What are pilot duties?

[Jack]

Looking through my various railway books, (all three of them!), I come across a phrase like "ended its time on pilot duties at.....".

Try as I might with Google etc., and the new Search, I can't found the answer. Is a loco on pilot duties just a posh way of saying it's now a shunter?  If not, what's the difference between the pilot duties and shunting duties?

[Newportnobby]

Pilot duties are usually found in station areas or shed areas where the loco concerned moves empty coaching stock/wagons/dead locos around, as opposed to shunting duties which were mainly performed in dedicated marshalling yards or in private industry.

[Jack]

So basically they both do the same job, its just a case of the location they do it in.

So are Pilot locos also governed by Limit of Shunt rules as well?

[Newportnobby]

So basically they both do the same job, its just a case of the location they do it in.

Pretty much, yes. If I recall, dedicated shunters usually had more tractive effort than pilot locos.

As to Limits of shunts, I will bow to better qualified than myself to reply. I'm sure there has been posts on this before but I'm damned if I can remember who or where

[Lawrence]

Pilots that I work with either bomb or shoot nasty people but I guess that wont help you much 

[Jack]

Pilots that I work with either bomb or shoot nasty people but I guess that wont help you much 

We'll just wait for an ex Navy type to say their pilots floated on water or pick RAF pilots out of it!   

[Andrew.PEI]

Pilots that I work with either bomb or shoot nasty people but I guess that wont help you much 

We'll just wait for an ex Navy type to say their pilots floated on water or pick RAF pilots out of it! 

Just so happens- HMS Endurance in Port Stanley- One of the choppers went in the drink as it tried to land- Good news though- All the Safety Equipment worked properly - So wet pilot picked up right next to ship.  sorry couldn't resist

[edwin_m]

So are Pilot locos also governed by Limit of Shunt rules as well?

Under current rules no train, whether pilot or otherwise, is allowed to pass a limit of shunt board - in recent installations it is not a board but a ground signal that can only ever show a stop aspect.  The line beyond the limit of shunt is only used in the opposite direction so going beyond it could result in head-on collision. 

I've an idea that in the past limit of shunt boards were used on single lines, in which case running moves authorised by a main signal would have been allowed to pass them. 

There is no distinction in the operating rules about what the pilot can do and what any other loco could do.  Sometimes train engines would shunt their trains, on the other hand if a train engine failed the pilot could be "borrowed" if it was the only loco available and in steam.  Partly for this reason the station pilot at some stations would be a main line loco rather than a shunting type.  I seem to recall that Mallard's record run returned to Kings Cross behind the Peterborough pilot after 4468 was removed there as a failure. 

[dodger]

In steam days in the 50's & 60's Reading General's stations pilots were always mixed traffic locos e.g. 43xx or Manor at the east end and a Hall at the west end to act as a failure replacement. In early diesel days a Sulzer (class 47) and Shunter were used.

Only when HST's ruled was a large loco not used.

I thought limit of shunt board/signals were only used if the pilot made wrong direction unsignalled moves, but I could be wrong.

Diesel shunters generally had red and white lights at each end to indicate it was making shunt moves within station limits.

Dodger

[edwin_m]

The limit of shunt board is effectively a shunts signal that can only show red.  Routes can be set up to it from other shunt signals.