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One Sunday, I was on a possession which ran from Weaverthorpe Signal box up distant signal on the Scarborough Line towards the SB.
This line had just been relayed with use of the Rail Track Auto Ballaster with 10 loaded hoppers.
When we took the train onto the new railway the train speed was kept to below 5mph as newly laid track is all over the place till the new ballast is on it and has been tamped.
When dropping stone you can soon run off 10 loaded tucks in no time at all.
When we had got shut of the stone, I walked back along the down line to the distant signal where I'd left me van.
I saw that the un tamped relaid track was as rough as a ploughed field. The tamper came on the worksite and with one pass it had the formation looking well, after the second pass the new laid track was near on like a billiard table.
After the tamper had done its work, the Auto Ballaster was empty the train went back to HM and was left it in the up yard.
It would have taken a gang of men a good week to do what the Tamper did in a good couple of hours.
To get the van down to the distant signal I had to drive off the A64, through a farm yard and park near to a big pond.
The van was a White Vauxhall Astra, with a good heater and reclining seats. Just right to while away a few hours.
At HM we called the Astra Vans BEV's which stood for ballast escape vehicles.
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