Getting on our skates

I WAS intrigued by Andrew Goodman's comments on the origins of the wheel skate in Main Line News, issue 280. The original concept was developed on the Southern Region in 1970/1 in the CMEE's Maintenance Control, which was responsible for the maintenance, recovery and repair of EMU stock.

The first prototypes were manufactured in the Slade Green repair shop and tested within yard limits. They were subsequently passed to Selhurst Depot in 1972, when I was able to arrange running line trials in liaison with Central Division traffic management. We used an‘Oxted'DEMU as a guinea pig to demonstrate that the skate could be used safely at varying speeds over plain lines and points and crossings, the results being reported to BR HQ in London.

The HQ plant engineering organisation under Peter Robinson at Doncaster then refined the design as a standard production item for all-regional use as part of local breakdown equipment, recognising that skates would be suitable for both locomotive and multiple unit use when needed.

Mike Johns, Taunton (One-time depot engineer, Selhurst)