So I'll recap my last shift! The latest job in the depot! This is a shift which involves going on one of my fav routes for a double round trip! We talking about the Mid Cheshire line to Chester via Altrincham!
The lower links* of the depot do a lot of Chester work as Chesters tend to start very early and finish very late and we wouldn't want the old boys finishing after 10 would we?
Anyway tonight's episode of conducting gives us a 1hr break in Chester. The unit we bring up goes to bed in the bay platform ready for service the next day and we wait for the last train of the night from Manchester to come up before all piling on together for a empty stock move back to Manchester!
Tonight like I suppose a lot of passengers do I sit with The national rail enquiries app open on my phone chatting to my driver in the hideous 70's inspired mess room that is Chester. We note that the service is steadily losing time and is currently around 15 minutes late at its last timing point! We ponder the reasons for this. We know its a double set (booked 150 + 142) so are they having trouble. Have they an engine out? Passenger problems? Just like everyday passengers there is no information to tell us. My company issue Blackberry also stays silent with no updates so its unlikely to be a signalling/permanent way issue.
Anyway 16 mins late she rolls into Chester (2x142) and we note a trainee in the drivers seat. After the 5 of us (2 Guards + 2 1/2 drivers) empty and secure the train and the trainer advises Chester signal box we are ready to start we get the signal and depart. We chat to the incoming guard who is himself reasonably new. He tells us that the journey has been a bit slow due to the trainee being spoon fed route instructions (he's fresh from the school by all accounts) but the main reason was passengers unable to find/press the door open button on his units. This had caused 2 pass com (alarm) activations as panicked passengers realised that the train was setting off with them still on it!
He has then had to reset these alarms open and close the doors again (twice) and this is what has caused his delay (and the fact he was 4 late leaving due to a bloody TPE getting in the way)!!
All in all we got back to our Home Depot 10 minutes late after a pretty rough ride home in a luke warm 142 at around 0210!!
Then the red eye drive home and bed where I'm now having a few days off!
Thanks for reading
The guard!
*Links - groups of set rotas in the depot which run over about 30 weeks. These advise of your duty number, start time and finish time.
We have 5 links, the bottom link (link 5) does all of the earliest starts and latest lates. Link 5+4 work all routes that our depot sign excluding Buxton.
As you work in the depot longer you progress up into the higher links where the work is more 'cushy'. In Link 3 you learn Buxton and in link 2 + 1 you lose Liverpool (unless you specifically keep it on your card through overtime)
Link 1 also benefit from no starting before 6am and no finishes after 10pm. These are blokes that have done 10 years + and although this splits opinion I believe this is fair as they have done their amount of the crap work!
Photo. Chesters beautiful crew room!
That Crew room looks a bit cold!
ReplyDeleteIt's actually surprisingly warm as it benefits from old style pipes and radiators around the room! It is however surprisingly grotty and has a bit of a whiff about it!
ReplyDelete'and has a bit of a whiff about it!'
DeleteBlame the drivers, I would. ;)