I was there, just below the overbridge, and audio recorded the spectacle. This was an 11 coach train. In ‘steam’ days they’d have used three locos for such a load up the curved 1 in 37, with two pushing at the back. By those 'standards’ (!) this train was precariously underpowered and would not have been expected to succeed, so the fact that eventually they did was somewhat miraculous. I was also at Exeter Central in August 1964 for the last up steam hauled ACE. Unrebuilt BB no. 34084 with the five coach portion from Padstow stalled just out of sight of the up platform. It only took a few minutes to send Ivatt tank no. 41321 down to assist.

@ElaBellll

5 жыл бұрын

To me is seemed less like a power issue, more like a traction issue.

80080 is one of my favourite locomotives. She was all polished up for appearing at Southend Central in 1956 for the centenary of the LT&SR, together with Mallard and Robin Hood and others I now cannot recall. She often used to rattle past my childhood home in Westcliff-on-Sea - good to see the old girl going strong.

Driver: Come on old girl, time to work 80080: NO! I MUST DANCE!!

It didn't stall. It just lost adhesion. Apart from the awful quality of driving to get the 11 coach load moving again,the loco (and one on the rear) performed well. Being a registered main line driver I wouldn't dream of abusing the regulator like this, and in todays system a driver doing this would be his last main line duty! Great effort from the two standard tanks on a load way beyond their capability on the 1 in 37 grade.

The pigeons had enough. I love that part.

"Built like a tank" is just a figure of speech. Fitting really for a tank engine such as 80800. When I drove her, she only had 4 coaches but she makes light work with a full load of 8 behind her.

These BR 4MT tank engines regularly pulled 11 fully loaded suburban coaches in peak hours on the London Tilbury and Southend line in the 50s and early 60s although the LMS Stanier and Fairburns were placed on the heaviest 13 coach trains. They are very capable locos and did sterling work in Wales after being displaced from the LTSR.

1:23 - Once the wheels had been turned down in diameter, more traction became available and the engine was able to pull away ;-)

Cracking footage there - thanks for sharing it!

Very good of you to upload this, it was the same year as 60532, in my opinion, 80080 did very well, I've seen a 56xx with seven on up Grosmont bank and she really struggled!

That gigantic tank locomotive sure got strong wheelslip, so strong that sparks spears between the wheels and rails. Just awesome!👍🏼😃❤️

That was impressive. Understandably, after Blue Peter, that is a bad slip. I don't think there is such thing as a bad driver, all mainline drivers are trained to a high standard and certain unfortunate events and locations act against a crew. A good recovery and the train still kept moving, which should be applauded. I was lucky to have a footplate experience last year on the ELR with 80080. What a beautiful machine. Built like a tank. One of the best engines the ELR has ever been loaned!!

Do I remember 1994 was the FIRST wifes birthday so we had to do something away from the Station. we lived in Exeter and an old schoolmate Andrew Still organised the festival. Lovely to see the footage, these two were late comming out of the station heading for dear old Crediton and I managed to catch a photo by the crossing. So many trains have passed under various bridges since, new wife, lovely daughter who loves riding behind model steam locomotives. David Scott.

That was VERY enjoyable thanks mate.

I bet the local PW Inspector was glad to see the last of it and all those wheelburns! Call the ultrasonic team!

4mt tanks my fav locos! Lovely vid. At least that time the train made the top and continued on.

Well that's a fair few mill off the tyres and the rails. I know it doesn't do a locomotive much good to slip as bad as this, but by'ek they sound bloody lovely when they do. Thanks for posting!!

Wow, what a sight! Very good!

That was amazing what year was it? Thanks for putting it out.

There's not many clips on KZread of Exeter Central's tricky bank with steam engines struggling was a great video to watch, love the sparks coming from the wheels, poor little engine

@MarshSteamVideosTM

10 жыл бұрын

I bet the loco owner or society owners, didn't enjoy watching it. Was still a rare sight to see though.

@davidellis279

Жыл бұрын

The sparks coming off the wheels was from using the sandbox’s to gain traction,the rails and the wheels become polished so sand is required to brake that smooth surface,I would have thought an experienced driver would have used the sand long before he did,it was apparent that the engine was struggling with the incline so a slip was highly expected but all he did was increase the power to the wheels and increase the chances of that happening and it did,lowering the power and gritting would have been a better bet long before he got into trouble.

Very beautiful video! Thanks!... :)

Sorry for butting in, but I think that its a combination of both Rear and Front locos. The rear perhaps wasnt helping as much as he should have been, (Difficult to tell in this video of course because we cant see the rear loco at all) but the front loco driver was spinning a bit too much. Almost as though some of it was intentional?

For the critics arguing that today's footplate crews aren't competent like "back in the day": Allow me to introduce you to the automatic curve greaser, a fairly modern device that wasn't around in the golden age of steam. It's supposed to lubricate the inside edge of the rail to reduce rail and wheel wear, but the grease inevitably gets all over the rail head. It's a real treat even with a modern diesel-electric when you have a station stop in a curve on top of one. And yes, sand is being applied, as you can see the steam coming from the nozzle directly in front of the first drive wheel.

Great video!:)

I didn't realise it was that steep between St. Davids and Central. Although I've only been on that section on diesels, and usually when it's dark.

I bet that made a mess of the rails, lovely wheel burns.

Incredible video I never knew these two went up the bank back then, but I was only 5 years old at the time of this. If only we could have steam running over Exeter bank again as its so ridiculously steep

So in your opinion the majority of the fault shoud be aimed at the rear ??

No problem i felt people needed to see this as it's not a sight your likely to see again !!

absolutely brilliant footage! well done! Wasn't this the bank that tangmere and Pocket rocket also stalled on a few years back?

Any footage of that ??

Very good footage. Thanks for sharing it. Take care! ...anwar...

Alot of you on here have no idea what you're on about, when an engine that is superheated goes in to a slip, is very hard to get it to stop, especially if water has been picked up into the superheater, once water gets into the super heater the driver has no control over the steam until the water in the super heater had evaporated as it is on the wrong side of the regulator valve. All mainline drivers were trained to a high standard, and i believe there is no such thing as a bad driver, only inexperienced drivers and experienced drivers, who are you to judge, most of you probably have never driven a Standard 4. Shame on you! 

@tomsdailyvlogs7147

8 жыл бұрын

Thank you

@margotishrn

8 жыл бұрын

agreed.

@mikado1555

7 жыл бұрын

Also depends upon the type of throttle/regulator. A balanced one is much easier to close than a non balanced one.

@Rosie6857

7 жыл бұрын

All locos are superheated except for the small and ancient and this machine is neither. Also, on starting there is virtually no superheat because the hot gases from the firebox have yet to start flowing.

@mikado1555

7 жыл бұрын

"All locos are superheated except for the small and ancient and this machine is neither. Also, on starting there is virtually no superheat because the hot gases from the firebox have yet to start flowing." So you are assuming that the engine was stopped and the fire died down so there is only a small degree of superheat. The gasses from the fire will be a lot hotter than the steam so it will heat the steam in the superheaters and give a small degree of superheat. Just being stopped doesn't mean that the fire is calm. It is very easy to bring in the engine with a hot fire and lower water and keep the fire hot and not popping by adding water to the boiler. If the engine has been working even for a few minutes, the fire will be coming back up to a much fuller heat (and the fireman would have already prepared the firebed before making the climb) giving a greater degree of superheat than just starting out from the station with a thin fire.

The pigeons had enough! The Pigeon had enough! That pigeon at 00,52 was blasted out of its roosting place

Do you know which DVD is this in?

Small wheelslip= cool to hear and spectacular to see. This= don;t let that driver touch another steam locomotive.

Judging by the year, I believe she was in storage awaiting restoration following its purchase by Chris Beet following a spell on the mainline in the 80s, so wouldn't have been able to help anyway. However, I would love to see a Jubilee attack Exeter Bank, even if it was only with 6 coaches.

Audio fantastico !!!

Well from what i can make of it the footplate crew look rather relaxed about the whole thing and seem to know what their doing and not giving a toss hence the Loco spinning out of control !!

Definately. Both locos should have been at full power once we cleared the junction at St Davids.It appears the the rear loco thought that it was only attached as turn over loco at Exmouth. Never seen a steam train haulwhat should have been its banker up the incline before! Once saw a Meldon ballast arrive St Davids with one loco and depart to the Central double headed with 3 bankers.....wish I had video in those days.

Yes you would hope so though this i doubt you'l see again !! Regards Liam

Yes you can actually here the cheers from the coaches at what there witnessing !!

It was uncontrollable wheel slip that damaged Blue Peter I wander if this loco got any after all that,but a brilliant video in any case.

Not 100% sure though i will find out . P.s this is not my footage im just sharing a rare event that most people will have never seen !! Regards Liam

maybe becuase it's something you dont see everyday and im sure the engine has continued it's service at the East lancashire railway

No problem !!

At least he opened the cylinder drain cocks. It may not seem that way, but the driver has shown good knowledge by not applying the sanders in this situation, which could have had much more serious consequences for the cranks pins.

Bloody hell, who was driving those? Did they get disciplined afterwards?

80079 on the rear?

1:13 got a bit "Blue Peter".

Did mainline drivers in the 90's have any idea how to stop a slip quickly and effectively...?

I can see the sparks coming from underneath the engine

I was on this train. The problem stemmed from lack of any assistance fom the rear loco after we went on to the inclime.It wasn't until after we slipped to a stand that any power was given from the rear.

@ieuandavies4134

Жыл бұрын

Another wrong comment. I was in the rear loco, we were also flat out, it was oil on the rails near the top of the bank caused the lack of adhesion. At the rear it was like hitting a brick wall and certainly not very pleasant in the tunnel.

My exact thinking

There seemed to be a lot of inexperienced drivers in the 90’s

Just watched IT again.

Just maybe Rhys, maybe. Still amazing to watch over and over!

That was NOT, repeat NOT, a stall. It was lack of adhesion. Apart from the question of 600lbs per ton of driving axle load, there is the issue of whether the wheel and rail is dry, and clear of contamination. Prolonged slipping causes tyre-wear and rail-breaks. If water is lifted over, the potential hydraulic lock can bend or break rods or cylinders/covers. Looks bloody impressive though.

@ieuandavies4134

Жыл бұрын

Spot on. Subsequent inspection of the rail revealed copious amounts of oil on the railhead near the top of the bank. How it got there is unknown.

Yes a busy one sunday hopefully catch Union of SA at sandbach in the morning then shakespeare in the afternoon !!

If this was en route to exmouth, how did it get back? There is no run round at exmouth

@MarshSteamVideosTM

3 жыл бұрын

Top and tail meaning a tender first return.

I would of thought so !!!

would be great if the prclt could register at least one,they could use the same strategy tyesley do for their panniers with the water carrier.

Lol DVD try beetamax !! I think it's a old VHS will get back to you on it !! Regards Liam

did you see the sarpks coming off the tracks (1:17)

im glad drivers know how to drive now

What DVD is this from?

@MarshSteamVideosTM

10 жыл бұрын

No DVD ! This was a old VHS tape from the 90s, without box unfortunately.

1:15 whats happened here ? I think hes doing it to much by the regulator?

I think its a balanced argument becasue after blue peters slip in 1994 that was the Main maker that made all crew trained on specific locomotives becasue it was the crews error. since this was before hand prehaps sightls like this were slightly more common simply becasue the crew were never trained in such detail that they are today. And Ay i live near ELR been on 80080 all the time can see my videos of here on my channel :D

Overloaded. Could've been wet rails or an over eager driver trying to do it all himself. What where the 4MT rated on this bank?

It would have been interesting to record the language used on the footplate at the time.

Now that's a bark.

it was the problem from the back due to the banking steam loco not putting in enough banking into the train.

Ha neither did i it just was sheer luck i found it while having a browse through my dad's old videos and thought people have to see this and as you said it's a shame we dont see steam on the exeter bank but i think this video proves why we dont ,

where's the sand?

More sand less power ? I have no idea, but I would shovel coal for a week if I could spend an hour in the cabin..

@MarkAtkin

6 жыл бұрын

Heritage railways are always looking for volunteers. If you are happy to be on duty at 06:00 on a winter's morning you will be welcomed. You'll start off as a cleaner, emptying ash pans, and cleaning wheels, but if you stick with it you'll soon be on the footplate training to be a fireman.

80080: Puff! Puff! Puff! Bother, I've stalled. 80079: Don't worry, you've still got me to help you. Take your time. 80080: You can say that again. OK, let's try again. Gosh, it's hard work. 80079: You can do it, little sis. Keep at it. 80080: Slip, slip, slip. Chuff, chuff, chuff. Hurray! Onwards we go! 80079: Lights, camera, action, steamies! We've got a long way to go right now. 80080: Lights, camera, action, steamies! We'll get going somehow.

Love the standard 4s but that was a bit ambiguous as that bank is notoriously nasty 👍

@MarshSteamVideosTM

3 жыл бұрын

Yep, no run up and a sharp speed restricted left hander makes for torrid climb. For me, this bank is more of a challenge than the Lickey Bank.

That's a bad one, a very heavy train for a 4 without rear assistance. At least he gets the drain cocks open to prevent popping the cylinder covers, and he's got the sanders on full.

I believe that driver of the loco pulled the accelerator too hard that’s why it caused the loco to slip like this

@ieuandavies4134

Жыл бұрын

You don’t know what you are saying…..

I was about to sympathise with the driver & say "Well it is a 1 in 37 grade" but now I'm going to say is this the driver that wrecked blue peter?

@MarshSteamVideosTM

10 жыл бұрын

Well if it was the driver of Blue Peter, I'm sure he would of finally learnt his lesson, with a pair of broken hands !

omfg look at wheelspin at 0:20 !!

Good video, some great atmos. The driver shouldnt have let her slip like that, the tryres are probs ruined

That Exeter bank looks to be bit of a booby trap.

@paulbishop6091

6 жыл бұрын

BoilerRoom4 I

Indeed it was the bank that caught Tangmere and the Pocket Rocket out.

How terrible to leave the wheels spinning at 1:13 to 1:25. What was wrong with the driver? Was sand in use?

The poor engine almost blew up twice and the 2nd time almost destroyed the rails.

Slipping not stalling.

@Jaidencharlotte

4 жыл бұрын

It was a stall The engine slipped to a standstill and was unable to get the train away without assistance

Fireman Sam

Yes i personally think lack of common sense from the rear and especially the front caused this balls up !! Unfortunately i doubt there was ever a inquest into this so there's no telling what the reasons were though im sure the locomotive owners of 80800 would of asked for a explanation as this stall could of caused significant damage to the engine !!

Yep - just one clip AKAIK, search KZread for" 76079 + 34067 Exeter Bank"

Say what you like but I think that was absolutely shocking driving.

Footplate Voice recorder at 1:13

Sorry you said 1994.

I dread to think about the amount of damage the lead engine did to its tyres, I'm sure Railtrack won't be thanking them for serious damaging their rails.....

When EXC signal box was in a much better condition.

The “driver” running this locomotive should never be allowed anywhere near a steam locomotive cab ever again. I have never seen such poor throttle handling in dealing with a slip. This is coming from someone who ran large American mainline steam locomotives in excursion service for 34 years. JasperPryer123, if the fireman was carrying the water so high that the slip pulled water into the superheaters, he should be relieved, too. There is no excuse for that, either.

@ollylewin

3 жыл бұрын

You need to understand the circumstances of this to really get it. This loco isn't all that powerful in the grand scheme of things, she's got a very heavy load (which usually would have had assistance) and our engines work differently to yours. They are more highly strung. Need a little more fettling to get the best out of them. Be a little more understanding that your engines and ours work differently. Other than that I wish you well, especially considering the circumstances in the US. Keep safe.

Oh dear, that dosn't loook to good! The driver can't of been to happy!

Worst stall/slip i have ever seen and I'm sure the people who witnessed it would agree . Regards Liam

Why do European locomotives all have those screachy peanut whistles?

No such thing as a bad driver? Certainly not many, but the prolonged and deliberate slip under the bridge makes me think this geezer didn't know that the best adhesion is when the wheels do *not* slip. As for 80080 being "built like a tank" I'd say that was because it *is* a sodding tank (engine). We had these on the Oxted line in the '50's. Not bad but not as good as the Fairburns or especially the southern U1's. How many coaches BTW?