The human side of the railway...

[DaveF]

Yet another one from Dad's albums.

 

Brighton Volks electric Railway driver 1951 JVol2034

 

David

[trisonic]

Oh, Yeah, Baby! Just reading about that in BackTrack...

 

Best, Pete.

[newbryford]

Trainspotters ahoy!

 

One of the Blackmill crew (and a member of this forum) at the recent York exhibition after the Sunday operating session.

 

 

(I now have some decent DRS 20/3 pics - and a couple of Bachy 20's on the shelf.............)

 

My eldest brother has rediscovered his trainspotter roots and a visit to my house coincided with the passing of 4C77 Fidler's Ferry - Newbiggin gypsum loaded gypsum.

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited April 7, 2013 by newbryford

[The Stationmaster]

A couple of contrasting view from the Reading 'redevelopment' site on Friday last - where some were clearly happy in their work whiole others were far from warm.

 

This happy trio were busily unloading welding stores until they saw a chance to pose for a pic -

 

 

 

In stark contrast this gang, who were setting up axle counters, seemed to be far less happy with their lot, and a great deal colder!

 

[Steve Williams]

Filming going on this morning at marylebone with the associated film crews and extras

 

The number of CCTV cameras visible is frightening.

[Oldddudders]

The number of CCTV cameras visible is frightening.

I suspect that is in part due to the gateline. The Safety Case for gating the station will have required certain levels of supervision when the gates are in operation, such that if things go pear-shaped and there needs to be an evacuation, the SFO (Station Facility Operator) is aware and can react at once, opening the gates and releasing people.

 

I remember jumping through all sorts of silly hoops to get the Silverlink gates at Euston approved by Railtrack - the first gateline on a Railtrack Major Station. I had to demonstrate how many people could walk through the gates in emergency etc., to show we were not imperilling safety on platforms 8-11.  Two days after the gates were commissioned, Railtrack cheerfully closed off half the walkway up to the concourse to do some sort of works, completely invalidating the Safety Case they had signed off for us.......

[Steve Williams]

I suspect that is in part due to the gateline. The Safety Case for gating the station will have required certain levels of supervision when the gates are in operation, such that if things go pear-shaped and there needs to be an evacuation, the SFO (Station Facility Operator) is aware and can react at once, opening the gates and releasing people.

 

I remember jumping through all sorts of silly hoops to get the Silverlink gates at Euston approved by Railtrack - the first gateline on a Railtrack Major Station. I had to demonstrate how many people could walk through the gates in emergency etc., to show we were not imperilling safety on platforms 8-11.  Two days after the gates were commissioned, Railtrack cheerfully closed off half the walkway up to the concourse to do some sort of works, completely invalidating the Safety Case they had signed off for us.......

it's amazing how we all managed to survive daily life before such things.

[Glorious NSE]

My eldest brother has rediscovered his trainspotter roots and a visit to my house coincided with the passing of 4C77 Fidler's Ferry - Newbiggin gypsum loaded gypsum.

 

I think installing a deck so you can photograph the trainspotters might be a bit OTT though.

[newbryford]

I think installing a deck so you can photograph the trainspotters might be a bit OTT though.

 

It's good to sit out in the sun and watch steam specials pass by whilst enjoying a BBQ - although I can't quite remember when we last did that............ Is there a smiley with an umbrella?

 

Cheers,

Mick

[talisman56]

It's good to sit out in the sun and watch steam specials pass by whilst enjoying a BBQ - although I can't quite remember when we last did that............ Is there a smiley with an umbrella?

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

No there isn't - I thought I could remember seeing one but not on this message board, obviously...

[Rivercider]

Station greeting

The driver of 33105 gets a wave from the platform staff at Poole, the train is the 11.35 Waterloo - Weymouth, 12/4/83

 

cheers

[Thomas]

Another station greeting

 

 

and receives a wave back.

 

Tom

[Oldddudders]

Another station greeting

 

and receives a wave back.

Yes, getting a wave from the driver is very nice. Standing on the platform at Petts Wood in the '70s, waiting for the train to Grove Park, and the driver waved to me. My booking-clerk companion was well-impressed - even though he probably paid the driver, Henry Plumb, his wages every week! The theme of this thread is people, and people who get on with each other, then and now, make the railway a better place.

[Rugd1022]

I always try to wave back, so long as I'm not approaching a red 'un etc.... amongst other things it actually helps to break the day up a bit - on the freight side we spend large chunks of our working day (or night  ) on our lonesome so it's good to get a bit of human feedback now and then. Some years ago I was on a twelve hour ballast job in Roade Cutting - between relieving my mate and getting relief myself several hours later, I didn't turn a wheel and never saw or spoke to another soul, not even an engineering supervisor!

[Rivercider]

I always try to wave back, so long as I'm not approaching a red 'un etc.... amongst other things it actually helps to break the day up a bit - on the freight side we spend large chunks of our working day (or night  ) on our lonesome so it's good to get a bit of human feedback now and then. Some years ago I was on a twelve hour ballast job in Roade Cutting - between relieving my mate and getting relief myself several hours later, I didn't turn a wheel and never saw or spoke to another soul, not even an engineering supervisor!

I think I can understand that a bit. The last couple of years of Bristol TOPS we were single manned doing 12 hour shifts,

on a night shift I would only see one other person, I relieved him, he relieved me.

It was better for us though, we were on the Temple Meads Station radio net (Rail 18), so could listen in to the nights goings on.

I felt quite proud knowing I was a small part of the team.

 

cheers

Edited April 10, 2013 by Rivercider

[uax6]

It's strange that there seems to be some reluctance to wave at drivers these days. When I'm on duty I always wave to the drivers (some of which refuse to wave back, or even worse deliberately look the other way...) and when the sand goes past at silly o'clock in the morning, I actually stand in the doorway of the box to show that the drivers not the only one up!

 

A fair few of the siggys I know don't wave, and I've never understood it. That wave can be the only interaction with another human we have all shift, but then again siggys are a funny breed!

 

What I find worse is those that park in the box car park, and then disappear up the line without a hello or asking if anything out of the ordinary is going on. What happened to reporting to the signalman on duty to discover the state of play?

 

Andy G

[LNERGE]

I spend a fair bit of time red zone whilst out testing and almost without exception we get a wave from drivers as they pass.

[Rivercider]

While searching for something else I found this that I did not remember taking,

Would Mike (Stationmaster) or anyone else be able to ID the signalman with his stick?

 

37181 on a working from Machen Quarry slows at Park Junction Newport to surrender the token, 25/9/86

 

cheers

[The Stationmaster]

While searching for something else I found this that I did not remember taking,

Would Mike (Stationmaster) or anyone else be able to ID the signalman with his stick?

 

scan0016.jpg

37181 on a working from Machen Quarry slows at Park Junction Newport to surrender the token, 25/9/86

 

cheers

That's a different way of doing things at Park Jcn - at one time, depending on the route the train was taking,  the accepted method (so it seemed) of returning the Train Staff when coming down from Machen was to lob it towards the signalbox steps.  Until the fateful day when it landed in the gutter and we finished calling various engineering type folks until we found one with a ladder of the right length to reach the gutter.

 

Alas I don't recognise him - that pic was taken 12 years after I left Newport to come back to England and both the regular men at Park Jcn at that time were younger than the chap in your pic.

[DaveF]

2 pw men.

 

Lenton North Junction p.w. men c1950 JVol2148

 

David

[Rivercider]

Changing Ends

Traincrew seem to outnumber passengers in this view at Rhymney.

Class 116 DMU set C302 waits to form the 10.28 departure for Cardiff Central, 14/4/81

 

cheers

 

Edited April 11, 2013 by Rivercider

[darren01]

The changing face of paddington.

Shot of once was Old Oak Common, Now a sleeper holding point.

Darren01

Edited April 14, 2013 by darren01

[John M Upton]

Random shot I took this afternoon at work whilst waiting for an engineers train to come through, came out rather nicely I thought:

 

 

Southern Class 377/4 377470 and Class 377/1 377113 Barnham 14/4/13 by jmupton2000, on Flickr

 

[96701]

The changing face of paddington.

Shot of once was Old Oak Common, Now a sleeper holding point.

Darren01

Tunnel segment manufacturing place, actually.

[The Stationmaster]

The changing face of paddington.

Shot of once was Old Oak Common, Now a sleeper holding point.

Darren01

They're not sleepers at Old Oak Darren (apart from any inside the carriage shed ) - the concrete things in the background are tunnel lining sections for Crossrail which are made at Old Oak on the former loco shed site.

 

BTW the first of your three pics shows the west end of the relatively short-lived 'flushing apron at Kensal Green withe carriage washing machine in the left background.