Left or Right?

A fairly straightforward question, I hope!

Some steam locomotives were left hand drive (i.e.driver sat on left) others right. Was there any particular reason for this or was it simply a matter of practice with different companies?

Thanks.

 

Early locomotives were generally right hand drive. I don't know the reason but it may simply have been a continuation of a tradition from the very earliest locomotives. When signalling was introduced, this was generally on the left hand side of the track when it was double track. It was much easier to see the signals from the left hand side and most railways eventually adopted left hand drive. Only the GW obstinately stuck to RH side driving. Most industrial locomotives continued to be right hand drive until dual control cabs on diesels allowed either side driving. With industrials, I can only think of the three Borrows tanks and the Kerr Stuart copy as being left hand drive but there may have been more.

 

Thanks Steve. Pretty much as I thought; it comes as no surprise that the GWR were the only ones to buck the trend! ;-)

To take this a step further; AFAIK European and American railways drive on the "opposite" side to us, is it therefore a given that their locomotives are "right hand drive"? Certainly when I went to Canada in 2007 all the locomotives I saw (sadly only in museums) were, but is this a general rule?

 

Let's not forget that NER engines are RHD. IIRC, some LNER standard types,built for use in the North East were also adapted to RHD.

 

All the early build LNER Gresley A1 pacifics were right handers, but were not converted to lefties until 1952 - 54.

 

France apart from Alsace and/or Lorraine, I think Belgium also, plus parts of Austria - Amstetten to Vienna and on the Suedbahn drive on the left. I think there are/were one or two lines in the USA that did too in steam days. From what little I've seen of the USA running has been quite indiscriminate as to which side they drive on!

 

From my limited experience of Canadian running ( on the Rocky Mountaineer ) it appeared that much of track is single with lengthy passing loops of up to 3 or 4 miles IIRC where the direction of travel would depend on what was present in the passing loop. On some occasions the train operated on the l/h and at other times on the r/h track so I would presume that the first train to enter a passing loop wouod take the through road and the second train use the passing line.

If this is the case then I would presume American practice to be similar especially where extensive single track lengths exist.

 

Both bellerophon and the beyer peacock at Foxfield are left hand drive.

Bellerophon the thinking mans industrial

real enginemen don't wear greasetops

Society for the Conservation and Restoration of Avonside Parts

 

While not entirely sure of the logic but for some years the Taff Vale used left hand drive on passenger locos and right hand drive on mineral and mixed traffic locos. Presumably it was thought that on passenger trains the driver should be on the platform side but there again their tank locos often ran backwards anyway.

Do any firemen have views on whether firing from the left side of the footplate is easier, that might explain the preference for right hand drive until larger high pitched boilers made the driver's visibility of signals more important?

 

There is also the issue of the cost of signalling. It is cheaper to put signals, in the British context, on the left side of the running track. The logical place for the driver therefore is the left side of the engine. This has the disadvantage from the fireman's point of view that he would have to fire left handed, but I would imagine that most of them, like the general population, are right handed!

In the early days when engines were always small it must have been difficult to fire left handed when you are naturally right handed and perhaps this was the reason the GWR drove from the right. But it's also interesting to speculate on the influence of road transport in this respect. We in Britain seem to have always driven on the left side of the road, so the natural position of a driver is on the right. Did the GWR simply follow this tradition? But also did the LNWR think the thing through from first principles when it put the driver on the left and signals on the left of the track? Interesting.

Regards

 

Do any firemen have views on whether firing from the left side of the footplate is easier, that might explain the preference for right hand drive until larger high pitched boilers made the driver's visibility of signals more important?[/quote]

Never had a problem either way when firing and any firemen I get who tries firing on my side gets a kick up the backside. If you can't fire both ways you should still be a cleaner. :smt002

 

Never had a problem either way when firing and any firemen I get who tries firing on my side gets a kick up the backside. If you can't fire both ways you should still be a cleaner. :smt002[/quote]

For someone who is right-handed I found firing from the right-handside of the footplate much easier when I was learning to fire than from the left. It took me quite a while to get used to firing on the left, certainly in terms of accuracy but practise makes perfect. Firing on the right-handside (left-hand drive engine) feels very natural for me. Must be the emotional bonding I have with LMS and BR locomotives.

;-)

 

Personally I have never had a problem with firing from either side, my first coal fired engine was an 8F (8431) I then 'progressed' to various industrials (Hunslet 1690 and Hawthorn Leslie No.21) and have never looked back!

 

I've also not had a problem with firing from either side, although as a right hander it does take me a few swings to get back into lefty mode. Just have to educate the brain not to let go with the left hand!!!!

So who's lost a shovel in the fire? I did drop one in during my first year of firing but it was recovered without sustaining any damage =D>

 

As a driver Nigel, you should always be looking back!!!!!!!!!!

 

As a driver I try not to let him fire too often. Trouble is since I became a passed man he demands the shovel. Firing left or right is not a problem. I originally learnt to fire from the left on industrials at Bodmin. When I started at Swanage I had to learn to fire from the right. As to the question about losing a shovel. I confess I did in the first couple of months at Bodmin. I was coming up form Boscarne and the shovel flew into the box. Hand shoveled up the bank for about 2 miles. Didn't run short of steam or water. Driver operated the doors. It was real team work but I hope never to repeat it.

 

I fired 109.109 (MAV) in Hungary a number of years back, I seem to recall it was R/H Drive, L/H Firing..At least the picture I have of me firing I was definitely on the Left side, but that could just be me, the picture below was taken from the drivers side i'm pretty certain, same as the Pannier view in my avatar

Back in 1999 it only cost $20 to fire it from Szentendre to Budapest and I still had long hair :smt028

 

Erm.... Now I am confused. Right handed people usually prefer to fire from the left side of the footplate as that is their natural way. Are you one of these people that do a sort of dance when you are firing? ;-)

 

All the narrow gauge locomotives on the Welshpool & Llanfair are right hand drive (Hunslet, Beyer Peacock, Bagnall, Tubize, Sentinel, Franco Belge, Kerr Stuart and Resita). The only exception is Dougal that was intended for one man operation and built by Barclay. This locomotive faces the opposite way around to all the other locomotives at Llanfair.

I suspect it is all about ergonomics - there is an arguement that RH drive suits a right handed fireman better as he does not have to stand on the driver's side of the cab to shovel, but as signals in most countries are on the left it does makes sense for the driver to be on the left.
In Germany, where trains run on the right hand line on double track, the signals would be on the right so that is probably why most German locomotives are right hand drive.