46 60s and 70s Southern Miscellany
Using images from the John Hayward collection, we showcase some of the units and electric locos of the Southern Region in the 1960s and 70s.
EP brake failed for some reason because the latter had no fail-safe. If this happened the driver simply moved the brake handle through the EP part on the brake controller to a ‘lap’ position, from where he could move the handle further to make a normal air brake application or to an emergency position to apply full brakes.
The Westinghouse brake employs air reservoirs on each vehicle, supplied by the reservoir pipe (yellow handles and pipe connectors). As the driver uses the brake handle to apply the brakes and the train pipe (red handles and connectors) pressure falls, compressed air is released from those reservoirs to the brake cylinders and a mechanical linkage applies the brake blocks to the wheels. Triple valves control the release of compressed air into the brake cylinders and they are directly controlled by the train pipe air pressure. When the driver releases the Westinghouse brake, the driver’s brake valve allows compressed air back into the train pipe, so moving the triple valve to release air in the brake cylinders to atmosphere and thus releasing the brakes.
When using the EP brake, a distributor, which functions in a similar fashion to a triple valve, works immediately and directly by electrical control from the driver’s brake valve. The same Westinghouse brake cylinders and air reservoirs and pumps are used, the only difference being the method of transmitting the driver’s commands.
While learning brake handling at the Waterloo training school we generally used South Eastern Division trains from Waterloo East, with the instructor specifying which brake system to use at each stop. The EP brake was simple to use, but I had no problems with the Westinghouse brake either, probably due to my previous experiences with air and vacuum brakes on the Western Region. That said, the ‘feel’ was somewhat different when you had a 100 ton-plus loco on the front!
"The foreman came up to me and I explained what had happened, at which point he
questioned the guard’s parentage."
fitted with brake blocks. This was quite a shock to most drivers as it felt nowhere near as good a brake, despite working correctly. In practice it meant slower running into stations. As an example, in the down direction from Victoria you could leave Streatham Common, climb up to Norbury and, with an 8-car EPB set, run into the platform at around 40mph, make a single full EP brake application and stop right on the 8-car marker. Try doing the same with an 8-car 455 and you’d be lucky to still have four coaches in the platform! Experience quickly showed that you needed to enter a platform at least 10-15mph slower than with a EPB set to stop at the same spot.
Adaptation was the name of the game, which was fine, but more concerns raised their heads during the annual leaf fall season. With a conventional brake block you had something to clean the surface of the tyre while braking, so this effectively scraped or burnt off leaf residue picked up by the tyre and also cleaned the railhead somewhat. While the leading bogie
J
might slide a bit under braking, the rest of the wheelsets tended to find more grip as the brakes cleaned the tyre tread. With a disc brake this doesn’t happen, leading to wheels constantly locking up in poor adhesion conditions. To counter this the units were fitted with a wheel slide prevention (WSP) system, which acted much like ABS does on a car by momentarily releasing the brakes on any axle that was not rotating or was turning slower than the others. This enabled the wheels to turn again and the brake could be reapplied – this should eliminate wheel flats. Great in theory, but often less so in practice. If the railhead was severely contaminated, the wheels locked as soon as the brake was applied, even in step one, causing the WSP to activate constantly and effectively leaving the driver with no brakes.
I encountered this on several occasions, once in particular between Clapham Junction and Wandsworth Common. The railhead was black with crushed leaves (this was well before RHTT was developed) and simply attaining 10mph was hard enough as
"With a 4-EPB, I had no problem at all entering the platform at 25mph and stopping at the
4-car board!"
the motor coach struggled for grip. I coasted into Wandsworth Common platform at 10mph, applied the brake and still only managed to stop with two coaches actually at the platform. The following day, on the same turn in identical conditions, but with a 4-EPB, I had no problem at all entering the platform at 25mph and stopping at the 4-car board!
ASLEF, the drivers’ union, had raised concerns about this, and a WSP override (commonly called the panic button) was added. The only problem was, if you used it you had to wait for two minutes after stopping before you could release the brakes. I had to call upon it twice and in both instances I didn’t regret it. Once was when descending from Belmont to Sutton on the Epsom Downs branch in pouring rain and leafy conditions. I didn’t even apply power from Belmont, instead I used gravity to roll down the bank, and with the distant signal on I knew the signal protecting the junction at Sutton was red. I applied the brake well before the distant when I was travelling at only 25mph, and immediately the WSP kicked in. To get the best brake in such circumstances you were taught to go to step three and let the WSP do its job – but in this case the speed was actually increasing. I realised I’d never stop at the bottom of the bank so I hit the panic button and varied the brake between steps one and two. This caused the leading wheels to slide a bit but it cleaned the railhead enough for the remaining wheels to find sufficient grip and slow the train. I stopped dead level with the red signal in Sutton platform. I could have done with a change of underwear after that!
The Westcode brakes were improved upon in subsequent years and the Class 455s have continued to provide excellent service. But in the early days I was much happier with an EPB.
Moving on
In 1987 I transferred to Waterloo and as I was conversant with all the surface EMUs for the driver’s link I joined, it was a case of route learning for a few months before taking up driving duties proper. However, I did have to learn the 1940s-era English Electric fivecar EMUs used on the Waterloo and City Line. Later classified as Class 487, the units featured the Westinghouse air brake only, which was similar but not quite the same as what was fitted to EPBs. While it was a good brake, it had to be shown respect when used.
By this time all the old 4-SUB and 4-EPB units used by the South Western Division had gone, but there were plenty of 2-EPBs still around, and, of course, the various 1963 designs, primarily the 4-CIGs and 4-VEPs, that were the mainstay on many routes.
Those were the positives. The downsides were the Class 455s, which by this time had had their ranks swelled by the 455/7 and 455/9 variants. Of note, however, were four of the 455/9s, which differed by having tread brakes instead of discs, although the block material was the same as that used in the disks. They were a revelation, with far greater low speed braking performance and much less propensity to slipping/sliding in poor adhesion conditions. I remember telling a traction inspector that if the whole fleet were to be equipped with them it would be great, and he agreed!