-
Guarding and Driving, with Tractors
How time flies! It doesn’t seem two minutes since we put our locos away after the Christmas specials, and the running season is upon us again. Our opening weekend coincided with our host museum’s annual tractor rally, an event I enjoyed even before I started working on the railway, and I was rostered as a guard (in training) both days.
A frosty start on Saturday, but the sun was out and warming everything up nicely when I arrived about an hour before our first train. We hand shunted the carriages (two Baguleys and a replica Penrhyn) from the carriage shed out into the yard where they would be coupled to the day’s loco: Motor Rail Simplex No. 8981 (originally built in 1946 for a local brickworks as 2’6″ gauge, subsequently bought by the railway in 1986 and re-gauged to 2′).
While the loco was busy with shunting duties we were busy cleaning the carriages and brake van, and inspecting the couplings and air brake hoses. One split pin needed replacing but otherwise everything was in good order and ready for service. The next job was to walk down the line to the crossing to unlock the gates, and clear a couple of fallen twigs from the line where it runs alongside trees.
Back to the yard and it was time to couple up the loco, board the guard van, test the brakes, and head on up to our top station ready for our first passenger service. Arriving in the platform, I wound on the hand brake when we drew to a halt, putting a red flag in the handle to indicate it was engaged. I then unhooked the tail lamp from the back of the brake van and carried it to the front of the train, hooking it on the end coach’s bracket.
I asked the driver if it was safe to go in, and on being given the all clear I stepped down from the platform between the loco and coach and closed the valve on the coach’s air pipe. I asked the driver to dump the air and then closed the valve on the train’s pipe before disconnecting the air hoses, and then uncoupling the loco from the train. Back up on the platform, and I received the token from the driver before I signalled him to move away, following him up the platform to operate the hand points and send the loco into the loop. I reset those points before walking to the opposite end of the station to operate the ground frame for the points to bring the loco back onto the main line.
With the loco back on the running rails I could reset the points and lock the frame, then walk up to the nearest end of the train to call the driver on, directing him to a stop about 2 metres from the van (since our line is almost all on a gradient we don’t run the brake van around at each end, but instead keep it on the downhill end of the rake of carriages). Removing the coupling pin from the loco, I signalled the driver to move towards me, changing to the “slow down” hand signal as the loco came into coupling position, and finally the stop signal when in position. I could then pin the coupling bar to the loco and connect the air hoses. Opening the valves both sides I asked the driver to confirm he was happy with the brake continuity, and the train was all set for our run down the line.
Between the lovely sunshine and the museum’s event it was a great day in terms of passenger numbers and most of our 10 trains were at or near capacity: we don’t have a timetable as such, but generally depart on the hour and half past, with our last train at around 3:30pm. However we were so busy that we were turning around as quickly as possible between runs and at one point were running every 15 minutes. With passengers still turning up and our crew all happy to keep going, we ran our last train at 4:15pm before returning to the yard and disposing the loco and rolling stock.
That’s not to say we didn’t have any breaks during the day: we rotated drivers and crew so everyone got a rest period: it’s important for safety and crew wellbeing that we take breaks during the day and don’t work too long in between. We also got a quiet spell around 2pm when the tractors all paraded around the museum, and I was offered the chance of a driving lesson on the Motor Rail, just up and down in the loop. My first time driving that type of loco, and hugely enjoyable! Another step in my training as a diesel driver.
We finished up a successful day with a bit of fun: one of our volunteers owns a Ferguson 35 tractor which he’d brought to the event and he offered to let any of us who wanted to have a go at driving it around the now-closed museum grounds. Myself and a couple of others took him up on the offer: I’ve wanted to drive a tractor since I was little, growing up next door to a farm, but had never got the chance before. Not only that, but the “Fergie” is my favourite model. A dream come true!
