Locos in headshunts?

[Benny]

What does a steam loco do when it comes to a headshunt? It cant turn around, so what does it do??

[DanMacK]

Runs around its train and hauls it backwards. A LOT easier with tank engines, but Tender engineswere run this way as well.

[Dave]

Or were reversed to a nearby turntable and relieved by a "correctly positioned" loco. If none was available the train could haul tender first, although I imagine not at any speed that would worry the timesheets.

[Benny]

Runs around its train and hauls it backwards. A LOT easier with tank engines, but Tender engineswere run this way as well.

wat? So there is a track like this? :

Or were reversed to a nearby turntable and relieved by a "correctly positioned" loco. If none was available the train could haul tender first, although I imagine not at any speed that would worry the timesheets.

I am not totally sure what you mean..
Could you provide a picture?

[Ameecher]

Like this: 2 options. Steam loco runs "wrong way round" with the tender leading the train rather than the boiler. Or the loco runs round the train to a turn table (or reversing wye) then connects to the train the correct way round (ie boiler leading)

[michael blunck]

Terminus stations in older days often had a third track between platforms and switches so that locomotives of arriving trains could run around it and easily depart again. Or they had a special "run around track" like Grand Central Station, NY had.

regards
Michael

[Benny]

Thanks guys, i got it now!

[Railwaymodeler]

What can be fun, is building a run around track on a model railway. I didn't have enough space for a wye or a turnaround loop, s on my branch line, the train stops inside the runaround track, the locomotive uncouples, and runs around to the other end. One twist though: After the locomotive is on the back of the train, it pushes cars into various sidings, then heads the other way again.

With American trains, these use Kadee couplers, and I have several uncoupling magnets mounted on the track, so that the whole operation is handsfree. It really is a joy to run the branch line this way!

[chevyrider]

In Dutch we call it "drie-hoeken" making a triangle.
The route over the tracks looks like a Y, with a track also between the top end.
After this movement the train has changed his nose direction.
I did this a lot with NS loc's 2200 to get the cabin in front, instead of the long motor part.
Was used for driving 4000 ton ore trains with 4 loc's.

[Brianetta]

Alternatively, the headshunt could include a turntable, as still seen at each end of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.



The double-ended locos (they have a couple of diesels) and the shunters require that the turntable is just nudged a few degrees. The tender engines require almost a full half-turn.

[Kevo00]

It looks like they have forgotten to uncouple the carriages from the loco before putting it on the turntable!

[jvassie]

It looks like they have forgotten to uncouple the carriages from the loco before putting it on the turntable!

More due to the length of the train than anything else i think

[Brianetta]

That was a chartered train to do with a railtour.

As it happens, when the turntable's set to platform 3 you can drive a train right over it onto a spur. That spur goes nowhere, but trains can use it to reverse into a maintenance shed. That does involve driving the train over the car park...

[Kevo00]

How surreal. Always meant to get round to going to the Ravenglass and Eskdale. I had a feeling the pic was probably an optical illusion lol.