A station pilot is a shunting engine based at a major passenger station, used for moving trains or carriages between platforms, assembling trains, and other passenger train shunting tasks. Having assembled a train, it could also be used to assist the train engine in starting a train by pushing from behind. It is a predominantly British term.
Station pilots have recently been phased out in the UK as the majority of passenger trains are formed with multiple units or have a Driving Van Trailer at the opposite end to the locomotive; the few locomotive-hauled passenger trains are shunted by the train engine rather than a dedicated station pilot.
The BR Class 03 was commonly seen performing this duty, having gradually replaced the assortment of four and six-coupled tank engines which had previously been used.
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Famous quotes containing the words station and/or pilot:
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—Erma Bombeck (20th century)
“In the true mythology, Love is an immortal child, and Beauty leads him as a guide: nor can we express a deeper sense than when we say, Beauty is the pilot of the young soul.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)