Operation in Steam Days
The bankers would stand in a siding on the up side to the south. The load of each train would be telegraphed from Cheltenham.
If the driver decided he needed more bankers than the table provided for him, he would whistle approaching Stoke Works signal box: a short whistle, pause, and a number of shorts indicating the number of bankers he wanted. (The 0-10-0 counted as two).
He stopped at a marker fifteen yards to the rear of Bromsgrove Station up home signal, or further up if necessary to clear the crossover by which the bankers moved on to the back of his train. They were not coupled to his train or to each other. When he was in position each banker gave two crow whistles, and the train driver gave two crows in reply. Then he gave one long whistle and all of them opened their regulators.
At the top the bankers kept pushing through Blackwell station and then shut off in turn, keeping well apart, then crossed over to the down line and closed up ready to return.
To speed things up at busy times, Blackwell down advance starter signal had a calling-on arm which applied only to the bankers accepting them downhill while the station was still occupied.
Descending trains were never accepted unless the line was clear as far as Bromsgrove South, and were strictly required to slow to 10 mph at the top and not exceed 27 mph on the way down. Loose-coupled freight trains had to stop at the top to apply wagon brakes and not exceed 11 mph.
Read more about this topic: Lickey Incline
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