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Double heading is the practice of attaching two locomotives to the front of a train, whether they are steam, diesel or electric. Often a train may begin its journey with only one locomotive, the second being added at some later point – perhaps to help getting a heavily loaded train over steep banks. This was often the case in the South West with banks such as Whiteball on the Somerset/Devon border, or Dainton, Rattery and Hemerdon all on the section between Newton Abbot and Plymouth.
 On other occasions the attachment of a pilot engine was simply to get that locomotive from one place to another, thus avoiding the necessity to create a path for a light engine movement. On Heritage railways more often than not the reason for double heading is purely as a demonstration or entertainment value during special events.
But how does it work? How do the crews of two locomotives communicate with each other? Do they have mobile phones or walkie talkies? Well the practice of running two locomotives at the head of a train has been around for much longer than the provision of personal wireless communication equipment, so that’s not the answer. It does however work by the provision of a simple set of rules and the absolute skills of the footplate crews.
It was essential that both crews were extremely familiar with the route over which the two locomotives would be driven. They would know where the gradients were, what the line speeds were at any given point, or if there were any temporary speed restrictions/lineside work going on by reading the Weekly Operating Notices issued to drivers at their home depots.
The leading locomotive is called the pilot engine whilst the one attached directly to the carriages is the train engine. The crew on the pilot engine are in control of the train brakes, which via the vacuum pipes; apply the brakes to the train engine and carriages. Both crews are responsible for looking out for the signals. Only in a dire emergency, for example the footplate crew of the pilot engine passing a signal set to red, would the train engine crew then make a brake application. As both footplate crews are familiar with the line equally they know when to apply or shut off steam.
 On single line running it is the train engine crew who are given the staff or token and thus permission to proceed down the single line section. However on the train engine, normally the fireman must show the crew of the pilot locomotive that the token is in their possession. Acknowledgement, by a short blast on the whistle, is given by the pilot engine crew that they have seen the token or staff.
The same system is employed when a train is ‘top and tailed’ – one engine on the front, one on the back. Again the train engine has control of the brakes and the crew must show the loco at the rear that they have the staff or token. Colin Kerswill told me “It’s easy really.” But that belies the fact that four men – the footplate crews of two locomotives, have years of experience, line knowledge and driving skills at their finger tips. Perhaps the next time a King and Castle pass you double heading on a mainline charter at 60 mph, giving a spectacular display of the power and beauty of steam locomotives at full chat, you might look at it differently.
I’m extremely grateful to Colin Kerswill and Brian Cocks, two very fine enginemen,
for their patience with my questions about the technical details of double heading.
Report and Photographs Copyright © Sarah Anne Harvey | 
