It happens to most railway men and women eventually. Be they ticket office clerks, platform staff, revenue inspectors. If you work on the trains for any length of time, there is little you can do to avoid it. Your turn will come. The railways, by their very nature, attract people who want to get from … Continue reading The Pyjama Lady
This week is a week of anniversaries. Today marks two years since I started working with a train operator as a ticket office clerk. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best job in the world*. Why is this so? The pay is fantastic for the job I perform. But the pay is not why … Continue reading The Best Job In The World
Should you ever make it to furtherest point on the South West Trains mainline you'll find yourself at Weymouth. It's a nice enough seaside town with it's olde worlde charm and twenty first century problems. In summer it heaves with flocks of sunseekers, disembarking from trains on the three platforms that bring them in from … Continue reading The Legend of Benny the Railwayman
Kids television in the 70s and 80s was a mixed bag of shows, ranging from the iconic to the utterly diabolical. It probably still is, but I haven’t been paying much attention for the last few decades. I had a few favourite shows back in my childhood. Grange Hill, the Magic Roundabout, Rent a ghost, and, … Continue reading Disruption
So you're setting up a promotional shoot for a German railway. You got all the uniforms pressed and prepared. By dammit, you're one uniform and hat short. Not to worry, you're sure you saw something in an old cupboard in the basement. The cupboard with 'Gestapo' on the front, whatever that is. It'll have to do...
The technology might be centuries old. The engines might be hopelessly outdated and unreliable. But there are still plenty of steam powered trains in the UK. Dozens of heritage railways keep the old chuggers chugging. And plenty of people are still enthralled at the concept of burning coal in a boiler to produce sufficient power … Continue reading The Steam Train
My first proper job was in the newspaper trade. Distribution, to be precise. I was thirteen years old and armed with a BMX bike, ready to drop the daily rag of choice through assorted letter boxes on my route. I was an excellent paperboy, even if I do say so myself. Some of my colleagues … Continue reading Seek And Ye Shall Find
The Mexile 