Confessions of a Canton goods guard

[Halvarras]

On 04/05/2023 at 02:48, The Johnster said:

I was sitting on a barrow on Swindon platform with my driver and another Canton traincrew partaking of tea and enjoying the sunshine while we were waiting for our cushions, when an odd shape with bright headlights showed up through the haze on the Down Main, screamed through the station at 125mph or so, and then gave another scream as it departed westwards, leaving a cloud of settling dust behind it.  I have never seen a train moving like that before, none of us had; it was of course the prototype HST running trials on the WR.  It was an impressive display, best I'd seen since a Merchant Navy at 'about' 25mph less ripping through Eastleigh seven years earlier. 

 

We sat in stunned silence for a few seconds, and then the other Canton driver, character called Jack Setherton, commented 'well, they'll be home in time for tea at that rate', which I thought was a brilliant response. 

 

I would imagine it looked something like this then (my photo, dated 25/7/75):

[The Johnster]

Spot on, sir, even down to the lighting.  My sighting was about an hour earlier, and the day was much hazier.  The train was going like, er, like a train, and raised a fair old dust cloud, and our barrow was perhaps two coach lengths further west, but this was fundamentally what we saw!

[The Johnster]

On 08/05/2023 at 10:04, Wickham Green too said:

Let's face it - the sun shines through the tunnel on SOMEBODY's birthday .................................... as, no doubt, it does through other tunnels with a similar alignment. ( Maybe IKB chose to build a railway from London in the east to Bristol in the west so he could dig a tunnel in that direction.)

It’s not just the alignment, it’s the declination; the tunnel is on a 1 in 100 gradient sloping downwards in the Bath direction, so it was not only the longest rail tunnel in the world when it was built but the first of appreciable length that was not level. 
 

Which begs the question of how many other tunnels have dawn sunlight through them at certain days (there will normally be two a year at equal time periods either side of the summer solstice).  Sodbury on the Badminton cutoff, presumably; it’s neighbour Alderton would have a sunset alignment.  The Severn Tunnel would be lit on the English side as far as the bottom, which is still an impressive distance.  Maybe Blaenrhondda?  Possibly some of the Pennine tunnels, and I can’t think of others.  You need a tunnel that is a decent length, dead straight, orientated (at least roughly) east-west, and on a suitable gradient throughout, no hills, buildings, or other obstructions at the sunny end (which probably spoils the possibility of it happening at Moelwyn), and you won’t ‘see the light’ unless the tunnel is clear of fumes (and trains). 
 

If the alignment is only available at the summer or winter solstice, it will only occur once a year on that day, and it would be advisable to not make such a fact generally known, to avoid the prospect of pagans in the four-foot praying to it…

Edited May 9, 2023 by The Johnster

[Nick Gough]

8 hours ago, The Johnster said:

If the alignment is only available at the summer or winter solstice, it will only occur once a year on that day, and it would be advisable to not make such a fact generally known, to avoid the prospect of pagans in the four-foot praying to it…

They won't be praying for very long!

[Wickham Green too]

First of all you pray that no train comes along while you're praying 😮

[The Johnster]

5 hours ago, Nick Gough said:

They won't be praying for very long!

 

Especially if they're on the up at Box with their back to the oncoming...

[CEINEWYDD]

There is a fascinating article in the latest edition of the "Great Western Echo", journal of the GW society.  Apparently according to the author (David Hartland) , although one can see the sunshine from the west end, the sun does not line up exactly on the 9th April.  There is a suggestion that the alignment is possibly the 6th April , which appears to be the birthday of his elder sister Emma. 

 

On a different tack, having worked at 'The Mint' (and subsequently in banking) I can confirm coinage is VERY heavy.  Doing a runner with any worthwhile value of coin is a non starter.

[Siberian Snooper]

Whilst I was on holiday, last month, in the states, there was an item on the news where a truck load of dimes had been stolen about $100,000 weighing about 2 1/2 tons.

 

[Wickham Green too]

How on earth would you 'launder' a million coins without someone at least raising an eyebrow ??!?

[Matt37268]

Viz did a competition in about 1989 where you could win a ‘ton of money’ 

2.5 grand in coppers. Chris Donald said it took them the best part of day to get it all stacked up and loaded to the newsagents they sent it to! 

[The Johnster]

I reckon a million coins could be laundered, but it would be a lot of effort and pretty risky.  You would need to be patient, and launder through businesses that habitually use large amounts of coinage; fruit machines is the obvious one, but pay and display car parks, vending machines, launderettes, that sort of thing, probably the same people as your protection racket victims, who you could force to do the donkey work whether they wanted to or not.  The only scenario where it would I suspect be done would be following an oppurtunist heist of a large amount of coinage.  If you are able to wait a year or so to see a profitable return, it would be worth doing, but you'd probably need to be an organised mafia-type outfit to be able to pull it off.

 

This is all supposition of course, as I'm not actually a professional career criminal and don't really know what is involved in this sort of operation, but organised large-scale criminal gangs, proper mafias, would likely be able to do this and make a worthwhile killing (I mean profit, but possibly an actual murder as well) out of it.  I can imagine a couple of petty crooks lifting a million £2 coins with handling equipment and a container lorry, but getting no more than £100k for them from an organised gang.  Still, £100k is a pretty good pay day...

 

Mafias are usually involved in several different activities, partly to assist large-scale laundering, and partly because it makes sense for them.  If one activity, say protection, returns less because of a major police bust, or a war in Central America stops your supply of cocaine, you need to be into fraud, counterfeiting, organ theft, people trafficking, contract killings, laundering, vice, and anything else to keep the money rolling in; they are not all going to have problems at the same time!

Edited May 12, 2023 by The Johnster

[Michael Hodgson]

6 hours ago, The Johnster said:

I reckon a million coins could be laundered, but it would be a lot of effort and pretty risky.  You would need to be patient, and launder through businesses that habitually use large amounts of coinage; fruit machines is the obvious one, but pay and display car parks, vending machines, launderettes, that sort of thing, probably the same people as your protection racket victims, who you could force to do the donkey work whether they wanted to or not.  The only scenario where it would I suspect be done would be following an oppurtunist heist of a large amount of coinage.  If you are able to wait a year or so to see a profitable return, it would be worth doing, but you'd probably need to be an organised mafia-type outfit to be able to pull it off.

 

When I was working for Lloyds Bank in Longbridge we had to launder £100 in 2p coins - literally. 

 

Five of the £20 bags had arrived from the cash centre one week in a state unfit for issue.   They had come from Newnham-on-Severn (best place to see the Severn Bore) and had been in a basement when the river burst its banks, as it often did there at the time.  We tipped them into the sink to clean them in running water, sieved them with tea towels and dried them over a radiator before we could bag them up into £1 polythene bags.  Tedious smelly job, took us over a week.

[Fat Controller]

18 hours ago, CEINEWYDD said:

 

 

On a different tack, having worked at 'The Mint' (and subsequently in banking) I can confirm coinage is VERY heavy.  Doing a runner with any worthwhile value of coin is a non starter.

When the Metro opened on Tyneside, the local youths used to work a scam on the ticket machines. They would buy the cheapest ticket, using '£1 coins' crudely cast in lead. They would then pocket the change. This was the time when it was fashionable to wear loose-fitting jeans without a belt. The police wouldn't bother to chase them, just wait for the coin-laden jeans to descend to knee-level.....

[The Johnster]

Sometimes it didn't go according to plan...

 

Called in on a Rest Day, Autumn of 1973, to work a special Class 4 Dagenham to Cardiff (Tidal Sidings), nice easy clean job, 5 sets of Cartics loaded with new Fords for export to the 'States from Cardiff Docks, routed via Box for some reason, pathing I think, but in the event that was a bit irrelevant!  Book on 18.00, cushions to Swindon to relieve Old Oak men, train rolls in late about midnight behind a 25.  You know my views on 25s, and this night's shennanigans did little to improve their popularity chez The Johnster...  Train was, IIRC, fully loaded with left hand drive Crappys, and came in at some 800+tons, a fair old lump for a Type 2 to drag around at up to 90mph, but, hey, we've got roller bearings throughout, we'll be fine. 

 

Yeah, right.

 

We hadn't got far out of Swindon when it was obvious that this particular 25, which looked clean and tidy and as if it should be in reasonable nick and be at least able to pull the train, was weak and feeble even by Class 25 standards, which were not the highest to start with.  Engine kept cutting out for high coolant temperature, and of course with load like that she had to be thrashed to keep her moving at all.

 

Speed fell away as the train struggled uphill through Chippenham, and it felt like a relief when we entered Box Tunnel, but this was where the real trouble began.  Once the train was fully inside and speed had been recovered to something reasonable, my driver shut off power and the revs fell.  And fell.  And fell more. And then the engine stopped, and resisted all efforts to restart it.  With the engine stopped the air compressor stopped working as well, and by about half-way through the brakes were perceptibly leaking on.  The train came to a stand on the down main about 100yards inside the tunnel from the western portal.  We'd run out of fuel*.

 

Drivers are not expected to check fuel gauges when they relieve duties en route, this is the responsibility of the driver who preps the loco and picks the train up, and in this case clearly he hadn't bothered.

 

Secondman sent to walk ahead to the next signal to inform Bristol Panel of our plight, while I started the long trek back to protect the train in rear with detonators.  Five sets of Cartic 4s is a fair old schlep on it's own, and I'd got about 400 yards further than the rear of the train when a loco appeared coming slowly towards me.  There were no headlights in those days, only the feeble glow of the headcode indicator panel, but with our loco not putting out any fumes I could see it clearly from a good distance, and a flash of the headcode lights informed me that they'd clocked me as well.  It was a 47 with a down parcels, but not air-braked.

 

The plan was for this train to propel us into the down loop at Bathmapton, but I now had to isolate all the air brake cylinders on my train, forty of them, and the 25 was to be controlled by handbrake.  I was a bit dubious about this, but both loco crews seemed to think it was ok, and we set off somewhat cautiously, having been delayed by about 90 minutes.  I rode on the assisting engine.  On arrival at Bathampton, I uncoupled the assistant, which set back out of the loop and clear of the junction before getting the road past us, and the backlog of trains we'd delayed began to clear.  BR must have paid a good deal to Royal Mail that night!

 

Time was getting on now, about 04.00, and we were on a couple hours of overtime already.  Then a 52 turned up from Bath Road to assist from the front; oh, and by this time, just to make the night even more fun, it started raining.  Back I walked again, the full 60SLU, to carry out the brake continuity test, and the 52 dragged us to Bristol East Depot, where it cut off and was replaced an hour or so later by a pair of 37s in multiple.  Nobody about at East Depot, so guess who had to go back and do another brake continuity in what was now quite heavy rain.  Right Away Cardiff (Tidal Sidings) then, but no, the ship had to make that evening's tide out of Cardiff and Control stepped in to change the plans.  It was getting light by now, and we were put inside on the reception road at STJ to be informed of this. 

 

The new plan was to load the cars onto another ship at Newport Docks, and we would (for some reason to do with unloading the crappys at Newport Docks) have to reverse the train, and that had to be done at Rogerstone, and the new ship's berth on the south side of Newport's South Dock meant that the train had to approach from Mendalgief, apparently (didn't make sense to me, either, but I was past caring by that time!).  I didn't sign Rogerstone, but a travelling shunter who could act as pilot for me boarded at Newport High St.  Rogerstone yard had been lifted at this time, but we were to run around on the running lines using the trailing crossovers at each end of it, which were still intact.  It was agreed that the 37s would propel the dead 25 for the Rogerstone-Mendalgief run, something else I wasn't sure about but the locomen seemed happy enough and it was none of Traffic Department's business.  So, while the loco cavalcade ran around on the running lines at Rogerstone, I walked back to collect the tail lamp, waited for the routepilot shunter to couple them on at the other end, and did yet another brake continuity.  Then I had to walk the train length again one last time to regain the locomotives.  It's about 06.00 by now, and full daylight.

 

We finally delivered the crappys to Mendalgief, but nobody had considered how the 25 was going to get to Canton, and Mendalgief isn't the sort of place you can travel home from.  The 37s were needed back at Bath Road, and an 08 dragged the 25 to AD yard, from where it took us over the running lines onto Ebbw Jc shed.  We were all a bit exhausted by this time, I'd walked the length of the train six times in the rain and was filthy, wet, cold, hungry, and fed up.  We were told to make our own way home, and the walking time from Ebbw Jc to High Street was 55 minutes.  I think it was about 10.00 when we booked off!  I'd have been better off abandoning ship at Mendalgief; I'd have been home about an hour earlier...

 

Bloody 25s.  Bloody crappys.  Bloody rain.

 

 

*this happened to me again a few months later with a Hereford driver and a 31 just south of Nantyderry, but the brake van was within the box's station limits and I didn't have to do the long protection walk.

Edited May 13, 2023 by The Johnster

[Edwin_m]

6 hours ago, The Johnster said:

The plan was for this train to propel us into the down loop at Bathmapton, but I now had to isolate all the air brake cylinders on my train, forty of them, and the 25 was to be controlled by handbrake.  I was a bit dubious about this, but both loco crews seemed to think it was ok, and we set off somewhat cautiously, having been delayed by about 90 minutes.  I rode on the assisting engine.  On arrival at Bathampton, I uncoupled the assistant, which set back out of the loop and clear of the junction before getting the road past us, and the backlog of trains we'd delayed began to clear.  BR must have paid a good deal to Royal Mail that night!

Never had any direct experience, but I'm often surprised by the reliance placed on a single locomotive or brake van to manage a heavy unbraked train on a descending gradient, which this would have become if a coupling had parted.  I guess in mitigation, at that time of day and after a prolonged line blockage there was probably nothing in front to run into if that happened.  But if a decent speed had been reached (how would the driver in front know a coupling had broken and braking was needed?), it's downhill all the way to the points that would be set for the low-speed move into the loop.  I have visions of Crappys being sprinked liberally across the Bathampton area...  

Edited May 13, 2023 by Edwin_m

[Michael Hodgson]

1 hour ago, Edwin_m said:

Never had any direct experience, but I'm often surprised by the reliance placed on a single locomotive or brake van to manage a heavy unbraked train on a descending gradient,

 

That was essentially the problem at Armagh in 1889, though that of course was a passenger train full of children on a Sunday School outing; continuous brakes on passenger trains and block working became mandatory a couple of months after that disaster.  It still took us a long time to catch up with braking on goods trains, but that delay created jobs for Johnster and many others,

[The Johnster]

Couplings parting was once a major problem, caused by 'snatches' as the train picked up power after the wagons had 'bunched up' coming down a gradient, or even be rough application of the van brake, though this was unusual as it was a screw.  Rough shunting could break 3-link couplings as well.  By my time the only wagons with 3-link couplings prone to this were departmental and saw little use out on running lines, where things were either instanter or screw (passenger stock had always had screw couplings going back to Liverpool & Manchester days).  In 8 years of working on the railway I was never aware of any incident of coupling breakage, other than those connected with derailments; axle failures were a bigger problem.  I used to worry about screw couplings on vans used in cement traffic (the Presflos had instanters), though, as they could become very stiff when they were encased in cement dust, to the extent that it might have been possible for them to lift off the hook of the adjoining wagon under compression.  Again, never happened to my knowledge.  The asssisting parcels train had more than enough brakage to control ours, even on a 1-in-100 falling gradient, speeds were low and caution exercised.

 

Coupling breakages were occurring weekly somewhere or other on the GW in it's last years, and the other railways must have been suffering as well by a similar rate, but by then replacement of 3-link by instanter was in progress at least on the GW, and given a massive boost after nationalisation by BR's wagon refurbishment program.  There were still some XPO 7-plankers, the most prone type of wagons, in revenue service in the early 60s, though mostly in 25mph class 9 useage.  Screw couplings had been universal on mainland Europe for many years, but the best practice was undoubtedly the superb Janney auto-coupler/buffer used in North America. 

[Philou]

Well chaps and chapesses,

 

I'm back! I've just caught up with this thread after Mrs Philou and I had a bit of a trauma at home (we're fine but her brother passed away here in the house and caused a bit of a hiatus for her and her kin) hence no maps from me since the end of April. After reading all the comments, I'm pleased to say it seems that you probably managed without my help!

 

Good reminiscences there @The Johnster, keep 'em coming.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[The Johnster]

My condolences to Mrs P and yourself; sounds pretty upsetting!

[Philou]

Thank you all and Richard for your 'friendly/supportives'. Very kind of you. I was on the periphery of it all as Mrs Philou and her two sisters organised it all between themselves - I was doing the metaphorical tea and biscuits and passing out the hankies as needed.

 

He'd been ill for some time with colonic cancer that had spread into his liver, and unfortunately for him, he was into alternative medecine which when you're up against cancer, is a certain loser. By the time he decided that perhaps traditional surgery could help, it was far too late. He was with us for about 7 weeks and I have to say even I was surprised by the rapid deterioration especially the last 5 days.

 

Guys and gals, DO take notice of changes in the way your body is working and go to the quack asap. It could make a big difference.

 

Right, let normal service resume - over to you Mr Johnster.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[KeithMacdonald]

On 07/05/2023 at 22:56, The Johnster said:

Hooray, we've just discovered Schroedinger's Tunnel!

 

Your mission (should you decide to accept it) is to find documented evidence of Direct Rail Services' Class 68 (with their C175-16 Caterpillar engine) successfully working any traffic through Box Tunnel.

 

Then we will finally know for sure whether there ever was a live Cat in the Box.

 

Bonus points for anything on the Strategic Steam Reserve.

[The Johnster]

5 hours ago, Philou said:

Thank you all and Richard for your 'friendly/supportives'. Very kind of you. I was on the periphery of it all as Mrs Philou and her two sisters organised it all between themselves - I was doing the metaphorical tea and biscuits and passing out the hankies as needed.

 

He'd been ill for some time with colonic cancer that had spread into his liver, and unfortunately for him, he was into alternative medecine which when you're up against cancer, is a certain loser. By the time he decided that perhaps traditional surgery could help, it was far too late. He was with us for about 7 weeks and I have to say even I was surprised by the rapid deterioration especially the last 5 days.

 

Guys and gals, DO take notice of changes in the way your body is working and go to the quack asap. It could make a big difference.

 

Right, let normal service resume - over to you Mr Johnster.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

 

My own prostrate scare in 2020 was caught in time due to a diligent GP and a PSA test, and I've become a bit of a evangelist for PSA tests; undoubtedly saved my bacon!  Only takes a couple minutes and might make a vital difference...

 

I'd noticed no difference in the way my body was working beyond an increasingl weak bladder, which in my mind was a normal fact of life as I got older (or, as my GP, who had obviously been on the course, put it, 'advanced from youth') and did not ring any particular alarm bells; I only mentioned it at a meds review because I was worried that my meds were making it worse!

[Wickham Green too]

6 hours ago, The Johnster said:

My own prostate scare in 2020 was caught in time ...

... not a good year to have a health scare, with everything locked-down for Covid ......... my brush with the 'Big C' was that year, too, and was dealt with promptly once diagnosed  -  but I dread to think how many people put off going to their GP 'til too late.  ☹️ 

[ In retrospect, standing outside the surgery in a mask and passing sample bottles through the door to a fully PPE'd doctor seems rather comical - but.]

[The Johnster]

Quite; 2020 was pretty miserable all round and I was given my diagnosis on xmas eve 2019; merry xmas, Johnster...  I was undergoing my radiotherapy sessions, which were physically exhausting and enervating, throughout the late winter and spring as the covid crisis was developing, completing the course just as the first lockdown started in Wales.  The cancer never physically affected me at all, no pain or nausea, but the cure most certainly did and I reckon it took several months to recover from!  Got the full all-clear last year. 

[Halvarras]

Yep, same 'ere - I was offered a PSA check alongside my annual blood test in November 2018 - said yes just to be sure nothing was going on in the nether regions. "OK, but just be advised that if the result is above 4 it could get intrusive....." It was 5. Uh-oh. After more tests the prostate diagnosis was received mid January 2019 ruining the run-up to my retirement at the end of March. Lots of reading material about the various treatments 😕 and plans up in the air for a month until an oncologist told me that 80-90% of men in my position go on 'Active Surveillance' and no, this wasn't kicking the can down the road. After a spell on 4-monthly PSA checks I'm now on 6-monthly and the last result was slightly less than the 5 which started it all. Obviously I'm going to say, long may it continue, but with my next check imminent I'm touching the wooden table I'm sitting next to here, just in case......