Left or Right?

No, I put my feet firmly where they should be and use my body to tranfer the swing and weight of the shovel when firing, occasionally taking a step inwards if I need to. I don't tend to move, when firing, I don't really like it. It upsets my balance too much.

I don't why I have found firing a left-hand drive locomotive easier than a right-hand drive one. It's just a natural feeling and a very comfortable one!

 

But don't the two Beyers have the slightly odd quirk of the driver standing on the right but the reverser being on the left? Seem to remember this from a footplate ride on one of them many years ago.

 

This is exactly what piqued my curiosity. I'm a lorry driver by trade and the discussion about left and right came up in another forum. Here's the link;

http://www.trucknetuk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=44887

There are some interesting comments on there, admittedly not directly related to railways but transport-oriented nonetheless. I post as "gnasty gnome" on there BTW!

Thanks for all your replies! =D>

 

Yes, that is true. I used to suggest that they were originally left hand drive, but another member took the trouble of digging out a BP blueprint to prove this wrong (it has since been traced by Roy C. Link and is now published on page 139 of the Ralph Cartwright's book on the W&L published by Railway Romances).
One popular theory is connected to the oddity that 822 and 823 works numbers are 3496/3497 (stamped on the motion but nowhere else on the locomotive), these number are out of sequence for BP's 1902 output. 3496/7 are re-issued numbers originally allocated to a pair of 4-4-2T tanks that were to be built in 1892 for the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway but the order was cancelled. It is possible that BP were re-using exisiting forgings that were made for that railway and possibly those locomotives were intended for left hand drive... we'll never know for sure.

 

Seem to recall reading once that the Adams Radial Tank has an odd peculiarity in that the steam brake valve is on the fireman's side of the cab #-o

Can anyone confirm this?

 

I can confirm that the steam brake was on the firemans side, A most awkward engine to shunt with as the tanks extend all the way to the doors openings. But it did have big windows though. So long since it steamed I am struggling to remember the visablity for the driver, but I do remember most of the driving was done sitting on the tanks. Again trying to remember but I think most drivers used the Vac brake (which in turn operated the steam brake).