the table provided for him, he would whistle approaching Stoke Works signal box: a short whistle, pause, and a number of shorts indicating the number of bankers he wanted. (The 0-10-0 banker "Big Bertha" and the 9F 2-10-0's all counted as two.) He stopped at a marker to the rear of Bromsgrove Station up home signal, or further up if necessary to clear the crossover by which the bankers moved on to the back of his train. They were not coupled to his train or to each other. When he was in position each banker gave two crow whistles, and the train driver gave two crows in reply. Then he gave one long whistle and all of them opened their regulators. At the top the bankers kept pushing through Blackwell station and then shut off in turn, keeping well apart, then crossed over to the down line and closed up ready to return. To speed things up at busy times, Blackwell down advance starter signal had a 'calling-on' arm, which allowed the bankers to return downhill 'on visual' while the section to Bromsgrove was still occupied by a descending train. Descending trains were never accepted unless the line was clear as far as Bromsgrove South, and were strictly required to slow to at the top and not exceed on the way down. Loose-coupled freight trains had to stop at the top to apply wagon brakes and not exceed . References Notes Footnotes Sources Further reading External links www.lickeyincline.co.uk – Lickey Incline Preserved Rail Resources - Lickey Archive Photobook – Sister site to lickeyincline.co.uk exclusively for photographs from all eras Rail transport in Worcestershire Railway inclines in the United Kingdom