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(Wow! Drive)!
I read an old rail yarn of mine of a year or so ago! Dreadful Composition? Something goes awry between my brain and my index typing finger? Even now I check its not raining outside as I have washing on the line! So I don’t dither or mention stuff like that anymore? But its mid 1960s, Driver and I have steam out of Bristol Temple meads going Easterly and enter a largish station with two centre fast through roads! Fireman might cross over the footplate to view the many passengers waiting to board our train! We run in at a speed! When a gent steps forward, and falls In front of us! Wow Drive i shout! But he has slammed that vacuum brake! And we stopped within a carriage length or so! I went to the front of our engine and Jumped down to the track and walked the other side of our engine, plus its 1st carriage to find on my return that he was under our cab! He was bowled and rolled? I split the vacuum, Broke the steam heating pipes without turning off the valves so as to burn my face? Many people were looking down on me so I carried on with a stinging face and uncoupled! I told the 1st friendly face I saw to relay my directions to my driver! Then walked on my knees over painful ballast and sleepers the full length of a very long tender to expose the guy! While watching out for him not to flop out an arm or a leg? And while kneeling there like in prayer to Allah, Two Ambulance guys jumped down to take over and get him stretchered out of there for me to put things back together and splash my face! And to continue our journey!
Philip Tomlinson, Katherine Tweedy and 6 others1 Comment-
Oh my! Heart-stopping moment, I’m sure, as that chap fell off the platform: I dread to think what kind of condition he ended up in. Not entirely surprising you forgot to turn off the steam for the heating pipes. One experience I certainly hope I never have.
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