How do drivers take toilet breaks?

[O L Leigh]

In more modern times I heard of, I think, a Skipton based driver who decided to pay a visit on a train in an adjoining platform in Leeds due to the one on his being out of order. One way or another his timing wasn't great as it set off with him still on the throne!

That happened also to a Chingford driver of my acquaintance at Liverpool Street.

He'd decided to pop into a 12 car Cl379 formation that had arrived from Cambridge in preference to using a toilet on his own 8 car StanEx train in order to take a "Barry". Unfortunately for him, the train set sail ECS to Orient Way with the aforementioned driver still enthroned in glory and no amount of pleading over the call-for-aid intercom could persuade the driver to stop and let him off anywhere (and rightly so). Needless to say, he came in for a lot of ribbing over it. When asked why he didn't just use the loos on his own train he replied that he "...didn't want the passengers to hear what he was doing".

There is another story which I have previously related some years ago about a driver on the WA who needed to stop for an emergency comfort break at Broxbourne. He'd been asked to submit a report to account for the delay, so put in something along the lines of "I needed to go to the loo". For whatever reason the supervisor wouldn't accept this report and told him that he'd need to provide more information. So our hero goes away and crafts a wonderfully long and descriptive report about how he was feeling unwell and didn't think he'd make it any further without soiling himself, or somesuch, but reading the first letter of each line down the left-hand margin it said "I needed a sh!t".

 

[Kurolus Rex]

Found the video of the deltic for those interested:

 

[choochoochoo]

It's the filler cap that we're talking about. Most filler caps were just a lid that screwed on, but the 380 and other new Siemens units have a big metal plug that needs a big torx style socket to unscrew it.

Oh it's a filler cap !! And the 'serrations' are gripping points for a tool to release the cap !!! I thought the serrations were there to discourage drivers putting their own tool into the pipe !!

 

[Trackman]

37s have/had urinals next to the batteries. 47s have/had one in the equipment room. No doubt any corner of an engine room in a loco has been used as a toilet though...

I remember a driver telling me they called class 40s ‘buckets’ and enquired why!