Idle Drifter
PWM653 in a permanent way train heading west at Keynsham 7.8.1977
Somebody has been busy lifting old track panels with a long rake of loaded bogie wagons behind the class 45 or 46 at the front of the train. Bringing up the rear is a staff and mess van converted from a GWR Hawksworth BSK coach, a twin boom Civil Engineers crane, one of the Western Region PWM class Ruston Hornsby 0-6-0DE locos no PWM653 and nearest the camera an LMS designed brake van taken in to departmental use.
Some additional information provided by CSL:
The PWM loco is in formation next to a ‘Smiths tracklayer’ - an early form of Twin jib crane - for handling track panels - stemming from the days of ‘Panel Relaying’. The Tracklayer and the PWM loco would have been operated by the Civil Engineers staff - as against the other Dept.’s that normally operated the main loco fleet. I don’t know for sure, but my guess would be that the PWM loco was specifically there to propel the Tracklayer. The Smiths tracklayers were self-propelled - but they were slow and not suitable for running any distance + the Staffa hydraulic motors were prone to failure - so the little shunter (that was more reliable) would be taken out to the worksite - to speed the operations up.
To move the shunter in train formation - it would have to be ‘de-meshed’ - and other regions often wanted the ‘side rods’ taken off for any such movements. They probably got round the risks to the little engine - by putting a ‘tight speed’ restriction on the trains line speed - probably no more that the shunters top speed ! - so effectively what they saved in terms of time & money on the worksite - was probably wasted in the time taken getting to it ! - but importantly it would have kept the possession time down - a pressure that the CCE’s were always under.
From a slide bought with copyright.
PWM653 in a permanent way train heading west at Keynsham 7.8.1977
Somebody has been busy lifting old track panels with a long rake of loaded bogie wagons behind the class 45 or 46 at the front of the train. Bringing up the rear is a staff and mess van converted from a GWR Hawksworth BSK coach, a twin boom Civil Engineers crane, one of the Western Region PWM class Ruston Hornsby 0-6-0DE locos no PWM653 and nearest the camera an LMS designed brake van taken in to departmental use.
Some additional information provided by CSL:
The PWM loco is in formation next to a ‘Smiths tracklayer’ - an early form of Twin jib crane - for handling track panels - stemming from the days of ‘Panel Relaying’. The Tracklayer and the PWM loco would have been operated by the Civil Engineers staff - as against the other Dept.’s that normally operated the main loco fleet. I don’t know for sure, but my guess would be that the PWM loco was specifically there to propel the Tracklayer. The Smiths tracklayers were self-propelled - but they were slow and not suitable for running any distance + the Staffa hydraulic motors were prone to failure - so the little shunter (that was more reliable) would be taken out to the worksite - to speed the operations up.
To move the shunter in train formation - it would have to be ‘de-meshed’ - and other regions often wanted the ‘side rods’ taken off for any such movements. They probably got round the risks to the little engine - by putting a ‘tight speed’ restriction on the trains line speed - probably no more that the shunters top speed ! - so effectively what they saved in terms of time & money on the worksite - was probably wasted in the time taken getting to it ! - but importantly it would have kept the possession time down - a pressure that the CCE’s were always under.
From a slide bought with copyright.