Freighting the good freight!
QUESTION
Why are freight trains on the electrified West Coast Main Line pulled by diesel locomotives?
The simple answer is that a diesel loco is a go-anywhere machine, while electric locos are limited to electrified lines.
In the early days of overhead line electrification, many sidings and loops were electrified along a route, but today most of these little-used tracks have been de-wired or even removed as a costsaving exercise. The electrified routes serve only passenger trains.
So while the main line is electrified, the departing and arriving destinations of freight trains are not. Conventionally, a wired reception road might have been provided in a terminal, and a second shunting loco would have been used to take the freight vehicles to the unloading facilities, but this is an unnecessary cost if a train loco could do the job.
Container traffic presents the difficulty of requiring the containers to be lifted by a crane or heavy duty forklift truck. This can’t easily be done safely where there are high-voltage overhead wires.
hybrid passenger units can use on-board batteries or a diesel engine when not all of the route is electrified, but I am not aware of any such freight locos.
From the operational perspective, nothing is as flexible as a go-anywhere traction unit, and freight services generally operate terminal to terminal.
If things go wrong and trains have to be diverted, a freight loco will still be able to complete its journey. But if the wires are down or the diversion route is not wired, the electric loco will stop dead.
C. E. Sayers-Leavy, retired rail industry engineer, Broadstairs, Kent.
QUESTION
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden accused someone of being ‘a lying, dog-faced pony soldier’. Is this a film quote?
FOLLOWING Joe Biden’s poor performance in the Iowa caucus, Madison Moore, a 21-year-old economics student, asked the former vice-president: ‘how do
Sparking controversy: A diesel train under the main-line wires in Cumbria you explain the performance in Iowa and why should the voters believe that you can win the national election?’
‘It’s a good question,’ Biden replied. ‘number one — Iowa is a Democratic caucus. You ever been to a caucus?’
when she nodded, he surprisingly said: ‘no, you haven’t. You’re a lying, dog-faced pony soldier.’ The crowd responded with nervous laughs.
Biden attributes the phrase to a John wayne movie. At a 2018 election event for north Dakota Democratic senator heidi heitkamp, he used the phrase to refer to her Republican opponent, Kevin Cramer. Biden said: ‘There’s a line in a movie where an Indian chief turns to John wayne and says: “This is a lying, dog-faced pony soldier.” ’ Cramer won.
This had wayne aficionados scouring his 180 or so movies for the quote. The closest is in John Ford’s 1949 classic She wore A Yellow Ribbon, which grandly announces: ‘ So here they are, the dogfaced soldiers, the regulars, the 50-cents-a-day professionals, riding the outposts of the nation from Fort Reno to Fort Apache, from Sheridan to Starke.’
Biden may be conflating this with Pony Soldier, a 1952 western starring Tyrone Power as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Pony soldier was a native American nickname for these officers.
The term ‘ dog-faced’ does not feature, but Chief Standing Bear says: ‘The pony soldier speaks with a tongue of the snake that rattles.’
Simon Burrows, Truro, Cornwall.
QUESTION
Some Dukes of Clarence have been famous, others infamous. Is there a current Duke?
The title derives from the town of Clare in Suffolk. william the Conqueror gave it to Richard Fitzgilbert, whose descendants, the de Clare family, became earls of Clare, hertford and gloucester.
The title has become associated with bad luck. The 10th and last earl, gilbert de Clare, was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
his lands were inherited by his grandniece, elizabeth de Burgh. She married lionel of Antwerp, third son of edward III, who was nearly 7ft tall. he was elevated to 1st Duke of Clarence. After elizabeth died in 1363, lionel wed Violante Visconti in May 1368. The marriage was short-lived. lionel died in Alba in Italy on october 17, and was rumoured to have been poisoned.
The dukedom was recreated for Thomas of lancaster, second son of henry IV and brother to henry V. Thomas led the english to a disastrous defeat to the French and Scottish at the Battle of Bauge in 1421, where he was surrounded and killed in a rash charge. he left no legitimate issue.
The title was recreated for george Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, the younger brother of edward IV. he helped his brother take the Crown from henry VI in the wars of the Roses, but their relationship soured. he was sent to the Tower of london, where he was reputedly drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine.
william IV was the third son of george III. In 1789, he was created Duke of Clarence and St Andrews. he succeeded his elder brother, george IV, in 1830, becoming the penultimate monarch of the house of hanover. he left no issue and was succeeded by his niece, Victoria.
Prince Albert Victor was the eldest son of Albert edward, Prince of wales, the future edward VII. he was made Duke of Clarence and Avondale on May 24, 1890 — Queen Victoria’s 71st birthday. Two years later, he died from flu.
This was the last use of the title. There was speculation that Prince harry might be made Duke of Clarence on his marriage, but the unfortunate title was eschewed by the Queen.
Caroline Langham, Swaffham, Norfolk. IS THERE a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5TT. You can also email them to charles.legge@dailymail.co.uk. A selection will be published, but we are not able to enter into individual correspondence.