Great Western Coffee Shop

The 1730 Padd to Taunton was held at Bedminster this evening for a XC train to overtake us (we were half an hour late, so fair enough). The TM announced "As you can see, we are currently stopped in the Bedminster triangle. We'll be on the move just as soon as the tiddler has overtaken us."

The clever driving was that the driver pulled up a good 100m short of the signal. Thus, once on the move, by the time the train reached it, the signal had cleared to green, preventing a crawl all the way to Parson St. Neat!

I've seen drivers adopt a similar technique on eastbound services at Didcot - non-stopping trains faced with a single yellow at the end of platform 2 will sometimes approach it cautiously and more often than not by the time they get there it's switched to a green, allowing them to accelerate back up to line speed.

That might well be due to the ATP preventing them from going any faster until they get right up close to the signal, but, yes, there are many locations where 'hanging the pot on' will actually speed up the journey as a signal will step up to a double yellow or green if you dawdle a bit.

....... and it saves the guard from giving right away if stopped in platform (and hopefully stops idiots trying the handles to get on or off an HST !)

And saves fuel presumably

'hanging the pot on' conjures up some interesting images. Can you provide an explanation of the term IndustryInsider, or anyone else who knows to what it refers. I'm stumped, but curious.

I have read that that it was allegedly common practice on steam freight trains  when parked in a goods loop for the enginemen to hang a bucket off the exit signal so when the siganlman pulled the signal the bucket dropped and woke up the crew ready to depart.

 ;D ;D Thanks for that eightf. Made I laff. Was the practice covered in the 'Rule Book' and was there a standard issue bucket.......?  ::) :P :D

Good story, made me laugh too.  Not sure I believe it.  Where buckets really known as pots? 

Could it be something to do with tea?  In a steam Loco can the crew use the heat of the fire to make tea? (or is that something that only happens on the Merrionith and Llantiscily Rail Traction Company Limited's lines) .  Does the process involve hanging a teapot anywhere?   

Could be tea, you had to shut off and put the tea can on the shovel just inside the firebox door. It would boil in a few seconds. So it could be that the driver seeing a distant on would shut off a bit sooner and the fireman put the teacan in the fire. So that as they approach the home it would come off.

Ok unless the driver blew the breaks off or opened the blower or regulator.

A bucket was standard issue on a steam loco.

Yeh, but the tea can doesn't "hang" anywhere.  Thanks fo rthe interesting info

Most amusing replies! Keep guessing...  ;)

Is this 'hanging the pot on' something to do with overriding the ATP/AWS?

ATP/AWS wouldn't need to be overriden if the train stops before the signal.  But now we are getting technical, could "pot" stand for potentiometer (a possible electrical component in the speed control handle"?

Sadly, I'm unable to give you all a definitive definition of the phrase 'hanging the pot on'.

When I was first invited onto the footplate many years ago, the driver (an old hand) used to use the phrase when he was teaching me how to drive - "Hang the pot on, young-un" meant don't rush. There were other variations to the theme where I was called either "boy" or "lad" - and indeed some other great phrases, but that one stuck in my mind the most!

I very rarely see him now as he's retired, but if I do I shall make a point of asking what it means. I have heard one or two others use it over the years, but it's far from common.

You are a tease.  I was waiting for you to provide a proper explanation.

My last attempt to think up something plausable would be to suggest that it is not related to any part of the loco or signalling system.  If it just means "don't hurry", then could it just be an alternative of "stick the kettle on" aluding to handing a pot over a fire at home.  Did the old hand only use it in relation to driving or was it part of his wider vocabulary?

According to Adrian Vaughan...

"Hanging the pot on with the bag in" referred to steam crews who (for their own mysterious reasons) wanted to miss their booked path. They would leave the "bag" in the tender, the bag being the hose from the water column, to give the impression that their loco was still taking water and they were not yet ready to depart. Meanwhile they would be "hanging the pot on", ie making the tea...