Unscheduled stop

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From the Mail online

An inter-city train driver in Pakistan has been suspended after he made an unscheduled stop to pick up some yoghurt.

A video of the driver's assistant collecting the snack from a street stall before climbing back into the carriage has been circulating on social media.

The incident on Monday raised questions about the safety and regulation of railways in Pakistan, where accidents are common due to mismanagement and neglect.

"When you stop a train in the middle (of the tracks) it becomes a safety issue. Safety is our priority. We cannot tolerate anything which compromises safety," Syed Ijaz-ul-Hassan Shah, a spokesman for the railway ministry, told AFP on Wednesday.

[broadgage]

Hard to see any actual danger, what if the train had stopped due to mechanical failure, or due to sudden illness of the driver ?

Still wrong though as time would be lost, and extra brake wear and fuel consumption would result. If such non authorized stops become a regular event, then irregular boarding and alighting by passengers is probable.

[TonyN]

Many years ago when there where only a couple of trains a day from Oxford to Bicester. I travelled on the evening commuter train from Oxford to Bicester and the return passenger working.
Needless to say I was the only passenger on the return. Approaching North Oxford golf course just south of the future Oxford parkway we stopped. The driver climbed out and spent 5 minutes picking up golf balls and putting them in a carrier bag.

[broadgage]

During the last war it was reported that train drivers often procured edible birds to supplement the meat ration. This was done as follows.

Scatter a little seed or grain in the middle of the "four foot" (or better have the signalman do this shortly before you are due to pass)
Leave the the three link coupling hanging down in order that it may strike and kill any bird eating the food.
Upon sighting birds in the four foot, shut of steam and coast as silently as possible.
Guard to look out backwards for any dead birds, stop the train and collect them.
Share the bounty between driver, fireman, and guard. If number of birds not divisible by three driver gets the extra one.

The correct speed was important. Too slow and the bird either escaped or was pushed aside and not killed, too fast and the bird was totally destroyed and the bits scattered.

On the Southern electric routes, p-way staff used to gather pigeons by scattering a little seed under the conductor rail. Pigeons eating this would be electrocuted and could be collected. Only reliable in wet weather.

Rural signal men often kept a shotgun in the box to shoot rabbits and pigeons. Seagulls are only edible by the very desperate, but could be used for cat or dog food or as fishing bait.

[Worcester_Passenger]

What would Pakistan Railways make of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPUr00H-kYo?

[broadgage]

What would Pakistan Railways make of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPUr00H-kYo?

Well I suppose that the ice cream purchase MIGHT have been at an authorised rest stop, crew change point or the like, or the train MIGHT have been running early.

Impressive train though, we struggle to clear routes for container trains, they routinely run double stacked containers.
The second train of wind turbine blades also pleasing.