Signing on

No, I've not been given the sack. Well, not yet anyway.

This week I have been playing at being a train driver and doing everything that a train driver does (er, except actually driving any trains obviously). For the last couple of days I have been up at 4am to sign-on for an early turn, drinking tea and reading discarded newspapers in messrooms, and answering the daft questions of the travelling public ("Yes this train is the Stansted Express, as it clearly says on the departure board, the platform monitor, the train destination indicator and in big orange lettering on the side of every coach you myopic muppet...!!!"). Oh, and I've also been riding in the secondman's seat to observe the railway.

So far it's been really interesting, with trips to Chingford and Stansted Airport ad nauseum. I'm hoping that I'll have the chance to visit a few of the more exotic destinations as the weeks progress (Hertford, Cambridge...?) so that I can get to see as much of the West Anglia network as possible. I'm not yet sure in exactly what way it's helping me in my training. While talking about and drawing things in the classroom are all well and good, I imagine that actually seeing them out in the real world will help to make them more memorable. Thanks to a track circuit and points failure at Hackney Downs this morning I've already seen how signals are passed at danger with authority, and feel confident that I can remember the procedure.

On another note, the new uniform is causing some hilarity. Unlike most of the drivers I've seen so far, I have retained my youthful figure and still resemble a giant matchstick (slender body and large bonce), which means that everthing is far too baggy on me. The blazers have already been returned and replacements ordered, although there's nothing that can be done about the tent-like shirts. Still, as the driver's uniform is identical to those worn by ticket inspectors, I now have the uncanny knack of emptying a carriage of fare-dodging schoolkids and other riff-raff and enjoying a quiet and relaxing ride home.