yes i did indeed view it as a dull period , given my father used to be a guard on them
and as a kid was made to go to work with him especialy during the summer holidays when i'd have much rather been out with my mates .
at the time class 40 mainline cab rides from manchester to llandudno , york , chester , as well as class 47 , 25 , 08's and DMU cab rides all over the north west ( including being allowed to drive one ) albeit sat on the drivers knee being guided were well down my to do list !!
the highlight was getting a look around the great train robbery loco that was cut up in privacy to stop souvenir hunters
i moved onto working on the railways in both signal boxes and on platforms but it wasn't what i wanted back then so i moved on as i was far more intrested in cars and motorcycles so ended up working in garages
ironicly a bit of thinking and i could have worked at newton heath sheds ( however i had been around that place many times with my father and fe**ing filthy was a huge understatement
altho i didn't particularly enjoy it at the time you look back and realise what a privaledge it was to have done it
it is still very much a boring phase to me but i have always wanted to build the signal box area where i once worked so memmory and variety of traffic were deciding factors