A Painful Experience & A Cup Of Tea

wensley · 2nd August 2009, 07:24

In recent times I came to know an old railwayman whilst on my rail related travels. He can remember when steam engines were still commonplace on BR but spent most of his time working on diesels out of Thornaby.

This particular tale made us all roar with laughter but also cringe as you are about to discover. I do not know if this incident occured on steam or diesel traction (probably steam) but here goes:

It was standard practice for crew to bring their locos to just outside the shed and then leave them for the shed staff to position as required. Anyway my friend (who shall remain nameless) had performed this procedure many times before and was well accustomed to Thornaby Depot. One day his loco was brough to a halt outside the shed in a different place than usual. He did not notice this and having carried out the neccesary steps leapt backwards from the footplate intending to land with his feet on the ground. Instead he found himself mounted on a points lever that controlled the points at the entrance of the shed.

The lever went straght through his overalls and right up his bum to suchan extent that he had to be lifted clear of the offending points lever. Although sore he suffered no lasting damage and when he returned home and explained the situation to his wife she said "Well, I didn't kn ow you liked it that way!!"

Another tale I remebr him telling was regarding diesel traction when we were discussing either hot plates on class 47s or class 4?s. Anyway this particular class of 'Peak' we were discussing had a particular issue. He said that when working heavy trains out of the Thornaby area (probably Stockton?) the crew would put the kettle on in the engine room shortly after leaving their destination. With a nice heavy train in tow there was no chance of going very fast so the train would trundle away towards the ECML at Northallerton. Anyway upon passing Thirsk the kettle was still not on the boil so on the journey went with driver and secondman becoming thirstier and thirstier. At Colton Junction the kettle finally boiled, the reason: "The bloody idiot that designed the locos put the hot plate right under the air intake!".

Aussie_Rail · 2nd August 2009, 08:47

That must have been extremely painful to fall on something like that, its amazing he wasn't skewered on there. Funny story though. That's what happens when you get caught in a 'force of habit'.

SouthEastern-465 · 3rd August 2009, 17:14

I bet he dont like the word "points" no more after that ah!
Regards

2nd August 2009, 07:24	#1
wensley Slowly losing interest... Established Member Join Date: 29 Jun 2008 Location: On a train between Loughborough and the north! Posts: 1,462	A Painful Experience & A Cup Of Tea In recent times I came to know an old railwayman whilst on my rail related travels. He can remember when steam engines were still commonplace on BR but spent most of his time working on diesels out of Thornaby. This particular tale made us all roar with laughter but also cringe as you are about to discover. I do not know if this incident occured on steam or diesel traction (probably steam) but here goes: It was standard practice for crew to bring their locos to just outside the shed and then leave them for the shed staff to position as required. Anyway my friend (who shall remain nameless) had performed this procedure many times before and was well accustomed to Thornaby Depot. One day his loco was brough to a halt outside the shed in a different place than usual. He did not notice this and having carried out the neccesary steps leapt backwards from the footplate intending to land with his feet on the ground. Instead he found himself mounted on a points lever that controlled the points at the entrance of the shed. The lever went straght through his overalls and right up his bum to suchan extent that he had to be lifted clear of the offending points lever. Although sore he suffered no lasting damage and when he returned home and explained the situation to his wife she said "Well, I didn't kn ow you liked it that way!!" Another tale I remebr him telling was regarding diesel traction when we were discussing either hot plates on class 47s or class 4?s. Anyway this particular class of 'Peak' we were discussing had a particular issue. He said that when working heavy trains out of the Thornaby area (probably Stockton?) the crew would put the kettle on in the engine room shortly after leaving their destination. With a nice heavy train in tow there was no chance of going very fast so the train would trundle away towards the ECML at Northallerton. Anyway upon passing Thirsk the kettle was still not on the boil so on the journey went with driver and secondman becoming thirstier and thirstier. At Colton Junction the kettle finally boiled, the reason: "The bloody idiot that designed the locos put the hot plate right under the air intake!". __________________ Click here to view my Railway Photography on Flickr sunny photos, when I can!

2nd August 2009, 08:47	#2
Aussie_Rail Member Join Date: 1 Jun 2008 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 518	That must have been extremely painful to fall on something like that, its amazing he wasn't skewered on there. Funny story though. That's what happens when you get caught in a 'force of habit'. __________________ "Stopping all stations to Flinders Street Via the City Loop. Remember to validate your Metcard before you travel"

3rd August 2009, 17:14	#3
SouthEastern-465 286FE969 Established Member Join Date: 24 May 2009 Location: South East London Posts: 1,603	I bet he dont like the word "points" no more after that ah! Regards __________________ ///SouthEastern-465 "Sir its to late we can't stop him, he's already given it the 6.1"