Well a new route today, and also first day where I have driven with a huge cold. My concentration levels were hard to maintain with a blocked nose, then a runny nose, then congestion etc but I made it through with no mishaps.
Portsmouth to Eastleigh is a nice route and not overly complicated. All the braking points I was taught were at bridges and signals so not too difficult to remember. Returning to Eastleigh was a bit memorable as that was my first railway job on the platform there in 2005 and it was nice to see Mr Keeling still there after all this time.
I also had my first decent scare. It might not sound much but today was my first proper drive on a single line (between Fareham and Botley) and as the evening drew in and I was driving my third trip to Eastleigh, my headlight reflected off a substation and before I knew it I could have sworn there was a train coming towards me. On go the brakes before my DI points out that it is a substation! My heart was thumping but fortunately I didn't put the emergency brake in!! As I came of the single line there was a Southern service waiting to go on, but he was no where near me!
It was also another good day for a few smaller reasons. I had two separate passengers thank me for a smooth journey which is always nice and I also had my fianceé on the train for the first time, so she has been on a train driven by me!
Hey ho, another good day I feel and hopefully I haven't passed this cold on to everyone I have met today and more importantly I hope that it goes by tomorrow so that I can enjoy my day!
Good night!
Please note this site is to enable people aspiring to be drivers and to give them an idea of what the training is involved. It is not endorsed by South West Trains and all views are my own and not the companies...
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