Company man

Looking back over the past few entries, it seems that all I've done is whinge about how rotten my luck is and all the things that have gone wrong. Since then, things have been very quiet and I've just got on with my booked jobs with little in the way of incident. The problem with this (if it can be called such) is that there's very little of interest to report.

That said, today was another one of "those days". A fire overnight at Hackney Downs had knocked out the signalling in the immediate vicinity of the station which meant similar arrangements being put in place to when the wires came down at the same location a fortnight back. As I still don't "sign" the Stratford route, I was almost left on the sidelines after the first part of my job was cancelled. This deficiency on my route card means that when such diversions are in force I am, as the supervisor put it, "as much use as mudflaps on a tortoise". So, for the first hour or so I sat spare in the messroom. Unbelievably this was the first time ever that I've had to do this, and I was looking forward to getting away early. Typically, this state of affairs didn't last as I was called on to relieve another driver and, by the time I'd got to London, there was enough signalling back on for me to continue with my booked job.

Prior to all this excitement, I have been getting stuck in with the punters. Mostly it's been pointing out which train goes where or just confirming that the train with the orange "Stansted Express" branding is in fact the Stansted Express and that, yes, it does indeed go to London. However, there have been a few more challenging queries that I despatched with aplomb. Although it isn't really part of my job I actually enjoy the contact with people, especially as the driving itself can be fairly solitary experience. If only the managers who took my induction last year could have seen me, their little hearts would have burst with pride.

My workload should be getting more varied soon, as I've been informed that I have almost completed my twenty solo turns and will be out route learning next week. In some respects, I'm surprised that I've not yet done the twenty turns as it seems to have taken ages. Admittedly, taking a little leave after qualifying plus the previous unpleasantness at Clapton has padded things out a fair bit, but even so. By the summer I should have completed my route card and will be a fully fledged driver, albeit still a probationer. However, route learning does mean that I shall be away from the cab for a little while until it's completed. I shall just have to make sure I make the most of the last few core route jobs while I've got them.