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Something good for a change

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ainsworth74

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We get a lot of doom and gloom around these parts so something good for once. I'm on the 18:42 from Plymouth to Penzance and on the outskirts of St Austell we hit a deer. Now nobody on board actually noticed this because we continued on into the station as normal it wasn't until the TM came on the PA to announce that we'd hit a deer and sprung a fuel leak that we knew anything was wrong. Cue much sighing from all around as a leaking tank would surely mean a big delay.

However not very much later the TM came back on the PA to inform us that the driver had (in horrible weather) fixed the fuel leak and once he'd cleaned himself up we'd be back on our way. So we ended up leaving St Austell just twenty minute late. Cracking work all round and a reminder that it's not all doom and gloom on the railway ;)

And yes I have emailed FGW praising their staffs actions!
 
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Johnuk123

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We get a lot of doom and gloom around these parts so something good for once. I'm on the 18:42 from Plymouth to Penzance and on the outskirts of St Austell we hit a deer. Now nobody on board actually noticed this because we continued on into the station as normal it wasn't until the TM came on the PA to announce that we'd hit a deer and sprung a fuel leak that we knew anything was wrong. Cue much sighing from all around as a leaking tank would surely mean a big delay.

However not very much later the TM came back on the PA to inform us that the driver had (in horrible weather) fixed the fuel leak and once he'd cleaned himself up we'd be back on our way. So we ended up leaving St Austell just twenty minute late. Cracking work all round and a reminder that it's not all doom and gloom on the railway ;)

And yes I have emailed FGW praising their staffs actions!


No it's not all doom and gloom on the railway unless of course you're Bambi. :cry:

Seriously though that driver did do a good job.
 

Temple Meads

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To be honest I don't think a dead deer can ever be called a good thing...

Sorry...

I am pleased to hear about the hands on driver though.
 

ex-railwayman

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Well, if the driver claimed the carcass then he ought to get it checked for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy among deer (similar to mad cow disease), which can pass from deer to humans through the consumption of venison, there have been some fears of contamination of the food supply. Recently, several known cases of the disease have occurred in deer farms throughout the United States and European farms in Scandinavia may also have had several cases, wild roaming deer in the UK have never been checked, so, it maybe unwise to eat it until after investigation.

Cheerz. ex-railwayman.
 

OxtedL

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These puns are such fawn.
 

Ivo

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The poor deer :(

Does sound like a good thing for the railway to look back on, even if it did take the loss of a deer to happen, but it does make me wonder one thing. This is clearly a showing of something good (i.e. the railway showing itself as a competent and efficient organisation) coming out of something bad - but given how little good we hear these days, it's almost as if we need something bad to happen to be able to praise the railway...
 

Michael.Y

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Our little 153 broke down at Knucklas once due to lack of water. So myself, the driver and the guard took it in turns to go to someone's house with a watering can and borrow water to refill the tank. Pax were very understanding as we were there for nearly an hour and cheered when the engine sputtered back into life. They were also happy with their free issue from the trolley!
 

The_Rail_WAy

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A great story and an ovation to the driver who did his bit not only for the benefit of himslef, but others as well. British industry is full of these characters and they quite often, don't get praised enough.

It indeed reminds me of a winters trip on the Cumbrian coast line when the class 142 being used for that particular service had every one of it windows covered in thick frost. The conductor, with his bare hands, removed all the ice from all the passenger windows so the the people on board could enjoy the amazing views on the route. I was quite amazed and even offered to buy him a brew - to which he poiniently refused. He was however, delighted when I offered him one of my jaffa cakes which I had brought especially for the journey!!
 

WatcherZero

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Sadly reminds me of the story recently of the bus driver in Cambridge who hit a pedestrian but assumed it was a bottle or fox, he carried on driving for half a mile dragging the pedestrian under the bus, even stopping to pickup someone at a bus stop before he realised what had happened.
 

Oliver

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Our little 153 broke down at Knucklas once due to lack of water. So myself, the driver and the guard took it in turns to go to someone's house with a watering can and borrow water to refill the tank. Pax were very understanding as we were there for nearly an hour and cheered when the engine sputtered back into life. They were also happy with their free issue from the trolley!

A few years ago I was on a 150 at Dullingham which stopped due to a coolant water leak. The Signalman had churns of water but the filler was on the side of the coach, and the driver was trying (unsuccessfully) to throw the water from the churn into the hole. I had a plastic folder in my bag so I rolled it into a funnel shape and held it while he poured the water in. We were on our way in a couple of minutes.
 
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