Tag: trains

Smoke and wasteland

My role, occasionally requires me getting involved with some old engineering treasures. I sometimes have to go ahead of these trains to areas where there are “pinch points” and ensure that their movements through these areas are without delay or hindrance. The thing is if one of these old girls break down they can cause absolute havoc to timetabled passenger traffic, and passengers, rightly so, don’t take to well to being delayed by what they class as unnecessary big boys toys.

60103 – The flying Scotsman

One such old treasure is the steam train “The flying Scotsman” now I’ve been associated with this train one way or another for many years now, and only recently I was ahead of it as it made its way to a big 200 year train gathering up in Derby. I took the above Picture a few years ago at Tulse Hill station in South London. The bridge at this station is the most frequently hit bridge in the area causing massive delays to trains heading south. Me being there means a bridge exam can be carried out quickly and things can get moving fairly expediently. There is also quite a complex junction nearby, again if points were to fail I could get things running smoothly again, with a small team who work alongside me. This picture has been run through a Matte black mask to give it a vintage type look, it was taken on an old phone and was just snapped whilst I was checking timings with the train crew.

More graffiti- but with humour

Another train hit by the local graffiti artists passed through our patch. Whilst this one was parked up I had to laugh at the message conveyed on an empty stone hopper during the current economic crisis here in the UK . Living La Vida Broke-A! it made me smile.

Wasteland

Just a few months ago this compound next to where I am based was a buzzing hive of activity. Then our government cancelled the electrification of the Midland main line between Leicester and Sheffield, putting an end to the activity in this area. All the men and women laid off, another nail in the coffin of the cities outside of the “One and only London”

This Government really is blinkered and doesn’t really understand that there are communities and businesses north of Watford!

Nothing is going to change anytime soon.

Have a great day, in whatever you are doing.

Trains at Melton

Here are four photos taken whilst I was visiting the signal box at Melton Mowbray. This train line is between Leicester and Peterborough and has a number of Victorian era signal boxes still in use today. All pictures taken with my IPhone 14 Pro Max.

View towards Leicester from Melton Mowbray
Leicester bound
Peterborough bound
Time exposure Leicester bound

Have a happy day. 👋

Take time to relax

In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?

I’m of a generation that in general was a working generation where hard work was the norm if you wanted to get by. The computer only started to appear in its most basic form when I was in my last year of schooling, the mobile phone didn’t appear until a good few years later.

I think I’ve mentioned this before but I’m an individual who always has to be occupied with something, as I hate wasted time. My work involves a raft of different capabilities, I’m a classic “Jack of all trades and master of none” if that makes sense. My job is to get things moving on the rail network, that means calling in different skills and abilities to ensure the goal of getting things moving is achieved.

At home I’m always switched on and have to be doing something even if that’s a hobby activity to keep the mind busy. I have days off from work and the wife will openly tell you that if I don’t do something that I class it as a wasted day, I have to be busy.

However it’s become apparent over the last couple of years that this type of attitude can’t continue, if I’m tired the body is telling me something and I must rest. I had a little episode about 18 months back when I awoke one morning with horrendous double vision and then lost my sight for a few hours, now that was scary. It appears I had a type of mini stroke where a small bubble entered the fine blood vessels behind my eye causing the issue. That day my whole outlook changed and though I still like to keep busy, I have changed my ways somewhat and rest is now incorporated into my down time. Nothing is more important than your health.

So I’m still fulfilled by keeping busy, but now that has had to change to being fulfilled by keeping happy and healthy.

Too many people before me have worked themselves into an early grave. I don’t want to be another number in that statistic.

Have a restful productive day.