Double Headers
| Questions about double-headers on the Southern and its
constituents come to the fore on a seemingly routine basis and generate much
the same responses every time. The answer is probably that no-one has the
complete answer!
Such is the passage of time, more than 35 years since steam ended on the Southern's metals, that few people actually remember much more than just the last few years of active steam and so the best-remembered double-headers are those wonderful railtours which brightened enthusiasts' lives in the last ten years. |
One sparkling example of double-heading near the end of Southern steam
brought together Standard class 5 73029 and original
'West Country' 34023 Blackmore Vale,
sadly shorn of nameplates, at the head of an RCTS railtour from Waterloo to
many points south. photograph by Mike Morant |
| There is, of course, much more to write about where Southern
double-headed steam is concerned and it is probable that this page will be the
subject of much revision as more material is submitted for discussion.
The first point to be sorted out is where did double-heading occur on a frequent /regular basis? The obvious candidates are: Folkestone Harbour branch Isle of Wight Lyme Regis branch West of Exeter Weymouth to Dorchester (and beyond) |
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A commendably clean Drummond T9
pilots a Maunsell mogul - so begrimed that it is unidentifiable - past the
erstwhile halt at Upwey Wishing Well in the mid-'50s.
photograph: Mike Morant collection |
| The boat trains from the Harbour station to the Junction at
Folkestone were faced with a sharp incline of 1 in 30 once the harbour bridge
had been cleared and that was also from a standing start. The feat required to
lift the heavy boat trains was compounded by the fact that only locos with a
light axle load could be utilised for this awesome task. The locomotive type
charged with this responsibility was, for many years, the SER R1 0-6-0T working
in multiple formations of from one to three at the front and usually one or two
at the rear.
The accompanying picture, sadly not sharp enough to read the leading engine's number, depicts a typical example of a heavy train climbing to the Junction station with three R1s leading and at least one banker's exhaust visible in the distance. photograph: Mike Morant collection |
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Two Wainwright F1 Class locos
double-heading in 1936. The stock is out of the photograph!
photograph: Mike Morant collection |
| Heavy trains over Morthoe Bank on the Ilfracombe line would
require assistance, either from a bank engine or by being double headed. Here
34061 73 Squadron is the train engine of this double-header, with
unidentified N Class as pilot engine, photographed
leaving Braunton in 1960.
photograph by John Bradbeer |
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Two spamcans - 34102 Salisbury (pilot engine) and 34106
Bude (train engine) pulling away from Braunton in the summer of 1960.
photograph by John Bradbeer |
| Two Ivatt tanks heading the
the early morning train from Barnstaple Junction to Torrington call at Bideford
station during May 1963. On arrival at Torrington the pilot engine,
Nº41216, will work the first train of the day from Torrington to Halwill.
photograph by John Bradbeer |
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The above pair of Ivatts now seen at Torrington. Once the pilot
engine was detached and moved, the train engine ran round and worked the more
or less immediate return working from Torrington to Barnstaple.
photograph by John Bradbeer |
All photographs are copyright
This page was updated 8 August 2010
