Post
by IrishPeter » Mon Nov 05, 2012 12:23 am
The Isle of Man Railway's locomotives had handbakes only until the 1920s when vacuum brakes were added. No.16 had steam brakes when new which was probably a good thing as she used for the heavy Port Erin Boat Trains. In practice, the vacuum brakes were little used, there being no Island rule about using them.
When I first got acquainted with the IMR the usual practice was to use five or six (occasionally seven) car sets and to control them with handbrakes. This was satisfactory as the regular guards knew when to apply the brake - for example, all the way from Keristal/Oakhill bridge to Douglas, and the last mile or so southbound into Ballasalla. Otherwise, the usual drill was for the driver to whistle for brakes and for the guard to wind them down before the loco brakes were applied. This prevented the train bunching behind the loco, and then snatching when the brakes came off. The non-funtioning vacuum brake tended to perpetuate the Manx habit of creeping into stations and accelerating smartly away. Also with the dependence on handbrakes for stopping power the carriage handbrakes were maintained in fairly good condition, with those with the best brakes getting the most use. The same usually went for the locomotives
However...
Towards the end of her time in service No.5 Mona had a suspect handbrake. It took about five turns before anything happened, and even when wound all the way on it was not fully applied. Her regular driver liked to "run them" which was perfectly OK when she was paired with one of the brake carriages with good brakes - F40-44, F45/46 or F49 - but if she was paired with F19/20 (the Peel line regulars) or any of the other wooden framed brake coaches it could result in some 'knicker gripping moments.' I'll leave the rest to your imagination.
These ays they usually run with four or five carriages on the hook and always with the vacuum brakes coupled up. The vacuum ejector basically knocks one carriage off the load an IMR can handle, so they will usually bank 6 coach trains out of Douglas, because if the loco is not steaming well the brakes will start and leak on if the pressure falls below 100psi. In former times they would take 6 or 7 single handed, up the bank, though exceptionally (dry day and a good loco) they would take 8.
One other thing to remember about IMR locomotives is not all of them had steam heating gear. This was fitted in the 1930s, but only those locomotives in regular use through the winter were ever fitted. In phots from the 1950s I have only ever seen photos of the gear fitted to Nos. 1, 3, 5, 6, 11, 13 and 14. I have gotten the general impression for the photographic record that it was fitted only to those locomotives in regular winter service. In the early 1950 this would have been 4/5 locomotives, but by the mid-1960s this would have been one - two at the most as the railcars had taken over the winter skeleton service. The old joke was 'you could have continuous brake or warm feet, or neither if the engine were not steaming well.' The thing to look for is an extra narrow diameter copper pipe running along the left side of the boiler. It is usually a bit mprovized looking!
Peter in AZ
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.