D1015 -- How not to drive a loco

All the foregoing does not (for me, at least) explain one simple point.
How did the driver not realise something wrong
when he had applied power and the loco was not moving.
surely that should have been enough to make him
shut off power and investigate further

 

Very interesting posts relating to other people appearently being negligent with others trusted possesions then walking away and leaving them with the bill to pay after the fun and photos. Now all those who continually post 'clag of the year' threads which potray the hobby as the worst environmental disaster known to man and risk everyone losing it now realise that not only does it sh*g the planet it also sh*gs the beloved locos as well. STOP ENCOURAGING IT

 

It depends I guess on the amount of training and practical handling the driver would have had on D1000 class locomotives, particularly in the degraded working situation of running on one engine with no tachometer reading. The tachometer only indicates the engine behind the cab as previously explained. Furthermore there is no wheelslip indication on diesel hydraulic locomotives. If the driver has become accustomed to modern wheelslip control and receiving an indication of its operation, he might unconciously be expecting such indications as he attempted to move off. The only indication he would have in fact received would be vibration as the wheels started to slip accompanied by the transmission light flashing red / blue as the transmission changed up due to the wheels reaching the speed at which this occurs. Therefore his reaction to rolling backwards might be to assume (not wholey unreasonably) that there was insufficient power to move the train off up a 1/70 gradient and advance the controller to full power in order to move the train forwards again.

The driver apparently has 20 years service in on freight work, presumably on modern locomotives with wheelslip control / indication. One assumes he might have reverted inadvertantly to this sort of driving technique when driving D1015 on which I doubt he had much type service in relation to for example class 66 locomotives. It is not uncommon to watch heavy freight trains being started in full power then slowly move off after a period as the brakes release on the train.

There can't be that many men left now who actually signed the D1000 class from BR service days left alive now much less driving on the UK network. There are a few secondmen from back in the day who's mates let them have a go still driving around merrily on the former WR but due to the TOC's they work for they would not expect to drive D1015 as part of their duties.

D1000 class locomotives finished about 9 years before I started on the footplate.

 

oh well 12 nice big wheelburns to grind out and weld up. Overtime shift for the welders, bring it on!.

 

Only 6 burns, only the rear bogie/engine was working.