My father started his railway carear as a shunter at Cardiff General, one of his stories Involves the Clarence Road branch, when one Saturday after the branch had closed to passengers, he was taking some stock (from a rugby specal) to be stabled, on the branch, not wanting to walk the length of the train he jumped off, and waited until the loco was level with him, un hooked and had a lift back to the General, On the Monday, his shunter mate said to him you were lucky Saturday... another couple of feet and you would of been in the dirt, un beknown to him they had started lifting the branch, and he was a few feet from the end when he un hooked.
Steve