Atomic Systems

Hello, on diesel locomotives that have a door to the engine compartment from the cab (37/40's etc) is this only used by fitters for maintenance or would it be used by train crew to go through to the other cab while the locomotive is in motion?

Tony.

no, as most locos only have a door into the engine compartment in the rear cab

sam

Hello, on diesel locomotives that have a door to the engine compartment from the cab (37/40's etc) is this only used by fitters for maintenance or would it be used by train crew to go through to the other cab while the locomotive is in motion?

I dont think the driver can use it while the loco is moving because he would have to let go of the deadman switch, drivers do use it though to change ends.

So what are those doors on the front for? Where they just acess to the electrics at the front of the train or was it possible to pass from one to another. If so why where they put there when they could use the platform I cannot see anyone wanting to go though that at 75mph.

Doors on the front of locos were used for passing from one loco to the next without actually leaving the cabs, I saw a picture a good while back of a pair of cromptons with a fixing between them which the driver could walk through to get to the other loco.

no, as most locos only have a door into the engine compartment in the rear cab

funny that as every double cabbed loco i have driven has a engine room door in each cab

You have to wear ear protection if you walk through when the engine is running {ie idling} and i believe you cant walk through one the engine is in motion.
If you were in a freight yard, at 3am in the morning, and it was pouring down with rain on a cold December morning, and you had 2 options for changing cab a, walk round, b, walk through, which would you choose?

phill70 wrote:

no, as most locos only have a door into the engine compartment in the rear cab

funny that as every double cabbed loco i have driven has a engine room door in each cab

yep, every loco I have been in has 2 as well well, 33, 47, 50, 66, 67, 37, 57 to name a few.

Drivers can swap cabs using them, but tend not to, as it's too noisy, smelly, dirty and crampt for comfort in there.

JDJonny

Access to the engine compartment was mainly for fitters although the second-man could use it. Guards also travelled in the rear cab of fully-fitted freight trains.

Fitters used them on dead HST units to try a repair the unit in motion rather than take the unit out of service.

Crompton's are 33's and never had connecting doors.

The class 26 and 27's are similar and so they're a sort of Crompton I suppose?

Connecting doors were for crew changing on long journeys in the same way as corridor tenders on LNER steam loco's.

In practice, on diesels, they were rarely used, drafty and sealed up early in their lives.

I believe some locomotives had toilets in the engine compartment. It's a vague memory.

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

I'd be interested to know

Crompton's are 33's and never had connecting doors.

I was refering to "outside" nose to nose connecting doors when double heading, might of been a pair of 26 or 27's? so long ago I saw the photo, was an extra bit of kit so you could walk from 1 loco to the other.

True.

Class 40 definately had urinals.

Some electrics still have. you could smell them before you saw them.
If you used them with the loco was moving you had to be careful.
You could get a blowback.

Oo .... nasty

Thank you

HSt's have this to dont they?
The walkie through bit i mean

Yep, but it's reeeeeeallllly noisy in there with the paxmann motor screaming at you

JDJonny

Don't go in

Its dark

and there's a Bogieman in there.