Loose coupled goods

[locojoe]

This is an email sent to me by an old Crewe driver now living in OZ.

To work a fast fitted goods was not much different than a passenger train but a loose coupled train was a lot different for a start you had to know the road infinitely better to keep the couplings tight or the train bunched up otherwise you gave the guard a rough ride (as some drivers did) also approaching the top of a bank it was wise to gradually slow up so you didn't let the train get on top of you on the downhill side
There was AWB boards in some places which meant Adjust wagon brakes so you would apply 4 or 5 wagon brakes next to the engine to control the train downhill
One incident comes to mind when I was a young fireman we had a train from Leeds to Macclesfield an Austerity loco and 5 fitted wagons on the loco. We picked a loco crew up at Hudderfield for Stockport who rode in the Guards van.
On passing Edgely shed my mate had forgot about the men in the brake so I told him don't forget the them, He just shut off and applied the full brake we rapidly came to a stop but the crew who were on their feet ready to get off came through the front windows of the van and finished up in hospital, That driver after a few more incidents finished up in the goods department keeping the messroom clean

[ccmmick]

We had a few drivers at St Blazey who were hard hitters and a lot of the guards didnt like riding in the van with them driving.
On one occasion in Plymouth the driver didnt cancel the aws in time the brakes went in and the guard broke his nose in the van, the driver got his brake back and off he went the guard turned his lamps around and applied the handbrake the train went into Hemerdon loop the guard was then taken off to hospital.

How they never came off the tracks i dont know the guard said it was one hell of an impact and they were never the best of mates after that.

ccmmick.