WSR :: West Somerset Railway


Tail Lamp Man


• Jon Tooke explains...

What does a WSR guard do when he is not being a guard on the WSR? He goes into his workshop and changes from his guards kit into "Tail Lamp Repair Man" (a bit like the Monty Python Bicycle Repair man but I don't dash about the streets!)

First, a bit of rules and regs... On the WSR - as with all other railways - all trains, goods and passenger, must have a tail lamp displayed on the last vehicle. The tail lamp acts as a visual indication to the signalman that the entire train has passed his signalbox.

Should a train pass the signal box not displaying a tail lamp then the signalman will view this as the train has either parted along its length, and the rear part of it is somewhere else, or the lamp has fallen off, or the guard forgot to put one on in the first place!

Either way the signalman will take steps to have the train stopped and examined at the earliest opportunity.

The tail lamps on the WSR are very old, some are of the early BR examples, and either through age or wear and tear the lamps need constant maintenance and repair.

I answered a plea from the Managing Director at Minehead for a "lamp repair person" two years ago, and since then it has been my job to repair and maintain the lamps to a high standard. Without operable tail lamps we can't run trains!

Some of the lamps require just a small amount of soldering to make them good again. Others, however, do require major surgery to make them serviceable again. Some come in with doors hanging off, others it seems have been dropped from a great height, and if they are not beyond economical repair, these too are repaired.

Firstly, the extent of the repair is diagnosed, then the lamp receives a good cleaning with Fairy liquid and a high pressure hose, this loosens all the dirt, grime and soot deposits and allows me to make a closer inspection.

Some of the more stubborn deposits are removed with a strong chemical cleaner. Paint and rust from around the effected area is removed to allow the soldering operation to take place.

If needs be, new parts are fashioned and fitted into place. On the rare occasion where soldering will not be sufficient to effect a sturdy repair, then nuts and bolts or pop rivets are used.

So far, I have only once had to 'sacrifice' one lamp to get two other working examples. The donor lamp was too far gone, but some of the parts came in handy.

After repair, the entire lamp is rubbed down and given two coats of Hammerite paint to protect it from the elements . Recently I number the lamps on the back so I know that if it comes back in for repair that it has been repaired before.

So, after a few hours work on a shabby forlorn looking tail lamp, we end up with one in ex-works condition, ready for the next turn of duty.

So, next time you see a shiny white tail lamp on a WSR train, chances are it's been to the 'Tail Lamp Repair Man'!