D&S 14 June 2023

  D&S 14 June 2023

The evening started as usual with a cuppa, some biscuits and discussion about the AMRE Exhibition and other train related matters. 

Soon after 7.30pm the operating begin. The roster looked full of professionals that were experienced and each operator had previous experience at their chosen station:

• Ray – Marabost
• David – Watchit
• Craig – Charde
• The Tawnton Twins – Geoff (East) and Brian (West)
• The Fat Controller / Dispatcher was Ron.

It was clearly evident the experience and professionalism of the operators was a contribution to the minimal clock stoppages and derailments. The ‘that was me’ comment was heard a few times across the room, coming mainly from the only person who was seated for the majority of the evening. A couple of errors saw trains run into the wrong tracks at Newton Abbot but overall, one would have to say it was one of the ‘smoothest running’ operating sessions in quite a while.

Marabost:

The Marabost operator was the quiet achiever for the evening. He was just a clone of Bob the Builder, whereby he just got on with the job with minimal fuss and everything ran like clockwork from the Marabost point of view. The additional loop that was installed at Marabost a while ago is proving beneficial for operating and running purposes. The only complaint from the Marabost operator was when the Charde DMU didn’t go further into the platform and some passenger complained. Also, the Marabost needs to take his American Cap off when he enters the D&S and put his English cap on. American = Caboose…. English = Brake Van. If only the Geelong Cats had the form that the Marabost Operator had. 

Full of Concentration

The Tawnton Twins

Language from the Tawnton side of the room was subdued with swearing non-existent. There was productive chatter and teamwork seemed to be at the fore. The B&G team seemed to manage Tawnton and its busyness / occasional complexities fairly well. The Occasional ‘beep’ and orange light appeared from that side of the room but in reality, it always does. ‘Mostly Efficient’ would be a description that one could use for the Tawnton operators. There were no major derailments in the yard (that we know about) and it appears everything was shunted into the correct sidings, otherwise the D&S owner would have sent out the ‘Red Card’ and ‘Please explain’ by now. Overall, the Tawnton operators should be pleased with their efforts and operational capabilities throughout the operating session.

Yes, I know the Controller is on the track. Tawnton East Operator focusing on the work to be done. 

Teamwork at Tawton

A usual scene at Tawnton, with plenty happening.

Watchit

A couple of terms sounding very much like ‘shit’ were heard from the Watchit operator, however, there didn’t seem to be any major disasters that couldn’t be rectified within a few fast minutes, maybe it was something to do with wagons or points or both. Certainly the Watchit operator was very effective at listening for the ‘Watchit, LP56 arriving at your platform in 5 minutes’ instruction. This instruction, albeit with a different Train Order was repeated numerous times from operators at various locations. David handled the copious amount of trains that pass through the Watchit township and require the tracks (either main or platform) to be clear, reasonably well. Like others on the night, a mostly stellar performance was conducted by the Watchit operator. 

The concentration which is required at Watchit

Shunting the Goods 

A longer Goods train almost ready to depart after shunting took place. All blocked no doubt. 

Charde

The Charde operator felt like a pig in shit. He hadn’t operated at the Charde station complex for over 12 months and it was a welcoming sight to be back at the little rural station. It was also a pleasant surprise to be operating a new Charde DMU – a very reliable ‘Flying Banana’. It ran smoothly all night – unlike some of its predecessors. The Charde operator ran the railway effectively with no mishaps or derailments. At the end of the operating session the passengers at Charde were quite impressed with the ‘on-time’ service. 

Shunting in progress

Dispatcher 

The Dispatcher / Chief Poncho / D&S Owner was on the ball most of the evening. As always suggestions were flying from all edges of the room and the Dispatcher took a couple onboard. The Mainline Passenger services along with the 3 DMU arrivals at Tawton seemed to be one that needed addressing but overall, other than a couple of points that were changed by central control, everything ran fairly smoothly from the Dispatcher chair.  

The Dispatcher looking a little anxious

See you all in a month

The D&S Media magnate