by P J Shannon
In January 1987 there was a very heavy snow fall accompanied by freezing conditions and it affected all areas of the country, especially the South and London, between the 11th and 14th of that month. It was the heaviest snowfall in that part of the United Kingdom since the winter of 1981/82. Over 50 cm (20 inches) of snow fell in parts of Kent, Essex, London and Surrey and several towns were cut off. This caused massive disruption of transport in all areas, including the cancellation of many train services and the closure of many roads and railway lines. Motoring organisations had to deal with more than 4000 car breakdowns and 500 schools were forced to close. The extreme cold even affected the chiming hammer of Big Ben and at Southend the sea had frozen over.
My job for those few days was to work from 8.00pm until 08.00am at Staines to try and keep the evening train service from Staines to Weybridge and Windsor ticking over. With only six train crew, no depot shunter or carriage cleaners, it was not so easy. The first night, with the co-operation of the train crews, we managed an hourly service or thereabouts, with every train returning to the station then having to shunt into the depot, which meant that I would have to go into the depot and reset the roads for every train. Before any of this took place I would place an order for fish and chips with the local chip shop and make sure that the returning crews had a decent warm meal. I would give them their meal and get the other crew to shunt into the depot, then returning when it was time for the next train. The system worked perfectly until the end of the night’s service when I had 4 roads of trains to clean out, not an easy task by anybody’s standards, but I just got on with it until I was finished in the morning in time to start up the service again.
The second night was much the same, but late in the evening the Panel Regulator rang me to inform me that he had a visitor to the box in the guise of a Manager who was there to give us a helping hand if anything were to go wrong during the latter part of the evening. He added that he was not convinced that real help would be forthcoming, as the Manager had his silk pyjamas with him and was settling down for the night in the box!
When I got home that morning it was not much better. It was freezing hard and there was ice on the inside of the windows despite the heating being full on. It was difficult to get to sleep but when I told Jenny of the silk pyjamas we had a good giggle - and still do to this day. Bless her, she made a lot of warming soup through all of that time and looked after the family.
The cold spell lasted from the 7th to the 20th, and was probably the most intense of the twentieth century. Temperatures stayed well below freezing on many days. On the 12th, maximum temperatures were between -6°C and -8°C over much of England.
So the train crews and I struggled on for the remainder of the next two weeks until things began to improve and we got back to some normality.
Life as a Relief Station Manager
Under another reorganisation in early 1987 I was requested to attend the Area Manager’s Office and was asked if I would like to apply for a Relief Station Manager’s post, grade “E” (no more Station Master) and as this is what I really wanted, I jumped at the chance although this would mean leaving my colleagues Barry and Stan. It was an opportunity too great to miss so I took the plunge.
The new Feltham area was extended and ran from Wandsworth Town to Dorking and Clandon on the new line in the north, to Earley in the south on the Reading line. It ran from Frimley and Blackwater in the west to Earlsfield in the east, so if I was successful this is the area that I would have to cover.
On 30th March 1987 I was appointed to the position of RSM “E” grade for the Feltham Area relieving Kingston’s SM Brian Humphries, Richmond’s Howard Smith, Wimbledon’s Brian Ainsley, Surbiton’s Charlie Philpott, Epsom’s Peter Dixon, Staines’s Les Chapman and Ascot’s Alex Foulds. A lot of these areas would include visits to signal boxes which I really relished. It was sad to be leaving my old post and old friends after nearly three years, but I was excited by the new challenge.
I was to hand over the reins to Peter Ventnam who was to be my replacement, but before I departed, I asked the Area Manager’s clerk if I could buy a collection of old guards’ watches which had been exchanged for the new wrist watches and which I did not want to leave behind. I explained that I collected railway memorabilia and would like them for a keepsake. He agreed and asked for £10.00 which I thought was a very reasonable price; so the deal was done and I am still the proud owner of those watches.
On my first day I was to report to the Operations Manager, Steve McColl, who was also new at the job. He wanted to visit Dorking signal box and asked me to accompany him This was a very good start for me as this is what I liked best. Our first visit to a box in our new area went very well. A good chat and a cup of tea with the signalman speaks volumes! After a good look around the box, we walked along into the sidings to get a feel for the layout. Once we were happy with what we saw, we decided that a visit to some of the other boxes was in order, so our next stop was Leatherhead. The box is on the junction of the Bookham-Effingham branch line and Boxhill and Westhumble-Dorking line, and was quite a busy little box. Another cup of tea and a chat with the signalman, then we went on to Epsom. This box was located above and between the tracks and there was a bit of a climb to get into it, but it was a nice box. It was very busy; as well as controlling trains from the SWR it also controlled trains from the SCR. There were also three platforms and a siding (remember this was the one that I had slept in on my pointsman job) so I knew this one very well and there were no surprises here for me. This was to be the last box visit as time was now getting on. As we went back to Feltham I must admit that this had been a really good day for me.
As I was spare, I was asked if I would give some operating training to Richmond Area Station Manager, Howard Smith, ex-Traffic Apprentice. This included points winding and the manual operation of Automatic Half Barriers (AHBs), so we started out at Twickenham on the points, all of which went very well. When I had finished I suggested that we should go to Egham for the training on the AHBs. Unfortunately it had just begun to rain, and while this was no problem for me as I was properly kitted out for any emergency that might arise, Howard was not as prepared. We made our way to the station and caught a train to Staines where we had to change for Egham. When we finally arrived at Egham, we were greeted by my old friend, Fred Ishaq, who offered us a cup of tea which we gratefully accepted. After, we were away to Rusham Crossing, but unfortunately it was now raining quite heavily and by the time we had walked there Howard was a little wet and was complaining a bit. This was to no avail as we were there now and nothing was going to stop me. Our first task was to telephone the signalman and inform him what I wanted to do and that I had a trainee with me who needed training on the barriers, so I requested permission to take the barriers on local control. As there were no trains about at that moment and permission was given I instructed Howard how to unlock the cabinet and take over local control. Almost immediately the phone rang and the signalman advised us of an up train approaching us and asked for the barriers to be lowered, which was done by pressing the down button. As the train approaches, it is required by the instructions to exhibit a green flag or green light at night to advise the driver that the barriers are in the down position and that it is safe to pass them. We continued the task for a few more trains and when I was satisfied that Howard was competent we handed the control of the barriers back to the signalman and walked back to Egham. By this time Howard was soaked to the skin, which taught him a valuable lesson - be prepared for anything.
Howard decided to take some leave which was probably well deserved, so I was called upon to cover Richmond for a couple of weeks. Richmond was designed with platforms 1 and 2 for South West Trains services, while platforms 3 to 7 were bay platforms used for London Overground services. District Line used 4, 5, 6, or 7. Platform 4 was used occasionally to gain entrance from the main line to the underground. A large concourse led on to the North London Line and underground. Signalling on the two main platforms
was controlled by Feltham Panel while a small signal box controlled the underground portion. The signalmen were Ricky Matura and Mick Hillder. There was also an upper concourse where the booking offices and ticket machines were housed; booking clerks were Roger Ward, Keith Brooks and Andrew Stonestreet, the Station Supervisors were Ken Keen and Ross Lees. Richmond area covered St Margaret’s, Twickenham, Whitton, Hounslow, Isleworth, Syon Lane, Brentford, Kew Bridge, Chiswick, Barnes Bridge, Barnes and its signal box, Putney, Wandsworth Town, Mortlake and North Sheen on the South Western, with Kew Gardens and Gunnersbury on the Underground, so it was quite a large area to cover.
I covered most of the area on foot, often walking between Gunnersbury and Kew Bridge; going from Whitton to Hounslow by road and Hounslow to Barnes along the track. This tactic I was to use in every area that I covered and if there ever was a problem I knew the quickest way to get there or what the track layout was.
My usual daily routine when I was covering an area was for me to get an early start at 06.30am or 7.00am and supervise the rush hour at one of the main stations in that area. On my arrival at that station I would inform Feltham Panel of my whereabouts so that if they were to require my assistance they would be aware of where I was. This system worked very well and many a time I was called on to sort out some problem or other. It also gave me an advantage over other area Station Managers because when we had a general meeting of all the SMs at the Area Manager’s Office, I was very much aware of what was going on in that area and was generally able to answer any question that might arise. I continued this practice throughout my career.
During my time at Richmond I received an emergency call from Ken Wardle the signalman at Barnes, telling me that he had received a call from the driver of a down Waterloo to Reading train who had reported hitting a person on the down local line between the station and the box and had come to a stop beyond the crossing. He advised me that he had taken the appropriate action of calling the Emergency Services, getting the current discharged on the down local, and diverting services through the Hounslow Loop. This had all been agreed by Operations Control. I could be there in about fifteen minutes, and on my arrival Ken updated me on the situation. It appeared that a man had come through the undergrowth and walked in front of the train. I read and signed the occurrence book and as I made my way to the site, the ambulance and police arrived at the crossing. Within minutes we had located the body which had almost been cut in half, lying across the line. I am pleased to say that I was not required to do anything except escort the ambulance crew to the site and watch them perform their unpleasant task of removing the body to the ambulance. All of this was carried out in about 45 minutes. By this time, other officials of the railway had arrived on scene to look after the driver and passengers. As soon as the Emergency Services were clear of the site I informed the signalman and the current was recharged, but as with all of these sorts of incidents the service takes some time to return to normal.
The usual procedure was for the train involved to carry on to a main station, in this case Richmond, where passengers were detrained and would be able to make connections so that they could continue their journeys to their destinations. The train would travel ECS to Wimbledon Park for inspection and under-frame wash. I made my way back to the signal box, had a cup of tea with Ken, signed the occurrence book again and made my way back to Richmond to continue with my other duties.
Howard’s leave was soon up and so was my time at Richmond, so I was spare again until I was required to cover another area.
It was around about this time that we were told that we were required to attend a Table Top emergency exercise which involved all the Emergency Services which was to be held at The Berystede Hotel at Ascot. This exercise was to bring us up to speed with emergency procedures and I, for one, was well up for this as I had been involved in some incidents and really wanted to know all about their procedures and how they worked. This had been arranged by the Operations Manager, Steve McColl.
The scenario was that a commuter morning rush hour train had became derailed whilst crossing the junction and the front coach had become derailed and there were only a few injuries, some slight and two with major injuries. The signal box had been advised and the train and junction had been protected by signals. Operations Control had also been advised and several departments had been alerted. The most important lesson for the day was to try and achieve the following aims and objectives.
The aims of the exercise were:
To achieve a better understanding of each other’s departments’ roles in relation to a Major Incident, particularly amongst front line staff
Improve liaison between the staff concerned
Action of the first member of staff on site of the incident.
Who is responsible for passing information?
Discussion on the alternative arrangements made for moving passengers and the options available
The role of the Railway and the Emergency Services
The role of other outside agencies
Objectives of the exercise were:
To provide discussion that would be valuable to both staff and Emergency Services
Assess communications and command structures
Evaluate resources available and response time to incidents
Identify and solve operational problems
Test and assess the liaison between the Railway and Emergency Services and other internal departments
Co-ordination of the incident
The role of the Incident Officer, police scene management and Command Control
Information and communications
Track Safety
Safety and evacuation of passengers
All of this is a continuing programme to provide the staff of both the railway and the emergency services with the necessary skill to do their jobs professionally.
So the exercise started with the Area Manager, Charles Nicholls, welcoming everybody and outlining the aims and objectives of the exercise and hoping that everybody present would learn some valuable lessons from it. The people present were then asked to split up into small groups with either one or two members of different services in those groups.
The model used for the exercise did not represent an exact location but was a junction similar to Twickenham where a passenger train had become derailed causing some injuries, so this was very much up my street. Several people were asked to act as the staff that would be on duty that day such as Railway Incident Officer, Station Managers, Area Customer Services Manager, Area Movement Inspector, Area Traction Inspector, signal box regulators, signalmen, and platform staff. I suppose I was lucky that I was chosen for the RIO job. We now had to look at the model for about five minutes to familiarise ourselves with the situation, asking questions about it.
After the initial familiarisation, we all returned to our teams and began to work out what we would do. After a few minutes discussion, we were asked to explain what action we would take, using one member from each team to explain. So we started to go around the tables with some interesting results. Most of the things that you would expect came forward and a good number of interesting things were being discussed. But unfortunately as lunch time approached, the fire alarm sounded and we were all ushered out into the car park to wait the arrival of the Fire Service. This was ironic, as we were surrounded by not only the Fire Service but the rest of the emergency services as well and there was nothing that anybody could do but wait. Within a few minutes the local fire appliance arrived only to tell the hotel that it was a false alarm and we could continue with our exercise. But as it was lunch time it was decided that we should eat and then continue in the afternoon. The rest of the day went without incident and a lot was learned by all of us about our ability to cope under pressure.
The next phase was to have a wash up meeting and discuss all the points that we had learned and to update our Accident Procedures Book, after which the book was issued to all.
Barry’s Engineering Jobs
During this period, I often covered jobs for Barry at weekends. The first was a little doddle of a job as ODS Saturday night/Sunday for the Permanent way who wanted to do some maintenance in the yard at Basingstoke. This was a last minute thing which Barry could not cover. After much discussion with Barry about the job and the need for a shunter, it was agreed that a local shunter would be used as I had no real knowledge of the yard or the layout. So I agreed to do it and that Saturday night arrived at Basingstoke on an earlier train than I would usually be on and made my way to the yard and the cabin where the briefing was to take place. On my arrival, I was aware of a person dressed in the usual High Visibility clothing who I took to be my shunter. He said he was not familiar with the yard, but he was not worried because we had a bloke coming down from London who knew all about it. Yes, of course that was me! So we spent the next hour having a look around and a box visit and we were able to suss it out and the job went according to the plans.
My next job was a little engineering task between Staines and Windsor where somebody was required to act as Pilotman for single line working on the Sunday. Barry, who was consistently short of experienced traffic men, asked me if I could accommodate him. I agreed, and arrived at Staines early as I usually did on most jobs, just to assess the position. It was single line working from the up platform at Staines, crossover at the crossing to the down road, obey all signals to Windsor. Then the return to Staines was on the same line without signals, keeping a sharp lookout for the hand signalman at Mays and Datchet CCTV Crossings, then ensuring that they gave a yellow hand signal before allowing the train to pass over the crossings, proceed towards Staines to the crossover to take us on to the up line and into Staines platform. It seemed simple enough.