Train Sim World: West Somerset Railway is coming soon, and with it, a derivative of the popularised ‘Gronks’ - the BR Class 09! READ MORE
Why do they do that, though? I suppose that "feels" more natural and closer to steamers, but wouldn't cab forward orientation provide more visibility?
So, I believe WSR only has one turntable and it's at Minehead but I could be wrong. So if the Gronk were to run ass end down to Bishop Lydeard then it would have to either run around the stock and then go nose first on the way back or push the stock back up the line. Pushing presents many dangers though.
There's no turntable at Bishop's Lydeard (and I've not seen them regularly use the triangle), so the Class 09 would have to run both cab leading and radiator leading on a return trip. Whilst cab leading gives a better view, radiator leading is arguably safer in a collision and the air circulation is better for cooling, so running radiator leading would be preferred, though in reality it doesn't really matter which way around. One thing that is wrong in the picture is that the radiator shutters are closed, they should be open during operation and only closed when the locomotive has been shutdown, even then it's only really necessary to close them during the autumn/winter or during longer periods of inactivity.
Is there a speed limit penalty when running backwards? I've heard this used to be the case with steam but not sure with diesels.
"The Southern Region Shunter" That last word gets my attention, but will there be any shunting? I'm still only about half way through the NEC Freight Services, but about to return to garbage hauling. I'll happily settle for making up passenger trains, which strikes me as a suitable demo for -- what are they calling it? -- diesel festival week or something? Fingers crossed!