Whats a cripple siding?

[newbouy]

Does anybody know what a cripple siding is use for.

Thanks alot Newbouy.

[xguerra]

It's similar to a loop line effectively.

If a train cannot run at the designated speed under its own power, a cripple siding will allow the train to get off the main line as quickly as possible to allow other trains to pass.

[Stone75]

Sidings for damaged wagons or loads that have become unsafe. These sidings would be part of larger yards where each yard siding would be for marshalling trains so no space for these wagons.

steve

[trainsmit]

As the name suggests, the original use of cripple sidings was to get crippled and slow moving trains off of the main line. Today they are more often used to turn around trains. For this purpose often placed between the main tracks to limit conflicts at a crossover.

[Carinthia]

Steve is correct, the other answers are not, I'm afraid.

A crippled wagon is a defective one. Sidings are sometimes provided specifically to allow defective wagons to be detached from trains and left there to await the attention of the Carriage & Wagon Dept. They usually have good access around them for work to take place which might not exist in other nearby sidings.

If a cripple siding isn't available then obviously any available siding will do. If there aren't any sidings nearby, then you are in deeper trouble - whilst usually a defective wagon can be worked forward at slow speed to a place to detach (sometimes as slow as walking speed) there are occasions when a wagon is unfit to move and I can recall occasions in the 1970s when wagons were craned off the line and subsequently cut up on site. Of course in those days not all wagons had roller bearings and it was usually grease-box wagons that got themselves in such a parlous state.

John

[1S811985]

Steve is correct, the other answers are not, I'm afraid.

Agree. The others seem to be thinking of refuge sidings, which were normally single ended, requiring a reversal by any slow moving trains that were being put inside for traffic purposes. Of course, in the event of an incident of some sort that prevented a train continuing on its way then any available siding or loop could be used as a contingeny.

Alas most such infrastructure went the way of the wagonload freight train and what little of it that survives does so in a rusty and OOU condition only until the next track or signalling renewal project comes along and consigns it to the history books.

Today cripple sidings are most likely to be found at freight terminals where wagon inspections are carried out and unless custom built for their intended purpose are more often than not what would once have been more commonly described as headshunts.

Cheers,

1S81

[newbouy]

Thanks every one for the promt reply.The siding im asking about is at Wath Yard on the Woodhead route its called Wath Cripples and is situated at the east edge of the yard , i suppose it could be accessable by road vehicles for on site repairs.Its a dead end siding and not a loop so looks like Stone75 is correct a storage siding for damaged wagons.Just noticed another siding along side the yard called "Wath Interchange" anybody know what this is used for? I know what an "Exchange Siding" is but this one has me baffled too.

Thanks Newbouy

[1S811985]

...another siding along side the yard called "Wath Interchange" anybody know what this is used for?

Well, it sits between and connects the up with the down reception roads so I'd figure it does exactly what it says on the tin, ie it links those two sections of the yard and allows the exchange of traffic between them.

1S81

[newbouy]

...another siding along side the yard called "Wath Interchange" anybody know what this is used for?

Well, it sits between and connects the up with the down reception roads so I'd figure it does exactly what it says on the tin, ie it links those two sections of the yard and allows the exchange of traffic between them.

1S81

thanks for that i can now see what you mean ,example freight train approaches from the north west on the "Elscar Up Fast" line and drops off the wagons in the "Wath Up Recep 1" siding.The driver then needs to exit the yard in the same direction he came from so he uses the "Wath Interchange" line to cross over from the up reception sidings to the tail end of the down reception sidings which then exits onto the "Elscar Down Fast" line heading north west.

Thanks Newbouy

[TransportSteve]

Today cripple sidings are most likely to be found at freight terminals where wagon inspections are carried out and unless custom built for their intended purpose are more often than not what would once have been more commonly described as headshunts.
1S81

Every type of yard in the olden days had one, often called cripple roads, and as stated, was accessible to road vehicles for manual repairs to be carried out if it could be achieved on-site, we had one outside our office at the Freightliner terminal at Nottingham (Beeston) and was used probably more by the Cement works down the line for their demic tank wagons, than our Freightliner flats, they were a real pain as they were huge beasties and I couldn't see any passing trains from my office window, it was highly frustrating......

Cheerz. Transport Steve.

[Oldpufferspotter]

Don't forget that crippled wagons would be collected up from these sidings and a special train of cripples run to an appropriate wagon repair works, BR or privately owned.
Wellingborough used to have a privately owned wagon repair works to the north of the station on the down side, high up on the embankment, opposite the marshalling yards there.
regards Ted.

[antonyperks]

Some cripple sidings used to have fitters from company's such as Marcroft wagon repairers visit to carry out rectification. Just as a local example near myself, there was a Cripple siding adjacent to the Mainline at Yate on the head shunt from the Tytherington Quarry branch, which incidentally had its own Cripple road at the quarry, though in later years this spent its time buried under piles of stone!. Another local example is still used and can often be seen occupied , is the siding at Portbury for the coal loading facility there.

[hertsbob]

"Wath Interchange"

The Marker name was really supposed to relate to that group of sidings, which were used for swapping motive power on through trains using the electric lines; hence being called Interchange.
http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways ... 003-30.jpg
http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways ... 002-30.jpg

How on earth you fit all that information into a Marker name is beyond me, which is how we've ended up as we are.

Cheers

Bob

[newbouy]

"Wath Interchange"

The Marker name was really supposed to relate to that group of sidings, which were used for swapping motive power on through trains using the electric lines; hence being called Interchange.
http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways ... 003-30.jpg
http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways ... 002-30.jpg

How on earth you fit all that information into a Marker name is beyond me, which is how we've ended up as we are.

Cheers

Bob

These track diagrams are great Bob i was surprised how accurate the trackwork is on the RSC Woodhead route.One thing i noticed while making a new scenario based around the Wath Yard area is that it wasn`t possible to run a coal empties train from Wath yard directly into Dartfield Main Colliery or Mitchell Main Colliery from the Down Goods line.Both require a reversing move from the down goods to the up goods before you can access the collierys.There was me thinking maybe RSC have got the trackwork wrong but there it is in black and white on these track diagrams.
http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways ... 006-30.jpg
http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways ... 007-30.jpg


Thanks Newbouy

[749006]

One thing i noticed while making a new scenario based around the Wath Yard area is that it wasn`t possible to run a coal empties train from Wath yard directly into Dartfield Main Colliery or Mitchell Main Colliery from the Down Goods line.Both require a reversing move from the down goods to the up goods before you can access the collierys.There was me thinking maybe RSC have got the trackwork wrong but there it is in black and white on these track diagrams.
http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways ... 006-30.jpg
http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways ... 007-30.jpg


Thanks Newbouy

In steam days a direct access from a running line in to a colliery was unusual as the points on the running lines would have needed Facing Point Locks.
These lock the points in one direction or another and are required to run passenger trains over the main lines.

Regarding the Cripple Siding in Wath Yard - it might not have had road access just space to work around the wagons on the siding.
When the yard was designed there were not that many road vehicles that did that task.
There was probably an office and store where the C&W Staff worked from. Most yards had such staff.

Peter