Quote:
Originally Posted by Lancpudn
I found out that the ore wagons in 1958 didn't come with any brakes or vacuum lines fitted to them whatsoever & the long train had a whiplash effect when the bunching up of wagons reached the back & derailed the back wagons   I need to swot up on that brake van malarkey next time. |
There were still "unfitted" trains when I started in 1980, primarily on engineering track maintenance trains. Loco brakes and the brake on the guard's "kennel" at the back. There were lineside signs approaching falling gradients "AWB" apply wagon brakes, you'd stop before going downhill, the guard would come forward from his brake van and apply handbrakes on individual wagons to the point where you had to power down the hill. Thankfully unfitted trans were a thing of the past by the time I actually became a driver.
Regarding firing, unless its one of those strange GWR right hand drive things you fire left handed even if you are right handed. I can "operate" a shovel with either hand. Your right foot remains planted and you use that as a pivot.