Most of Tuesday was plagued by little delays, no major incidents but all day I seemed to be constantly late. For some reason Auto gave up failing halfway into the platform and instead came to a halt half a train’s length short of a red signal on the EB approach to LES and then about the same distance from a Block Marker Board WB between WHC and EAA. I’ll explain what one of those is one day when I’m really, really bored, suffice to say it acts like a signal without actually being one.

The last part of my duty was from NOA up to EPP, back to LOU and then on the cushions to LES, a duty I remember all too well as the first time I did it I took the train all the way to LES leaving my replacement stood on the platform at LOU. I’d been staring at the tail lights of train in front all the way from NOA but between MIE and STR it was stop-start the whole way through due to a signal problem at WOO. I came to a complete stop sat outside LES at which point Wood Lane announced that signal problem had developed into signal failure.

Wood Lane eventaully decided that they were going to put me into Plat 2, the middle road at LES, and send the train WB. This meant that the passengers had to troop down the stairs at the rear end of the platform and round to Plat 3 which can’t have made the ones in the front cars very happy. I called up the DMT on the desk and pointed out that I had less than an hour before I was due to finish so I certainly wasn’t taking this train west.

By this time the signal failure had been resolved so when the DMT called up Wood Lane they decided that the best thing to do was for me to take the train empty to LOU so that the TOp who was due to relieve me could pick up on time. I managed to get up to LOU, hand over, ride back and book off only a couple of minutes late.

At least it gave me something to write about…..