Once every three weeks I have, for me, a very early start. 05:52. Which at this time of year IS the crack of dawn. Even though it is an early start it doesn't let you off what greeted me when I got to work. One of the controllers beckoned me, "We need you to do a test." Now I knew he wasn't talking about a driving test, I can remember passing that years ago. We have two random tests which all employees, from the lowliest Managing Director right up to the people who earn the money, us drivers, have to take. Now a week or two back I witnessed a test which was for drugs and remarked to the controller conducting the test that I had had taken lots of alcohol tests but had never done a drugs test. Today, for a change it was my turn for drugs. I was tested for cannabis and opiates and both tests came up negative. As expected. As I left the office I staggered a little and muttered in a slurred stage whisper, " Glad that wasn't for alcohol." But the controller had heard it before and just smiled.The rest of the day was fairly uneventful apart that is from the land train, pictured above, braking down. This little train wanders round Torquay carrying about 25 to 30 passengers in three carriages. I can be a bit of a pain if you get stuck behind it as it's max speed is about 10 mph. Today it went up Abbey Road and turned left into St Lukes Road to head for the sea front. Half way round it stopped and would not go again. Now where it decided to go on strike wasn't the worse place it could brake down, that would be Pimlico, nothing could get passed there. But, due to the diversion that is in place in Torquay this year, Abbey Rd is about as full as Wembley High Street on Cup Final Day. "You can get past but it is a bit tight." was how the reporting driver described the situation over the radio. Yeah, right. Three cms from the land train on one side and slightly less from a high curb on the other. I don't know how long it was stuck there for but I got back two hours later and he had gone.
There, a whole post and "that place that is falling down" never got a mention. Fingers crossed for March 17.
3 comments:
Whenever I hear it go past, I mutter to myself "bloody thing"
I hate Dotto Trains with avengence. Why not just operate a nice vintage bus service?
I agree with Gnome. Get an old carmine and cream Devon General open top bus, such as the one I saw going though Torquay a few weeks ago.
Many a time I've been stuck behind that thing, resisting the urge to jam the accelerator and run it off the road hahah.
I was talked into riding it once, it isn't even that nice a journey. Bouncy, and you can't really see anything for the silly plastic sheeting.
If you need a bus, we have PLENTY of really old buses in regular service up here...though modifications are required to make it open top (Just pay a london bus driver to sort that one out, or try and drive it through the bridge at Old Mill Road, as happened many a year ago)
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