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Walking GUARDS.
Well do you know, at Nuneaton we used to have a trip job, you booked on at lunchtime (cant remember the exact time)and booked off at around 18.30 in the evening. But during that time the guard hooked on and off a total of 62 times, both with the pole and manually.
It was a job where we ended up at along a branch line at a frieghtliner depot and there was only the driver and guard, no second man, but the driver always helped the guard out by jumping down and hooking up one end save the guard having to walk the length of the train whilst shunting frieghtliner vehicles. The branch line was notorious for problems with local yobs causing trouble, on most days as soon as the train or light engine entered the branch line, the guard would get off and actually WALK in the fourfoot in front of the engine clearing the line of all manner of debris. Anyway on completion of getting the frieghtliner train ready in the evening and leaving the freigtliner yard to go back along the branch to the main line, the guard used to ride on the end vehicle because the local idiots got wind of dropping the red tap (air braked) and stopping the train, then when the guard walkedback to lift the handle he would get all sorts thrown at him from the top of the bank.
It was a terrible job all round and now that branch line has been closed and is now a duel carriagway road. I know we should never rejoice in the closure of any branch line, but this was an exception, when that branch closed we all had a pint on the news.
We always had a class 25 diesel on that job and those poor engines suffered a lot of damage form "throwers" on that branch including a couple of windowscreens.
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