by P J Shannon
My first duty was to take a single line working form and Pilotman’s Armlet which I usually had with me in my emergency bag, ring the signalman and come to a clear understanding of what the arrangements were going to be. This done, I had to complete the single line working form, and the signalman completed his. For my part, I filled in two forms, one for working in each direction. My next move was to instruct the driver and guard of the arrangements and give the driver his single line working forms. The train arrived from the depot into the platform in plenty of time to make the first passenger train to Windsor. So far, all was going smoothly, so I popped into the staff room for a cup of tea. I made my way to the platform in good time, only to find that the train was leaving, authorised by the SM without me. I made a quick phone call to the signalman who was now asking who had authorised the movement, as I had not spoken to him for permission to start. The only reply that I could give was that the SM who had been on the platform had given the tip for the train to go although it still had 10 minutes to go before the scheduled time. I spoke to the SM who admitted his mistake and asked what could be done to retrieve the situation. I instructed him to get me a taxi while I phoned the signalman and requested him to hold the train at Wraysbury, and to tell the driver that he had gone without the Pilotman and to wait for me to arrive. On arrival at Wraysbury, I explained to the driver what had happened, gave him his single line form and carried on to Windsor without further incident.
I returned to Staines and spoke to the SM, advising him that we would have to report the matter to the Area Manager’s Office, Feltham, and that he would probably be required to report to the Operations Manager on Monday morning with the driver. The rest of the day went without further incident and the work finished at about 8.00pm and the train service was returned to normal running. Sure enough, I was called to the office on Monday to give my version of what had happened in the form of a report. The SM and driver admitted their mistake in allowing a train to enter the single line without the Pilotman and both were given a slap on the wrist and the details recorded on their records. It just goes to show how careful one has to be when operating a railway under unusual conditions.
My next job for Barry was ODS at Winchfield, near Basingstoke. I was getting quite used to being in that area. I relieved Bob Wakeman, our other ODS, on the Sunday morning. He briefed me as to what the position was and explained that there was single line working on the down local in both directions between Farnborough and Basingstoke and that we would also need to get the spoil train back to Basingstoke, which was stationed in the up through line, and bring up the next train. I thanked him and he went on his way and I made myself familiar with the rest of the working crews. This done, it was now an ideal time for me to remove the spoil train, so I rang the signalman at Basingstoke to make the arrangements. He agreed that when I was ready to move the train I would ring him again. I then spoke to the driver who was only too pleased to be able to get away early, as he was finished once the train had returned to Basingstoke. I made the brake test, and rang the signalman again and he said that if I was ready now, he would give me the road into the platform. I reminded him that that I would be propelling the train at about 5 miles per hour, and that if he wanted I could stop outside Basingstoke and ring him again from there. He was adamant that he had given me the road into the platform, so without any delay I told the driver that we had the road, and made my way to the leading wagon, climbed aboard, stuck out my green flag and started slowly towards Basingstoke.
After about 15 or 20 minutes I began to become concerned that there was nothing moving on the down local. I was, in fact, holding up the whole railway. When I finally arrived at the station the passengers were leaning out of the window shaking their fists at us. I was able to leave the train in the platform and go up to the signal box to talk to the signalman, but he was up to his eyes in it so I decided not to bother him at that moment and I just waited outside the box until he had sorted things out. It was not long before the Station Manager appeared at the box wanting to know what the hell was going on. When he saw me standing outside he had a go at me for the delay to his service and told me in no uncertain terms that I would not work on his patch again. I am afraid that I was less than polite and told him that the responsibility for the delay rested squarely on the signalman and that I was only doing what I was told by him. After about 10 minutes, the signalman had everything back under control and the SM and I went into the box to talk to him. Like the good railwayman that he was, he admitted his mistake, which got me off the hook, much to the SM’s annoyance. I asked the signalman where my next train was as I had to take it back to Winchfield. He replied that it was waiting in the platform and requested that I remove it as soon as possible. I bade them both farewell and made my way to the platform and joined the train. It was plain sailing after that and I made it back to Winchfield in one piece. The rest of the day went without a hitch and when the late turn ODS relieved me, was more than happy to be off home.
Next day when I arrived in the office, Barry remarked that he had heard that I had had a bit of trouble on the job. “Not down to me,” I said, “signalman’s error”. Barry grinned, as he already knew the score. My little escapade did not deter him from giving me other jobs around the area.
My next job for Barry was a nice little Saturday night flagging at Woking not too far from home, but there was a problem in that I was the on-call duty Manager for the weekend. So Barry and I agreed that he would cover any incidents for me, giving the details to the Panel Regulator. The night passed without incident and I went home to get some shut-eye, arriving home just after 8.00am and making my way to bed. Suddenly the phone rang; it was the Panel telling me that there had been a fatality at Sunningdale and that they had called Barry and would I get there as soon as possible. So I dressed and made my way there to be met by a member of the platform staff, Syd Monday, who explained to me what had happened. It seemed that a man had been making his way on the up line towards Longcross Halt late the previous night and had been hit by a train and killed. I asked Syd if he had seen Barry and he told me that he was up at the site with a doctor and would I warn the trains to proceed with caution past the site. I immediately phoned the Panel from the signal on the up platform to find out what the position was, and they told me that Barry had been in touch with them and required the trains to be cautioned past the site. I was pleased that I was not actually required at the site and just had to warn a couple of trains to proceed cautiously past. The ambulance and police finally arrived and I escorted the crew to the site where Barry took over. The body was put on a stretcher and removed to the crossing and into the ambulance; next task was the paperwork. This was soon filled out and would be taken to the Area Manager’s Office on Monday.
I went back home to try and get some sleep, but as you can imagine this was not so easy. The events of the last couple of hours played deeply on my mind, but finally sleep took over and after a few hours I was back to normal. I always lived in hope that I would not have to deal with this type of incident very often.
On Monday morning, Barry and I reported the weekend’s event to the Charles Nicholls who congratulated us on a job well done.
Just after this I was invited to lunch with Charles Nicholls and the South West director, Chris Green, so for all my endeavour I felt that at last my efforts were being recognised, but that how Charles worked - if you did a good job it was appreciated and if you fouled up you would get the sharp end of his tongue.
More Tales of a Relief Station Manager
In August 1987, I was covering Staines, where Les Chapman was Station Manager. His area took in Feltham, Ashford, Staines and Depot, Egham, Virginia Water, Chertsey, Addlestone, Wraysbury, Sunnymede, Datchet and Windsor stations. As you can see, this was quite a large area and took a bit of getting round as we were required to visit every station daily. Luckily we did not have to do internal booking office checks as these were now all done by the Area Auditing Department.
I was doin
g an out-of-hours visit to Wokingham Signal box at midnight when I got a call from the Regulator at Feltham Panel to tell me that there had been an incident at Pooley Green AHB Crossing. The 23.49pm from Staines to Reading had hit a car on the crossing. I told him to contact Steve Smith, Area Operations and Train Crew Manager and said that I was on my way. When I arrived at the crossing the police and P/way were already on site and in control of the situation; the police taking photographs and looking over the car, the P/way assessing the damage. They were hoping to remove the obstruction fairly quickly. I spoke to the P/way ganger then assessed the situation to discover that a white car had been travelling at high speed from the High Street and when the driver was unable to negotiate the bend in the road, the car, which it transpired had been stolen, had crashed through the fence protecting the cattle grids. This forced the car into the air, bouncing onto the four foot grids on the opposite embankment impaling it on an iron post. Luckily this prevented the car from rolling back onto the line, but the boot was still fouling the down line just enough for the down train to glance off it. If the car had been fully foul of the line, the situation would have been much worse. The driver of the car had done a runner, leaving the car without a backward glance, probably neither knowing nor caring if somebody had been injured or killed by his stupidity.
After I finished my assessment I rang Mr Wakeman, the Regulator, to update him on the current position. He asked if it was possible for the current to be restored so that he could resume normal services, and also assured me that he had contacted an on call breakdown firm and that they would be with us as soon as possible. I explained that it was impossible to restore the current as the car was failing the down road and was too near the juice rail for comfort.
At this point I went along the track to where the train had stopped some 30 yards away from the crossing, just past the M3 over-bridge and spoke to the driver, Mr Cooper, and asked him what had happened. He said that when he came around the corner approaching the crossing he saw a couple of white lights on the up side of the crossing, one moved to the downside, he then saw the tail end of a white car fouling the down line, and immediately applied the brake to full emergency application. As he passed the car he made contact with it. He managed to stop the train just past the M3 over-bridge, and carried out full protection on the up line by placing a track circuit operating clip and detonators on the rail, and he had also instructed his guard, Mr Andrews, to protect the rear of the train and advise the passengers what had happened. He then went to Egham Station to inform the Panel Regulator of the situation, and was told by the Regulator that the current had been discharged and that the train was protected in the rear by signals. On his return to the train, he made a visual inspection of the train and found that the only damage was to the running board of the train so he then made his way to the crossing to give assistance. As this was not required, he returned to his train.
When the breakdown lorry arrived at about 1a.m., Driver Cooper and I assured the passengers on the train that everything was in hand and that we would be on the move shortly. The fence was removed by the P/way and a chain was fitted to the front axle of the car to try and pull it free. Unfortunately as it was impaled on the post it was an impossible task, so we tried to dig the post out, this too proved to be impossible. The only way that we could see to free it, was to manually lift it off the post, so with all the help that we could muster we finally lifted it off the post and dragged it on the breakdown lorry at about 01.20a.m. I made a general inspection of the line and when l ascertained that everything was in order, the protection was removed and everybody was cleared off the line. I had the current restored at 01.28am, and the stranded train finally departed for Reading at 01.31am. I remained on site until 03.15am to ensure that the fencing and cattle grids were secured again by the P/way staff.
I did not have a great time covering Staines; within a couple of days there was another incident of ‘one under’, the term used for a person under a train. At about 11.00am I was told by the Panel that an incident had occurred at Ashford in the platform, and that the current had been discharged and trains would be terminated short. Emergency services had been called and were on the way, so could I get there as soon as possible and get things moving again. So as I had my trusty steed at Staines, my C90 Honda motor cycle, and all my emergency equipment was in the box on the back of it, including my high visibility jacket, I was soon on the scene. An ambulance and a couple of police officers were already there, and on speaking to them, it appeared that the person was on the platform one minute and under the train the next, so there was no suspicion of any foul play. I told them that the current had been discharged and trains on the up line had been stopped and it was safe as far as we were concerned for them to get down on the track under the train and retrieve the body. My next task was to speak to the crew, especially the driver to see if he was all right or if he needed to be relieved, and to give him some moral support. He assured me that he was fine and was prepared to take the train on to Staines Depot, where it could be inspected by fitters and taken back for an underwash.
Now it was time for me and the Guard to reassure the passengers that we would get on the move as soon as possible; so off we went, speaking to all those who had to catch connections or had important appointments and telling them how long they would be held up. We supplied them with as much information as we could, but assured them that we would do everything in our power to get the train moving again. We spoke to the ambulance crew who told us that the person was certified as dead, and that the removal could now take place. It was all done very professionally and they were off. I could now get the current restored and get the train on its way. Once this was done, I would accompany the driver in the cab to Staines where the train terminated and was shunted into the depot and the Traction Inspector was on hand to deal with the crew.
My next assignment was the Kingston Area, where the Station Manager was Brian Humphries. He had been a station supervisor. His area took in Norbiton, Kingston, Hampton Wick, Teddington, Strawberry Hill, Fulwell, Hampton, Kempton Park, Upper Halliford Halt and Shepperton stations. The area was fairly compact and did not require the running around that other areas did, so it was quite an easy ride for me. When I was at Strawberry Hill I would have the time to visit some of my old friends in the depot from my Guards Inspector’s days.
My usual routine was to select a main station such as Kingston, which had one up and down platform and a bay platform for the Waterloo to Kingston service. I would go along there early in the morning so that I could be in attendance on the platform to monitor the rush hour. Afterwards it was off to the out stations for a little check around; maybe have a spot of lunch somewhere and them back to the home station. As often as not, I did not remember to stop for lunch and this often got me in a spot of bother with Jenny. Sometimes I would call in at home with someone that I was training who had not had lunch, so she would make them sit down while she made them something to eat. Later I would get a ticking off from her!
The Feltham Area was a good place to work and Charles Nicholls was a very nice bloke to work for. I can remember lots of social evenings at this time - gatherings at Ascot Hotel, the Station Hotel Virginia Water and the Wheatsheaf. He liked to reward his staff for a job well done. I would often give myself a wry smile when we had gatherings like this. His wife, Caroline, would always ask me if Jenny would be there and if I said yes, her face would light up as they seem to get on like a house on fire. He would insist that all the Managers except the duty Manager should attend all functions, be it staff retiring or long service awards. I always thought that this was the way to compliment our staff. However, if you were involved in anything that was detrimental to the area you would get such a rollicking that you would remember it for a long time to come. I for one accepted that, as I made sure that I could always explain my reasons for an action.
I remember one of these social occasions which was held at the Station Hotel, Ascot. We were having a good time. Fo
r a change, it was not me who was the On Call manager and we enjoyed a nice meal and a bit of dancing. There was a raffle in which I won a picture of Steve McColl’s Black Five which he housed in the depot at Strawberry Hill. The fact is that I was never really interested in steam engines, but was more into Southern Region memorabilia, such as signs, tickets, hand lamps, signal lamps, watches etc. of which I have a good collection, and as everybody knew my hobby I would very often find a box full of assorted bit and pieces left for me at the office. Thanks to all concerned!
This was probably the most exhausting job that I was called upon to do. Unfortunately this type of weather has a tendency to throw up a lot of staff sickness, but my philosophy was just to get on with it, for just around the corner better times would come. Give me a job and I would get on with it and do it to the best of my ability.
As I have said before, Charles always appreciated his staff doing a good job for him and as a result of the effort made by us over some very unusual weather conditions we were awarded a day out at Chessington Theme Park later in the year with our families.
My next job was to cover Wimbledon Station Manager Brian Aynsley. He was an ex-train driver. The area that he managed was Wimbledon with its six main platforms and four London underground platforms, two signal boxes, and outstations Wimbledon Park, Southfields, Earlsfield, East Putney, Raynes Park, Motspur Park, Worcester Park, Stoneleigh, Tolworth, Chessington North and Chessington South. This was some area to cover but I was only there for a week so I did not get to know the staff very well. As usual I would get to Wimbledon bright and early to see the morning rush hour. This was a very busy station, and some of the staff said there were approximately 1000 trains through it every day. I will have to take their word for it, as I myself have never counted them!