Long Hours

[locojoe]

Long Hours. A message sent to me by Jim Unwin who was a Driver at Crewe and now lives in New Zealand.

At the south shed at Crewe long hours were the norm 12 hours and more were a regular thing but my longest day on the job started at 5.30am booked on for the hump shunt not very exciting pushing wagon over the hump for 8 hours on your own.
This particular day 21 April 1969 on booking on I was told that I was needed to work a train to Hereford which was due to arrive at 9.0 am, so into the canteen for a bacon sandwich and a cuppa. My mate was to be apassed cleaner who was booking on at 8.0 am.
At about 8.30 we wandered out to the relieving point and waited in the shunters cabin, It was pooring down with rain and had been all night. The train eventually came at 1:30 pm and the Loco was an Engish Electric D336, the incoming driver said it was the heaviest train he had ever handled ii was 40 open wagons of rock salt which had absorbed it own weight in water from the rain. 5 fitted wagons were the only brake.
We set off and found out just how heavy it was at the first bank but we kept struggling on and eventually went through Shrewsbury which was the bottom of a long bank and soon we were down to 10mph and the warning lights up with the bells ringing in the cab so I asked my mate to check in the engine room but he was too scared to go in so I put him in the drivers seat and checked it out myself, every thing ok so I put some paper under the bell and we struggled on.
At the top of the bank we was put in the loop and very shortly the express came past giving rude whistles to let us know we had stopped him, Eventually we continued and arrived in Hereford at about 7.0pm we were told to shut the engine down and go home on the cushions
The next train was 10:40 so off down the street to the chipshop and then the pub and you have guessed into the rough cider with gusto after 3 or 4 pints the land lord shouted Crewe men you are required back at the station. So back we went I was already to refuse anything they tried to give us I had already been on duty 15 hours.
When we got there they said that our train was blocking the station and there was no one trained on the Enlish electric for the foseeable future. They would give us a pilot and would we take the train through to Cardiff, (we had to keep in good with train control otherwise we would not get much main line work) so the pilot booked on at 10 pm and off to Cardiff. The cider and the warm cab soon had its affect on me and the next thing I new we were in a siding in Cardiff I uncoupled changed end picked up the guard and away back light engine, The pilot got off at Hereford and we eventually arrived in Crewe booking off at 1:30 pm that's 32 hours on duty
I'm sorry it was so long but it is an epic tale. Jim.

[garrat]

Crickey what would health and safety say about that in todays world.Bet his pay packet was the best in the shed that week .Wonder if the passed cleaner moved on up Joe after that.

[John H-T]

What an epic. Thanks for posting locojoe.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

[Steve27752]

It just would not be allowed now.