Gwiwer

Arrrrggghhhhh !!!!! The one weekend I am already engaged elsewhere - at least for now. Lemme see what might be done. If I can wriggle out of being elsewhere and can get a wriggle on the moduleers might indeed have an addition to their ranks but at this stage it's not looking too hopeful.

Happy Moanday all. As the seaweed-wranglers predicted it has been bright but most unpleasantly cold. The wind-chill ensured it felt every bit of the -5C the Wrangological Office suggested. In a force 4 nor’easter working outdoors is not the ideal spot but we who do it all choose to do so. Then there was the snow. The London skyline disappeared at around 8.45 as a nasty-looking yellowish-grey cloud rolled in. Suddenly we were being pelted with heavy wind-driven snow and visibility fell to under 100 yards. Polar snow at that, not the temperate snow we are more accustomed to. The difference? Temperate snow is typically warmer (!!!) and falls gently in large flakes. Polar snow is tiny hard pellets which can hurt when they strike skin. Like being blasted with small frozen peas. And still folks wonder why trains have to slow down and are late. The driver cannot see magically through such conditions (as we here know) and must be able to respond to signals even in near-zero visibilty. My Moan-day moaners chose not to understand that as they shivered for an extra few minutes on the platform. I suggested to a few that they might like to be outdoors in this for four hours in order to safely receive and despatch trains and their passengers ...... Thawed out now. Making enquiries of Neighbour (Upstairs) who was taken into hospital very late last night having worsened further. Watch this space. Best wishes to all especially our sick, injured and recovering. And to Baz who has discovered the true meaning of NBN (the Australian National Broadband Network) known to all its users - who only have the choice of use it or have no internet - as the National Bored-band Notwork. Slow is too good a word for what is described as “superfast”. A geriatric snail would outrun it.

Evening all. SWMBO has returned from work having maintained an improvement in her health. And having enjoyed an uninterrupted six hours during which more was achueved than in a typical weekday eight hours with frequent interruption. Good to hear news of Debs in the positive. Glass was raised in her general direction over the sacrificed leggerlamb tonight. Neighbour (Upstairs) remains very unwell. We made vefetable soup and took some upstairs though she is still unable to keep anything down. It’ll keep in the fridge until she starts to recover. I’m being as much support as I can. Just checked the weather for the morning. “Feels like” -4C. That’ll be fresh on the gills. A day to rug up. Have a good night all.

Thank you Andy. My iPhone is reluctant to rate reliably. First I need to scroll down to the bottom and click “Full Version” which is the web, rather than the mobile, page and which shows the ratings and icons for each post. I then need to embiggen the post as the icons are too small to work as they are. With that done I can select my rating and the button momentarily darkens in acknowledgement. But far from all ratings are actually added to the post. Sometimes I get a message “You have already rated this content”. Sometimes I actually see the rating being added. But mostly I don’t have the extra time to go back and check. It cuts both ways. My personal rating count only goes up. But the little red box at the top of the screen alerting me to new ratings - well that total mysteriously goes down (by quite a few, not just a single changed or deleted rating) as well as up. It doesn’t trouble me. I’m not here to collect ratings. I am here - specifically in ERs - to be a part of the family. On that note it’s time to organise some solids to accompany a glass of Côtes du Rhone. I suspect that may involve a selection of cheeses and crackers.

Morning all from a grey and damp Hill. The camellia is out which is a more hopeful sign of an approaching Spring than an American rodent relying on his shadow. Breakfast has been enjoyed and I now have the kitchen to clean. SWMBO is contemplating going in to work to catch up some lost time. Best wishes to Chrisf at this time. Have a good Sunday one and all.

With 18 units forming 9 10-car trains there won’t be much spare capacity for 442s to work Portsmouth - Weymouths even they happen. The existing timetable requires 8 trains for the Waterloo - Portsmouth fasts, currently a mix of 444s and 450s in mostly 8-car or 10-car formations. The 442s will take over these workings allowing 444s to strengthen the 5-car Waterloo - Weymouths (as far as Bournemouth in most cases owing to the limits on running 10-car trains west of Poole) with the 450s reassigned to give extra capacity on Basingstoke stoppers which are currently 4-car at times. Alternatively some six or eight units would be needed for a Portsmouth - Weymouth service some of which would potentially be 444s if their London workings were changed.

Not yet, surely??? It's only Februarian here.

The proposed Pompey - Weymouth service has attracted a lot of negative feedback and according to SWR’s own press releases it is “under review”. I suspect few journeys are actually made which cannot already be made more quickly (even with a change at Southampton) on the existing timetable. As well there are some quite vocal users who wish to travel to London and not Portsmouth. The existing pattern seems to work well abd I am honestly not sure what SWR hope(d) to achieve by forcing more people to change trains / cram onto the remaining Weymouth - London fasts other than perhaps someone somewhere had a “Good Idea” to be different.

The Brighton turns have been worked by 150s far too often over the years and it's getting worse. That is really putting people off using the service. It might be the case that a future GWR franchise terminates that limb of the empire which would be a sad loss rather than gauge and train on a new type just for two trips a day. One Sunday turn has been booked 2x150 all along. I guess SWR no longer has spare capacity to loan a 159 which they did for a few years. The afternoon trip to Brighton was always a 159 and was enjoyed by many for its nice comfortable seating. The Sussex coast seems to be the dumping ground. 313s replaced brand new 377s on local (and not-so-local) services and GWR sees fit to use two-car 150s on a lengthy run of several hours which plays havoc with the seat reservations and the toilet (only one per unit on a 150) is not always in service. Dreadful. Looking forward to the 442s coming back. Unless they have their seats replaced with class 387/700/707-style ironing boards.

Finally. The problems of metric time have been overcome!!!

Morning all. Good to hear even the tiniest encouraging signs from Debs. Long may that continue. The automated street-washing and garden-watering system has been on all morning and shows no signs of being turned off. I am in hiding as I prefer my showers warm Still caring for a poorly SWMBO who hasn't had the best of nights. I didn't either but in my case it was the intermittent louder-than-sober laughter from upstairs. Nothing that I'd complain of - one has to allow others their lives even in very close quarters - just the sound spill one gets in these older blocks. That, as a bare statistic, could be read more than one way. For the ladies it may be good news as breast cancer survival rates have certainly leapt ahead in recent years even if the treatment can be disfiguring and uncomfortable. I know of several friends who have endured this - one aged just 29 - and all are still with us. That used to be an alarmingly close call with the Grim Reaper but thanks to funding and research the threat is less now. Men on the other hand tend to think "it's nothing - it'll fix" when anything isn't as it should be. We know what is normal for each of us and we know, if we are honest, when something isn't right. Having been down that road myself with one of the rarer male cancers I can only encourage each one of us to get anything checked and not assume it will fix itself or that "it's nothing, honest". I'm sure we would all rather the quack told us it was nothing than we die of ignorance. So that statistic might mean that breast cancer survival now outstrips prostate cancer survival. Good for some, not for others. Overall I suspect that long-term survival from all cancers is very much better than it once was though each case is very much individual in nature and no outcome is guaranteed. For all who have contact with any form of this dreadful condition please be assured of my support and don't forget RMweb has its own cancer support thread named in memory of one of our own dear departed ERs.

16x Turbostar units are set to replace the 158 fleet on the Cardiff - Pompeys and related work, It would be reasonable therefore to assume that they may also be used to provide additional capacity on routes currently worked by 150 / 153 units including to Weymouth. With electrification now up and running as far as Didcot and most (if not all) of the 387s in traffic there would be a surplus of Turbos in the Thames Valley so I am not surprised to see them heading west. On a related topic the first 159 i now in traffic in SWR livery. Believed to be - but not confirmed here - 159103

Ah Tulla. Actually one of my favourite airports despite the lack of a rail link. Usually thoroughly efficient and friendly with it. Safe onward travels Baz. Happy Friday Night to those of us north of the equator. I suspect most of our student neighbours are about to head out and party. I’ll probably hear about it sometime tomorrow .

A very few Haymarket Cravens cars received blue/grey.

Aft’noon all. Thawed out after another cold one. Several diesl units noted in our new colours but no Birdcages to Croydon. SWMBO is still unwell at home but feeling better. Any plans for the weekend are on hold. Wishing Debs all the best and continuing to think of our other sick and injured.

Morning all. Welcome to Friday. Unlikely to be poetic here but I’ll let you know. 3C and clear outside meaning the grass is crunchy and I was awoken at 4.17am by an MPV on de-icing duties Best wishes to one and all especially our sick list.

Trams have been free in Melbourne’s CBD for a couple of years now. Ostensibly done because the Powers That Be could not make the Myki ticket system work without a touch-off which would have effectively crippled the system. 100 passengers boarding at a single stop can touch-on as the tram moves away but when that number (which is quite typical) all tries to touch off on exit stop dwell time would potentially have doubled. Some people also saw it as a move to eliminate the always-free City Circle tram which is the last haunt of the famous W-class trams. It is no secret that the franchisee has no interest in running these historic trams and considers the service a nuisance and a source of delay to their OPR-requirement timetabled services. Hearns Hobbies, beneath platform 1 at the Palace of Attendance, is a respectable multi-hobby shop but is pricey because they pay CBD rent. Did you meet John in the railway section? He’s an expat and a long-time friend.

Morning all. Pinch-punch. White Rabbits. An icy chill to the breeze made for an un-warm shift at the House of Fun - my first one working unsupervised. Some very positive feedback has been received from my assessor after yesterday’s session which has been noted on file. SWMBO remains unwell and in bed but I am off to the sunny Costa Geriatrica to attend to mother. I’ll be back for dinner. Please don’t smoke me a kipper as I consider them disgusterous stinkfish. Haddock ‘n’ chips, on the other hand, would be a perfect accompaniment to the glass of Muscadet I have planned for later. Stay safe. Stay warm. I’ll be back.

So the sick list around me grows. SWMBO is still coughing like a champion but claims to feel “a bit better otherwise”. I had been home less than an hour when I received a message from Neighbour (Upstairs) asking if I could come straight up and bring a thermometer. Flatmate had apparently come home early feeling extremely unwell and had blue lips. As anyone who has any understanding of first aid knows blue lips (cyanosis) sounds a very loud alarm. It can mean absence of oxygen in the system and the patient may be in a very bad way indeed. I made my way quickly upstairs to find said flatmate rugged in her duvet and yawning at the porcelain. Her lips were not cyanosed and her breathing was normal. She was however very pale with a high temperature and exhibiting the same symptoms as SWMBO. Dr. Gwiwer offered comfort and support and prescribed rest, sleep if possible and both a large glass of water and a bucket beside the bed. Neighbour (Upstairs) who called me said she was scared and didn’t know what to do. I assured her she had done exactly the right thing in getting help. All should be well now. I look forward to receiving the germ which has caused sudden and violent return of stomach contents twice in very close proximity to me. Not. Assuming I stay well it’s off to mother’s after tomorrow’s shift for more freely-donated TLC. Thoughts firmly with Debs tonight. Goodnight all.

G’daft-a-noon all. Best wishes firstly to our sick and injured. You remain firmly in my thoughts Next up I can report that after a 3-hour and 25-minute session I have been awarded my Safety Critical Licence with the words “one of the best assessments I have ever done”. Short version = I am no longer a trainee and can work unsupervised. The City of Ballarat, formerly Ballaarat. The original spelling is perpetuated on one of the N-class diesel locos used to haul regional passenger trains on routes from Melbourne including, occasionally, to its namesake. Commonly known as “The ‘rat” the city grew from a muddy slum during the gold rush, is famous for the events at Eureka Stockade and remains home to many Cornish and Chinese families whose ancestors left their homelands in search of gold. A few got rich. A very few. The cat smells of sour cheese. I suspect all might not be well with his digestive system. SWMBO was unwell overnight but that’s probably unrelated. Happy Camel Day. Back anon.

Oddly perhaps that is not the case. It depends where the phone has landed, the position of any items of electrical equipment (not least the conductor rail and any cables) and on the availability of suitably-qualified staff. A simple retrieval from immediately adjacent to the platform edge (i.e. not in the 'four-foot" between the running rails) is actually done with a train stationary at the platform and after having notified the guard (or driver if a DOO service) that this is to be done. If a train is stationary at the platform no other train should approach. If one is trying to collect a dropped item from an unoccupied track there is a risk of a train approaching and being unable to stop, potentially striking the staff member concerned. So not as obvious as it might seem. If the dropped item lies within the four-foot, is within two feet of the live rail or if the live rail is adjacent to the platform edge (usually it is on the far side) then nothing will be picked up until a full occupation with traction current isolation can be arranged. Likewise if it is not clear and safe to retrieve with a stopped train because train equipment may or will make contact with what ever is used to retrieve it then recovery is a no-no. All platform dispatchers must be made aware of a retrieval before it commences so as to avoid giving any signal which might be interpreted as a tip to move the train.

Happy lunchtime one and all. Happy Birthday Laurence. Very best wishes to Neil and continued positive thoughts in Debs’ direction. Off to do a little revision now as I have my Rules Exam tomorrow leading to the award of a Safety Critical (train despatch) Licence. Yes I know it looks as though we just wave bats and blow whistles but when can we do that - and when not? And what if the signal and repeater disagree? You’ve dropped your mobile on the track? I have to know how and when to respond. It’s not hard but it is essential and the training and competency has to be fully documented. I’ll check in tonight before hitting the far-tzack. All the best.

Thank you John. I guess that counts as good news. Certainly as good as it’s likely to be for a while. My continued good wishes and positive thoughts in Debs’ direction.

Well that was a lovely short day! Home before noon and paid for it as well So the comings and goings today have been: I depart, She arrives, she departs, I arrive, I depart (for a quick trip to the corner shop in a while), I arrive, she arrives. Got that? By 19 o'clock we should finally be back home together. Neighbours (upstairs) also required some advice as they are now on a period of teaching placement in Shepperton. It occurred to one of them quite late last night to ask how to get there. Luckily for them there is a single direct morning train at an ideal time though they will need a change at Teddington to get home and will also need paper tickets. It hadn't occurred to them that a town in Surrey might be outwith the London Lobster Card / contactless PAYG area. I'm sure I shall hear more of their travels in due course. The House of Fun lived up to its nickname this morning. Points failures at Tolworth (early on; the aggregate train would have shunted the siding there in the wee hours) then at Woking (couldn't-have-been-worse at around 8am) and a track-circuit failure at Waterloo closing platforms 11-13 and which continues to defy all attempts at fixing it have played havoc. Luckily your scribe was despatching for Southern this morning who had their once-in-a-blue-moon day when everything ran on time. Not everything ran though as problems on the East Sussex coast resulted in a couple of Hastings trips being cancelled. Best wishes to all. Thinking especially of our sick and injured.

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