express departs from Bristol Temple Meads railway station on summer Sundays at approximately 09:15 with arrival back in Bristol at about 20:10 (depe ...
'' is a regular summer season weekend service in the South West. The ''
Scarborough Spa Express The ''Scarborough Spa Express'' (SSE) is a regular summer heritage steam locomotive service between and . It is currently operated by the West Coast Railways, but has been operated in previous years by different companies, including the Railway ...
'' is another regular summer season service, which was originally run in the BR era of the 1980s, before being revived again in the 2000s by various private operators. Selected services run by the luxury train operator Belmond (formerly Orient-Express) are steam hauled - the UK leg of the '' Venice-Simplon Orient Express'', plus the ''British Pullman'' and ''Northern Belle''. In 2007, the
North Yorkshire Moors Railway The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Geor ...
, a heritage railway, gained permission from Network Rail to extend some of its steam services along a 6-mile stretch of the Esk Valley Line, from Grosmont (the NYMR northern terminus) to Whitby. This marked the first time that a volunteer-run heritage railway had been allowed to operate services on NR track. In an effort to boost tourism in the summer of 2015, the
Abellio ScotRail Abellio ScotRail, operating services under the name ScotRail, was the national train operating company of Scotland. A subsidiary of Abellio, it operated the ScotRail franchise from 1 April 2015, taking over from predecessor First ScotRail. ...
railway franchise began offering steam specials on scenic routes, although the company was criticised for having not promoted the services enough, leading to an initial shortfall in demand, which Abellio attributed to a late change of operator. The franchise also provided 3 days a week steam specials on the newly opened
Borders Railway The Borders Railway connects the city of Edinburgh with Galashiels and Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders. The railway follows most of the alignment of the northern part of the Waverley Route, a former double-track line in southern Scotland ...
between Edinburgh and Tweedbank. Network Rail suffered heavy criticism after an error led to it proposing to cancel trips hauled by ''Flying Scotsman'' on these services with just two days notice, only to reverse their decision a day later. Hailed as a success, the Borders Railway trips returned for the 2016 season. On three consecutive days in February 2017, Northern Rail replaced two return journeys between Appleby and Skipton, normally operated by a diesel multiple-unit, with steam-hauled services worked by No. 60163 ''Tornado''. Unlike the services described above, regular National Rail tickets were valid for travel on these trains, thus making them the first regular scheduled steam-hauled passenger trains since the end of BR steam.


Issues

Since the lifting of the steam ban in 1971, main line steam operation had an exemplary safety record. Network Rail identify the greatest operational risk of steam locomotives on the modernised network as lineside fires, caused by embers from the fire box, since they can cause both damage to equipment and delays to services. According to Network Rail, the risk to the modern railway is higher than in the days of normal steam operation, as lineside vegetation is thicker and greener due to not being regularly burned back by lineside fires. In 2008 a locomotive was banned from the main line after causing a severe damage to a
Cumbrian Coast Line The Cumbrian Coast line is a rail route in North West England, running from Carlisle railway station, Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness via Workington and Whitehaven. The line forms part of Network Rail route NW 4033, which continues (as the Furnes ...
wooden viaduct, although this was presumed to be due to a fault with the engine. Network Rail has issued bans on steam services running on certain parts of its network in response to lineside fires; in 2011 banning weekday services on the East Coast Main Line, and in 2014 banning all services on the LNE & East Midlands Route, although critics have described them as disproportionate and made various arguments as to how they are unjustified. In a pre-emptive measure during a heatwave in August 2013, steam services across much of the network were banned (unless hauled by a diesel over a banned section). Network Rail also pre-emptively bans steam operation in any area affected by industrial action by a Fire Brigade. The operational risks of steam locomotives on the network were highlighted to the wider public in 2015 following the Wootton Bassett SPAD incident, when a steam charter train
passed a signal at danger A signal passed at danger (SPAD), known in the United States as a stop signal overrun and in Canada as passing a stop signal, is an event on a railway where a train passes a stop signal without authority. In the United States and Canada, this ...
(SPAD) near Wootton Bassett Junction. Although no collision resulted, it led to the major steam train charter operator,
West Coast Railways West Coast Railways (WCR) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire. Using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the Steamtown Carnforth visitor attraction, in June 1998 the com ...
, having their network access license suspended, and then revoked in February 2015 after further issues came to light. This resulted in serious disruption of main line steam services due to their being the largest operator in the British steam hauled market by a wide margin. Their prohibition was finally lifted in March 2016. In June 2016 the driver was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to breaches of Health and Safety law, while WCRC were fined £260,000 after also admitting to two breaches. Due to the popularity of steam trains with the public,
trespassing Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, ...
on the railway is seen as a major issue by Network Rail and the
British Transport Police , nativename = , abbreviation = BTP , patch = , patchcaption = , logo = British Transport Police Logo.svg , logocaption = Logo of the British Transport Police , badge = , badgecaption = , f ...
. The debut of ''Flying Scotsman'' resulted in Network Rail having to pay £60,000 in compensation (to train operators) after 59 services were affected by a combined total of more than 8 hours of service delays. As a preventive measure, timings of its subsequent trips were deliberately not released to the public, and reminders have been issued that trespass on the railway is a criminal offence and that offenders risk a criminal record and fines of up to £1,000. The final last resort would be banning Flying Scotsman from the mainline if excessive trespassing and disobeying railway safety was repeated.


Economic impact

Mainline steam operation is estimated to contribute at least £30 million annually to the economy.


See also

*
List of British heritage and private railways This is a list of heritage, private and preserved railways throughout the United Kingdom, the Crown dependencies, and British Overseas Territories whether operational or closed, that are operated for charitable purposes or shareholder profit ...


References

{{Heritage railways in England Rail transport preservation in the United Kingdom


External links


Mainline Steam Train Photographs