Another Day in the Office

Well if I thought I was tired yesterday, I had a shock today. Today I operated all the signalling movements under supervision. I tell you some of those levers are very hard to pull. They require a great deal of physical effort from the upper body and the legs. Tonight my shoulders and arms really ache.

There are compensations, as you can see from this view out of the window.

 This little signal box is a hive of activity for about 30 minutes an hour after which it goes quiet. A typical sequence of events is; accept trains from the boxes either side, there then has to be a judgement call as to which one is going to reach Goathland first as a train should not be stopped on the bank leading to the station. Then as the train approaches it is time to set the points and signals correctly. As the train arrives you have to exit the box to swap the tokens with the driver.

I will admit that standing at the side of the track as a large steam locomotive chugs towards you albeit at a slow pace is nerve wracking.

Once the tokens have been swapped it is back to the box to see the trains away, advise the two adjacent boxes, and then reset all the signals and points. All these activities have to be recorded faithfully in the trains register. I forgot to say that some of the signals have to be pulled just before the train reaches them.

So during the 30 minutes it is punishing on the brain and the body. For reference I include a picture of the levers, they look benign don’t they. You wait until you have pulled them, particularly in a hurry. Number 21 is a particular b……..

Still I have thoroughly enjoyed my two days, I now have to start learning the rules and regulations before my next shift in a weeks time. I have seriously considered purloining Millie’s Brio train set and constructing a replica of Goathland station to practice on. I am not sure Millie and Martha would understand their roles as signalmen though!

A New Job

Today I started a new job, well that is a little grandiose; actually it is another new piece of voluntary work in my retirement. If I show you a picture of my “office” below, I think that you will get the picture.

The North Yorks Moors Railway is our local heritage operation. It runs for 18 miles between Pickering and Whitby through the National Park. A mixture of heritage steam and diesel locomotives operate the trains, and it carries some 350,000 passengers a year. So it is a major tourist attraction and revenue generator. It is run by a mixture of volunteers and paid staff.

My small part in this organisation, is as a trainee signalman working at the signal box at Goathland. If you have seen any of the Harry Potter films, Goathland features, as it does in the TV series Heartbeat where it masquerades and Aidensfield. The station is a preserved replica of the bygone years.

Well I did not know what to expect. The signal box is very small and cosy with eighteen levers controlling points and signals, and a variety of machines whose purpose at first was not immediately obvious. The whole thing has not changed much from the Victorian era. It is a great example of Victorian technology.

The first shock was how difficult some of the levers are to pull. At least one requires all of my strength to move. This is where you are pulling about half a mile of cable to move a signal. The other is that bells and buzzers make a lot of the communication. Generally these interlock with the tablets that give the train the authority to move.

Things are at there most hectic when two trains pass. Signals have to be co-ordinated and tablets exchanged, and as the station is situated on a severe hill every attempt must be made to avoid bringing a train to a halt on the hill at the northern approach to the station.

So it was an interesting day, I now have to carry on with my trainee shifts and do considerable learning towards exams, after which I will be able to man, the signal box on my own. I think that might be sometime off!

We can Laugh at Ourselves

I have always thought that a great quality is the ability to laugh at oneself. That goes for organisations as much as people. By being able to see the funny side of life one displays a great confidence in your own or the organisations strength. I have often thought that the humourless are some of the most insecure people.

We criticise the BBC and I fully accept that it is an organisation with many weaknesses, indeed when I worked with it for a short time I found it very beauracratic, slow to move, and not a risk taking organisation. However it is a great broadcaster, makes many fine programmes and transmits world-class news that is thought of as authoritive the world around. So it is great to see it poking fun at itself. We watched W1A tonight, W1A being the postal code of the BBC’s headquarters. This programme takes a satirical look at the BBC’s inner workings. It is just close enough to the truth to be believable, and has a savage humour. The whole thing is helped by a great ensemble cast led Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abbey fame. Today’s programme looked at the preparations for a royal visit to the BBC, so it was able to take aim at two targets at the same time. Another stream was honest enough to target Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame; his name was always first on the agenda of the weekly damage limitation meeting.

So not only do we see an entertaining programme, but it also gives us valuable insights into way the BBC works, and displays an organisation at ease with itself.

To show that this is a measure of successful organisations the previous series was a satirical take on the preparations for the London 2012 Olympics. Again the comedy was savage, but guess what the actual Olympics were one of the most successful events that the country had staged.

So one of the hallmarks of success is the ability not to be too serious about it. Without trying to be too heavy I think that is a valuable life lesson.

A Blast from the Past

Tonight I went out for the evening with a group of old friends. We had all belonged to the same Round Table Club. It was a good evening of fellowship and friendship, a discussion of old times and what everybody is now doing.

The star of the evening though was the bitter ale that was served on draught. It was Timothy Taylors Landlord. This is a beer brewed in Keighley, West Yorkshire. First of all it was perfectly kept, just the right temperature, cool but not cold. It was served with a small creamy head. It has a lovely bitter taste, which simultaneously is refreshing and bursting with flavour. It just sort of slips down.

It to is like an old friend, it is a beer that I have been drinking for many years but always excites me every time I taste it. It is also a great heritage beer; it has been brewed in Keighley for many years and is part of Britain’s heritage.

So a great evening of fellowship, and fantastic beer, I shall sleep well tonight.

A Personal Election

I have been receiving updates from my daughter all day as she has been driving to Torquay. This is a good place for a break at this time of the year you may think, The English Riviera and all of that. No Laura is going to devote ten days of her time to a principle and to politics. She will be pounding the streets on behalf of the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Torbay constituency, Adrian Sanders.

Now this is not some glory seeking task, but literally slogging round the streets of Torquay canvassing, i.e. asking voters who they intend to vote for so that come polling day the candidates vote can be maximised. Now I am not a Lib Dem supporter at the current time as I feel deeply betrayed by their support of the current reactionary Conservative government. However I absolutely applaud that Laura is assisting Adrian Sanders in Torbay.

Why is that, for a number of reasons -

• It is great that the young have principles and are prepared to do something about it.
• Our family have a long history of supporting Adrian, indeed if you sadly have the video of the 2001 General Election you will see our son in Torquay celebrating the win there. He has been a good friend to our family. 
• A win for the Lib Dems in Torbay is one less seat for the Conservatives. 
• Lastly but most importantly it is because Adrian is just the sort of MP that a town needs, committed locally but with a clear sense of the national picture. Certainly I would welcome him with open arms to Scarborough where we have suffered from political pygmies over the years.

So we will be following the Torbay campaign with interest, getting daily updates from Laura. It will almost seem as if we are on the streets of Paignton with her.

I suppose that even my humble blog must keep within electoral law, so details of other candidates in the Torbay constituency may be found on the BBC website.