Boring messrooms

[tsr]

Mods' note: split from an unrelated thread

My ideal 'prison' for non-violent offenders would be a 'day prison' - simply required attendance for eight hours a day sitting in an empty office with no furnishings other than a single chair. Turn up late and have two days of attendance added. Taxpayers wouldn't need to pay for the lucrative prison industry (accommodation, food, medical care and so on) because they would be handling their own costs in that area just like they would if it was work they were attending instead of day prison.

Sounds like getting stranded in Purley messroom halfway through a turn.

(Not something I have ever had the pleasure of, but if you speak to some guards...)

 

[sarahj]

Sounds like getting stranded in Purley messroom halfway through a turn.

(Not something I have ever had the pleasure of, but if you speak to some guards...)

Haywards Heath messroom comes close. Two tables, a kettle, microwave and a cold toilet. Just the place to spend an hour.

Oh, I forgot the rat traps just outside the door!!!

 

[Flamingo]

No, the worst is the Traincrew Messroom in Newport. It has all the ambience of a public toilet that has had the urinals removed (as indeed it may be).

 

[sarahj]

I know we are taking this a tad OT, but sometimes well equipped mess rooms can be a bit crap. Yesterday sitting in Brighton mess room, someone was watching something like the x factor on tv*. For an hour there was this drivel in the background. Ok, its got vending machines and a decent kitchen etc, but sometimes its, 'oh turn that crap off'.
It made my next run to southampton almost peaceful. though i am sorry to the SWT driver of the Sou to PMH stopper we overtook between Southampton and St Dennys, but we had followed you all the way from Cosham on the way there.

*Might have been eurovision. Other crap tv on a sat night is available.

 

[wellwhatitis]

1. Nuneaton
2. Nuneaton
3. Nuneaton

Godforesaken pit of a room.

 

[hello]

Haywards Heath messroom comes close. Two tables, a kettle, microwave and a cold toilet. Just the place to spend an hour.

Oh, I forgot the rat traps just outside the door!!!

is that the one, that is country end of the upside platforms? if so, when they first started splitting and attaching the east and west coastway londons there, we had a 10 hour cover turn there, an hours not too bad really

 

[Jamesb1974]

1. Nuneaton
2. Nuneaton
3. Nuneaton

Godforesaken pit of a room.

Agreed. No Tv, nowhere to get your head down, no nothing in fact. I went there quite a lot during my train handling hours and used to hang around in Asda like a teenager, just for some variety...

 

[sarahj]

is that the one, that is country end of the upside platforms? if so, when they first started splitting and attaching the east and west coastway londons there, we had a 10 hour cover turn there, an hours not too bad really

No, its in the car park, round the back of the station building.

 

[tsr]

is that the one, that is country end of the upside platforms? if so, when they first started splitting and attaching the east and west coastway londons there, we had a 10 hour cover turn there, an hours not too bad really

You're not referring to the one between the two staircases on Platforms 3 and 4, are you? That's the one dispatchers use, and is pretty terrible. It has about half a chair in it. I'd almost rather be eaten by the rats.

Oxted is not terribly entertaining, either. It appears to have been not so much designed as accidentally formed from concrete and random kitchen appliances.

 

[LowLevel]

Sleaford - old station building with prefab walls and boarded up fireplaces, full of old railway signs and several yellow BR bins. An ancient wooden table covered in lino that looks suspiciously like it came from a signalbox, the seat is a 19th century waiting room one (bench, wooden frame, stuffed studded leather cushion) and the worlds most useless kettle and microwave. It's also tiny. Charming in it's own way and as a crank I love it but as a mess room - terrible.

Derby station one is a dive too - knackered seats, filthy etc.

 

[30 common]

Eastleigh. Nuff said

 

[Matt Taylor]

Another vote for Eastleigh, a tiny room, no tv, no radio, no vending machine, just four grey walls plus a couple of non matching tables from the 1980s.

And we get to go there three times on a Sunday!

 

[Rugd1022]

No, the worst is the Traincrew Messroom in Newport. It has all the ambience of a public toilet that has had the urinals removed (as indeed it may be).

Our old messroom at Old Oak WAS a toilet block originaly! Now all gone of course but I actually miss it.

 

[HSTfan!!!]

No, the worst is the Traincrew Messroom in Newport. It has all the ambience of a public toilet that has had the urinals removed (as indeed it may be).

That mess room truly is terrible, unions have deemed it unfit several times but it still soldiers on.

 

[plastictaffy]

On my route, there are two truly awful messrooms. The winner by a country mile has to be Milton Keynes Central. A tiny room, next to the bogs, with a boiler, kettle and a sink. Horrible if you're on your own - as we often are.

The next one has to be Watford. Rarely use it, but it has LOROL staff coming and going all the while, and looks like it was last refurbished in the late 70's!!!!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
The best messroom is, without a doubt, Bletchley. It's like putting a comfortable pair of slippers on when you step in there.

 

[SkinnyDave]

Swindon is an after thought too grim

 

[Flamingo]

That mess room truly is terrible, unions have deemed it unfit several times but it still soldiers on.

I've only used it once...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Swindon is an after thought too grim

I don't mind Swindon. Given it's not a crew depot and will have that unloved feels, it's clean and far from the madding crowd. Maybe I just have low expectations!

 

[SkinnyDave]

I've only used it once...
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


I don't mind Swindon. Given it's not a crew depot and will have that unloved feels, it's clean and far from the madding crowd. Maybe I just have low expectations!

It is second to Newport for me but get your point I prefer sitting on my train or in the cafe rather than in there

 

[hidden]

Preston P1/P2! Worst messroom in the world!

 

[LBSCR Times]

Mess rooms are good compared to many years ago, when smoking was commonplace!
And then you had separate tables for those who worked during the 19** ASLEF or NUR strike, and those that didn't.....

 

[tsr]

Let's not forget those places which are not officially train crew messrooms but where crew may officially end up waiting due to timetabling, such as Leatherhead, where you effectively have a sink behind a glorified notice-board-like partition in the ticket office.

 

[TheEdge]

Lowestoft. Admire the lino. Wonder when the filter in the water dispenser was last replaced, or cleaned. Marvel at the odd taste of the water.

Plus the fact its empty, cold and with dubious quality loos.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Back in my day - long ago in a different world - March was regarded as purgatory for Ipswich crews ....

 

[Monty]

Another vote for Eastleigh, a tiny room, no tv, no radio, no vending machine, just four grey walls plus a couple of non matching tables from the 1980s.

And we get to go there three times on a Sunday!

Eastleigh messroom gets my vote too, it's like walking on to the set of Life on Mars. Most dull and depressing place on the network.

 

[craigybagel]

No, the worst is the Traincrew Messroom in Newport. It has all the ambience of a public toilet that has had the urinals removed (as indeed it may be).

That mess room truly is terrible, unions have deemed it unfit several times but it still soldiers on.

Probably explains why we're instructed to use the catering staff messroom on Platform 4. Nice and new, but about as large as a cupboard. Any time I get stuck in Newport now (we have no booked PNB's there, but have breaks there occasionally due to engineering work or if our turnaround at Cardiff is too tight due to late running) it's off to Mcdonalds for a small fries and free wifi.

To be fair our TOC invested in our messrooms in the last few years so they're all pretty comfortable. Haven't seen any mice since I was at Virgin and I spent half my life in the Euston messroom......

 

[theageofthetra]

Given it's a major London terminal and more trains/crews are going there at weekends Cannon st is small, ill equiped and rather grim.

 

[sarahj]

The Victoria one on 19 has the smell of sewerage. Its not the official one, but the main mess room, up 2 flights of stairs in the SET part of the station is a heck of a walk when you only have 30 mins. In the main one there is a lift, but us mere train crew are not allowed to use it. It has a key lock.

I find the one at Southampton Central a bit dull. A big poster on the wall, little kitchen and thats it. We only have time to use it on a Sunday anyway.

Mind so many are getting a bit dull now. Its sometimes good to have a chat after being stuck with punters for hours, and yet many these days, come in, plug in their headphones and stare at a i-pad* or phone for an hour.
Brighton messroom is good for banter, and there is a quiet room for those that don't want to.


I forgot to mention the temp mess room at london bridge on top of the temp ticket offiice. Decent, but recently invaded by rats disturbed by the works. You have to hold your breath going up the stairs due to the stink.

*other tablets are available.

 

[plastictaffy]

Mind so many are getting a bit dull now. Its sometimes good to have a chat after being stuck with punters for hours, and yet many these days, come in, plug in their headphones and stare at a i-pad* or phone for an hour.
Brighton messroom is good for banter, and there is a quiet room for those that don't want to.

Gotta love walking into a messroom to a load of people you haven't seen for ages and spending your PNB mercilessly taking the **** and catching up on gossip. My dad always told me the railway runs on cups of tea, restday and rumour. My god, he wasn't wrong about the last bit!!!

Back to messrooms - our new one at Northampton is lovely, if a little clinical. The old one was a dump, but by god, it had character.

 

[tsr]

The Victoria one on 19 has the smell of sewerage. Its not the official one, but the main mess room, up 2 flights of stairs in the SET part of the station is a heck of a walk when you only have 30 mins. In the main one there is a lift, but us mere train crew are not allowed to use it. It has a key lock.

I find the one at Southampton Central a bit dull. A big poster on the wall, little kitchen and thats it. We only have time to use it on a Sunday anyway.

Mind so many are getting a bit dull now. Its sometimes good to have a chat after being stuck with punters for hours, and yet many these days, come in, plug in their headphones and stare at a i-pad* or phone for an hour.
Brighton messroom is good for banter, and there is a quiet room for those that don't want to.


I forgot to mention the temp mess room at london bridge on top of the temp ticket offiice. Decent, but recently invaded by rats disturbed by the works. You have to hold your breath going up the stairs due to the stink.

*other tablets are available.

Good news! Victoria Platform 19 is almost entirely without sewage smells now. These have been replaced by The Smells Of Other Mysterious Things. Unfortunately, as you know, it is again not very interesting, so the large one is deemed by many to be far superior, as you're likely to see more people.

Redhill and Horsham are good for a chat or banter with anyone who turns up there. Redhill is also quite warm, has what appears to be an amusing graded system of teapots, and features conversation involving unusual opinions of rolling stock from 1968.

 

[sarahj]

Good news! Victoria Platform 19 is almost entirely without sewage smells now. These have been replaced by The Smells Of Other Mysterious Things. Unfortunately, as you know, it is again not very interesting, so the large one is deemed by many to be far superior, as you're likely to see more people.

Redhill and Horsham are good for a chat or banter with anyone who turns up there. Redhill is also quite warm, has what appears to be an amusing graded system of teapots, and features conversation involving unusual opinions of rolling stock from 1968.

I've not been the one at Redhill for ages. I like the new one at Horsham out the back. Decent bunch and always up for a natter. The other one on P1&2 I so rarely go in. Even when it says use it on my workings, by the time I've popped out for a fag might as well use the portacabin anyway.

The one at 19 at Vic is ok. Its used by the cleaning staff these days. Always someone eating something interesting. I should use the main one more as there are a few staff i like a gas with.