Monday morning, 5 o'clock and I'm off to the railway - a far cry from the days when I would be off to work overseas for the week. Today was my first rostered Third Man turn, and through the NNR Volunteers Facebook group I knew we would have the WD for the Le Paradis Memorial train, scheduled to run that evening
The Paradis Commemoration Group are seeking to establish a memorial in Norfolk to the memory of the 97 soldiers mostly from The Royal Norfolk Regiment who were massacred on 27th May 1940 in Paradis, near Dunkirk. In order to support the appeal the North Norfolk Railway hosted a black tie and tiara dinner aboard the North Norfolkman dining train, which raised over £10,000 and made a significant contribution to the appeal.
So, this was a big day for the railway and that loco was going to have to look good for the evening.
The Facebook group is very useful, and I sought advice from the volunteers as I had heard that the WD wasn't the easiest engine to steam up. I got a lot of good advice, and I was lucky to be contacted by Fireman Christian the day before, arranging to come in early to help light up.
Fireman Christian, Fitter Mark and I all showed up before 6:00; so we were all set. I started as usual with the NTBM board and the safety checks - all were good, and since the engine had been in steam the previous day it was all pretty warm. There was a lot of ash and clinker in the firebox, but first I needed to clean the smokebox. All was good in there too, though there was hardly any ash.
I removed the baffle plate and climbed into the firebox to clean it, which is not so easy when the grate is in the tilted position. That done, we laid a thin fire over the grate, layering wood on top with paraffin soaked rags. I lit these up with a torch and closed the firehole - the WD has a reputation for blowing back through the doors. It's got small dampers and I think it's choked, needing the blower to get it going which is challenging when you have no steam.
Ten minutes in, it was clear that the front corners were not going and I added some more wood and a couple more rags. Once we had it going, Fitter Mark provided an air hose for us to drop into the chimney as an auxiliary blower.
You need a lamp at both ends, and it must work - especially as we go into the winter months.
Next, cleaning; and as usual I started with a ladder and the citrus cleaner, with a few bits of towel and a bottle of Autoglym polish. This didn't work too well and was going to take too long - a subtle suggestion from Christian had me heading for the oil store with a bucket to make an oil & paraffin mix - 25% bearing oil and 75% paraffin - to get it shining quickly.
With the loco done, both sides of the boiler (all the way over the top and all the way underneath), the running boards and the buffer beam, I turned my attention to the tender:
Next it was time to roll back to the ash pit. Driver David & I went underneath with the oil pump to lubricate the axle boxes, and when we were out Fireman Christian dropped the ashpan doors while Driver Dave hosed it out.
That done, we moved the loco back for coaling - two scoops today, as she will be out this evening for a total of six round trips:
I cleared out the ash pit.
I'd brought along a new set of overalls for this turn - a bib & brace and a slop jacket, worn with a formal shirt and tie - though I left the tie at home somehow. You're on the footplate all day in front of the public and you want to look smart, as far as possible, so I had a good wash to get rid of the inevitable mess that comes with cleaning a firebox from the inside.
We'll be doing four round trips today, starting with a run down to Sheringham to collect our train. The signal box opened at 09:00, so we were able to leave the yard without using the ground frame. We drew into Platform 2, and Christian jumped off to phone through the order for breakfast to the Sheringham buffet.
That done, we were off down to Sheringham to start the day.
Training in any situation is a strange, slightly unsettling experience until you find your feet. Fortunately, this was practically my second Third Man turn, so I at least knew how to avoid getting in the way and some of what I would be expected to do but everyone is different and the jobs your colleagues will have you do differ from man to man.
I'd had no experience firing locos on the run - my experience on the shovel was limited to building fires in the yard, and that had shown me how difficult it was to get the coal in the right place. Christian had shown me how to fire thinly at the start, filling holes as they appeared and to build up a thick & resilient as we went along - but I have lost count of the number of times the shovel hit the bottom of the firehole ring or the end of the baffle, leaving a pile of coal in the middle of the grate, just where you don't want it.
Driver David suggested that I don't fill the shovel too much, which gives you better control of where the coal goes.
One thing that takes a while to sink in is where the back and front of the firebox is - just think, you are standing in front of the firehole, shoveling coal in. At one point, Driver David was telling me to fill the back corners - so I was flinging a shovel full as far down the length of the box as I could, to get it in the far corners. He said 'no, the back corners' three or four times before I twigged that the back corners of the box are at the back of the loco and are of course the two corners nearest you...
During training, all sorts of people ask you questions on all sorts of subjects - recently, while coaling, someone asked me about inside & outside admission and went through all the bits of the Walschearts valve gear - I got most of them, but realised I needed to think carefully about inside and outside admission and how it affects the layout of the valve gear. Half the problem is to react calmly and not panic when someone fires a question at you!
This time, Fireman Christian asked me what I would do with the fire. We were leaving Weybourne and it was burning merrily and had no black coal; I looked around and there was little flame but no holes either. I said 'nothing - it will be fine until we get to Sheringham' thinking that it was mostly downhill and the WD is a big loco to be pulling five on the back. That was the right answer apparently.
Another time, Driver David asked what I would do if a fusible plug went. I said 'anything to get it to cool down', suggesting you would drop the fire and put both injectors on to cool the firebox crown to try and save the boiler. He said you wouldn't save the boiler, it's already damaged which is true - but the right answer is to put both injectors on because of course having a fuse plug blow is a far cry from having a seam start leaking, while you take steps to cool the fire.
This trip I had several opportunities to play with the injectors, and I found that the RH injector wouldn't pick up too well but the LH one picked up every time - they both need trimming and you need to get a feel for it. The LH water valve is right under the driver's seat which is a bit inconvenient:
The water level changes all the time, and rapidly. Gradients are an obvious reason, but operating the regulator to open causes the level to rise in the glass as well, as the pressure in the boiler falls and causes the water to boil.
I've learned while operating injectors in the yard that you want to keep some space in the boiler for extra water, to allow you to use cold water injection to drop the pressure and avoid blowing off.
Of course the other thing you don't want to be doing in a station is making smoke - no one is going to thank you for making clouds of black smoke in town or when they are trying to enjoy their day out watching the trains from the platform, so you must fire on the road or when you can use the blower to burn the heavy sulphurous elements out of the coal quickly. The draft caused when underway with the firehole closed will bring the temperature up quickly and will burn off those tarry elements.
One of the things the 3rd Man can do which is a bit less challenging, at least for me, is uncoupling and coupling up. On our line, where we run to and fro over a few miles with two intermediate stations, there is a lot of this. At one end, the train arrives at the platform and the locomotive is uncoupled; the loco moves up to the headshunt and the fireman switches the points; the loco runs around the train and hooks on to the other end for the return journey which means the fireman is up & down off the footplate three times with each run around - at least six times in a round trip which can get pretty tiring.
I've described coupling and uncoupling before, in this post. This time though we are into October and we are using steam heating in the coaches, so we have to reduce the steam heat pressure before we arrive at the stations and isolate the steam heat bags on the buffer beams at each run around, watching for hot water dripping out when we uncouple. There is a pressure release valve in the steam heat connector which you can use.
One of the important things fireman have to do is learn the route, calling out signals and being the drivers eyes. On a single track line with no turntable, the driver is on the right side of the loco in one direction, but not both - so the fireman has to be his eyes in the other direction.
This is vitally important in locations such as level crossings or occupation crossings, where cars or pedestrians cross the railway, but there are also many other situations. For example, the picture below shows a signal on the way into Weybourne - now it's obvious that the signal is clear and we call out "Green Board" to let the driver know that it's clear; normally he will see this himself, but on the B12, where he is sitting on the right, he can only see it in the distance - and he probably won't see the platform indicator. This is important, because if he has to cross to Platform 2 unexpectedly, he may be going too fast by the time he reaches the crossover.
Other examples are where you, the Third Man or Fireman have changed some points on run around - at Sheringham, he needs to be told that he has the road: you say "road switched, two white lights" to let him know the points are changed for the run around and the road has been cleared by the signalman.
Another example of the cocksure newbie. I'd operated the various water cranes several times (not the one at Sheringham admittedly), so I was pretty confident, but found myself faffing about with the hose (called a 'bag'), bent double trying to keep it in the hole - until Fireman Christian showed me a better way:
And that was about it for this turn - we were relieved for the memorial train so we just had to come onto the pit to ash out. I operated the ground frame, supervised by Fireman Christian and went off to get changed.
Next turn, Third Man again on a yellow service, on Thursday 24th October.
The Paradis Commemoration Group are seeking to establish a memorial in Norfolk to the memory of the 97 soldiers mostly from The Royal Norfolk Regiment who were massacred on 27th May 1940 in Paradis, near Dunkirk. In order to support the appeal the North Norfolk Railway hosted a black tie and tiara dinner aboard the North Norfolkman dining train, which raised over £10,000 and made a significant contribution to the appeal.
So, this was a big day for the railway and that loco was going to have to look good for the evening.
The Facebook group is very useful, and I sought advice from the volunteers as I had heard that the WD wasn't the easiest engine to steam up. I got a lot of good advice, and I was lucky to be contacted by Fireman Christian the day before, arranging to come in early to help light up.
Fireman Christian, Fitter Mark and I all showed up before 6:00; so we were all set. I started as usual with the NTBM board and the safety checks - all were good, and since the engine had been in steam the previous day it was all pretty warm. There was a lot of ash and clinker in the firebox, but first I needed to clean the smokebox. All was good in there too, though there was hardly any ash.
I removed the baffle plate and climbed into the firebox to clean it, which is not so easy when the grate is in the tilted position. That done, we laid a thin fire over the grate, layering wood on top with paraffin soaked rags. I lit these up with a torch and closed the firehole - the WD has a reputation for blowing back through the doors. It's got small dampers and I think it's choked, needing the blower to get it going which is challenging when you have no steam.
 |
| Driver's side damper lever |
You need a lamp at both ends, and it must work - especially as we go into the winter months.
With the loco done, both sides of the boiler (all the way over the top and all the way underneath), the running boards and the buffer beam, I turned my attention to the tender:
Christian had the Brasso out on the copper and brass: for most of the day I think - he was to be seen crouching over those name boards on a stop at Holt at one point! She looked fantastic when we had finished. I don't think I have seen the WD this clean for ages:
Next it was time to roll back to the ash pit. Driver David & I went underneath with the oil pump to lubricate the axle boxes, and when we were out Fireman Christian dropped the ashpan doors while Driver Dave hosed it out.
That done, we moved the loco back for coaling - two scoops today, as she will be out this evening for a total of six round trips:
I cleared out the ash pit.
I'd brought along a new set of overalls for this turn - a bib & brace and a slop jacket, worn with a formal shirt and tie - though I left the tie at home somehow. You're on the footplate all day in front of the public and you want to look smart, as far as possible, so I had a good wash to get rid of the inevitable mess that comes with cleaning a firebox from the inside.
We'll be doing four round trips today, starting with a run down to Sheringham to collect our train. The signal box opened at 09:00, so we were able to leave the yard without using the ground frame. We drew into Platform 2, and Christian jumped off to phone through the order for breakfast to the Sheringham buffet.
That done, we were off down to Sheringham to start the day.
Training in any situation is a strange, slightly unsettling experience until you find your feet. Fortunately, this was practically my second Third Man turn, so I at least knew how to avoid getting in the way and some of what I would be expected to do but everyone is different and the jobs your colleagues will have you do differ from man to man.
I'd had no experience firing locos on the run - my experience on the shovel was limited to building fires in the yard, and that had shown me how difficult it was to get the coal in the right place. Christian had shown me how to fire thinly at the start, filling holes as they appeared and to build up a thick & resilient as we went along - but I have lost count of the number of times the shovel hit the bottom of the firehole ring or the end of the baffle, leaving a pile of coal in the middle of the grate, just where you don't want it.
Driver David suggested that I don't fill the shovel too much, which gives you better control of where the coal goes.
One thing that takes a while to sink in is where the back and front of the firebox is - just think, you are standing in front of the firehole, shoveling coal in. At one point, Driver David was telling me to fill the back corners - so I was flinging a shovel full as far down the length of the box as I could, to get it in the far corners. He said 'no, the back corners' three or four times before I twigged that the back corners of the box are at the back of the loco and are of course the two corners nearest you...
During training, all sorts of people ask you questions on all sorts of subjects - recently, while coaling, someone asked me about inside & outside admission and went through all the bits of the Walschearts valve gear - I got most of them, but realised I needed to think carefully about inside and outside admission and how it affects the layout of the valve gear. Half the problem is to react calmly and not panic when someone fires a question at you!
This time, Fireman Christian asked me what I would do with the fire. We were leaving Weybourne and it was burning merrily and had no black coal; I looked around and there was little flame but no holes either. I said 'nothing - it will be fine until we get to Sheringham' thinking that it was mostly downhill and the WD is a big loco to be pulling five on the back. That was the right answer apparently.
Another time, Driver David asked what I would do if a fusible plug went. I said 'anything to get it to cool down', suggesting you would drop the fire and put both injectors on to cool the firebox crown to try and save the boiler. He said you wouldn't save the boiler, it's already damaged which is true - but the right answer is to put both injectors on because of course having a fuse plug blow is a far cry from having a seam start leaking, while you take steps to cool the fire.
This trip I had several opportunities to play with the injectors, and I found that the RH injector wouldn't pick up too well but the LH one picked up every time - they both need trimming and you need to get a feel for it. The LH water valve is right under the driver's seat which is a bit inconvenient:
Of course the key thing is to keep calm, watch the overflow and listen to what the injector is doing. If it won't start, shut the steam off, let it cool and try again.
Watching the gauge glasses on a run is interesting - David asked me what I would do if one broke on the road. The answer is, throw your coat over it and shut it off.
The water level changes all the time, and rapidly. Gradients are an obvious reason, but operating the regulator to open causes the level to rise in the glass as well, as the pressure in the boiler falls and causes the water to boil.
I've learned while operating injectors in the yard that you want to keep some space in the boiler for extra water, to allow you to use cold water injection to drop the pressure and avoid blowing off.
Of course the other thing you don't want to be doing in a station is making smoke - no one is going to thank you for making clouds of black smoke in town or when they are trying to enjoy their day out watching the trains from the platform, so you must fire on the road or when you can use the blower to burn the heavy sulphurous elements out of the coal quickly. The draft caused when underway with the firehole closed will bring the temperature up quickly and will burn off those tarry elements.
One of the things the 3rd Man can do which is a bit less challenging, at least for me, is uncoupling and coupling up. On our line, where we run to and fro over a few miles with two intermediate stations, there is a lot of this. At one end, the train arrives at the platform and the locomotive is uncoupled; the loco moves up to the headshunt and the fireman switches the points; the loco runs around the train and hooks on to the other end for the return journey which means the fireman is up & down off the footplate three times with each run around - at least six times in a round trip which can get pretty tiring.
I've described coupling and uncoupling before, in this post. This time though we are into October and we are using steam heating in the coaches, so we have to reduce the steam heat pressure before we arrive at the stations and isolate the steam heat bags on the buffer beams at each run around, watching for hot water dripping out when we uncouple. There is a pressure release valve in the steam heat connector which you can use.
Here's a close up of the vacuum brake bag connector, shown parked on the end of a coach. These things can be very easy to make up or a proper pig - depends on which end you are working on and how new the hose is.
The steam heating system has a valve to allow water to escape at each end of the coach. Sometimes they leak, with moody results for the photographers:
One of the important things fireman have to do is learn the route, calling out signals and being the drivers eyes. On a single track line with no turntable, the driver is on the right side of the loco in one direction, but not both - so the fireman has to be his eyes in the other direction.
This is vitally important in locations such as level crossings or occupation crossings, where cars or pedestrians cross the railway, but there are also many other situations. For example, the picture below shows a signal on the way into Weybourne - now it's obvious that the signal is clear and we call out "Green Board" to let the driver know that it's clear; normally he will see this himself, but on the B12, where he is sitting on the right, he can only see it in the distance - and he probably won't see the platform indicator. This is important, because if he has to cross to Platform 2 unexpectedly, he may be going too fast by the time he reaches the crossover.
Other examples are where you, the Third Man or Fireman have changed some points on run around - at Sheringham, he needs to be told that he has the road: you say "road switched, two white lights" to let him know the points are changed for the run around and the road has been cleared by the signalman.
Another example of the cocksure newbie. I'd operated the various water cranes several times (not the one at Sheringham admittedly), so I was pretty confident, but found myself faffing about with the hose (called a 'bag'), bent double trying to keep it in the hole - until Fireman Christian showed me a better way:
And that was about it for this turn - we were relieved for the memorial train so we just had to come onto the pit to ash out. I operated the ground frame, supervised by Fireman Christian and went off to get changed.
Next turn, Third Man again on a yellow service, on Thursday 24th October.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my latest adventure on the North Norfolk Railway. Here's a link to some of my past railway turns:
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