Freak weather!

[Boris]

The remarks about sleeping made me laugh.

When we finsished a trip to Mottram Yard from Darnall we would get relieved and travel down to London Road to catch the 0840 London back to Sheffield

The ride down was provided in an old army ambulance with a bench seat fitted either side lengthways
I could sleep all the way on one of these 6 inch wide benches without falling off despite the cobbled rough roads, hills and corners 50% of the way.

Then when we got on the 0840 we would get in the front compartments, put a sign in the window with "loco men" on and get some more sleep.

On occassions though,some of us would wake up as the train was passing Darnall loco with the next stop Nottingham, I dont think anyone ever slept past there,if they did they never addmitted it.

Still had to sign off at 1010 though at the cabin just off the end of platform 1 at Sheffield Vic'

[Ocean Swell]

After talking up South Australian hot weather last week winter got back at me. Yesterday evening we actually had half a dozen flakes of snow at home. We get a little bit on the hills every 4-5 years or so but this is the first time I've seen any in suburban Adelaide.

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Been very cold by our standards, gale force winds rain, like being back in Yorkshire Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

Had a kip one night at Southend Central, went out like a light, so did the leading railman, we slept so soundly that the first train through did'nt pick anybody up, because we hadn't opened the station up, a passenger climbed over the gates and banged on the staff room door, which woke us up, just in time for the second train !!!!

manna

[IAK]

After talking up South Australian hot weather last week winter got back at me. Yesterday evening we actually had half a dozen flakes of snow at home. We get a little bit on the hills every 4-5 years or so but this is the first time I've seen any in suburban Adelaide.

Snow in Adelaide???
Jeeeeeeeeeeeez so its not just up here that is getting weird weather.

[Horsetan]

....Had a kip one night at Southend Central, went out like a light, so did the leading railman, we slept so soundly that the first train through did'nt pick anybody up, because we hadn't opened the station up, a passenger climbed over the gates and banged on the staff room door, which woke us up, just in time for the second train !!!!

OT, but yesterday's news carried a report of a French passenger who boarded her Pakistan Airlines flight from Lahore to Paris, fell asleep as the plane approached Paris-CDG and wasn't spotted in her seat by either cabin crew or the cleaning / maintenance staff at CDG. By the time she woke up, she found herself still in the air, but on the way back to Lahore!!

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

I remember once falling asleep on a late night Trans Pennine express. Rather than a Mk1 BG, it had 2 Mk2 BSOs in the middle, coupled brake to brake. The guard let me in to the other Guard's compt, promising to wake me on the approach to Manchester Victoria.

I was woken next morning my the Red Bank shunter crashing into the buffers as the stock was remarshalled!

[StevieG]

A one-time co-worker (foreman out in Camden Carriage Sidings), when going home off Nights in the early '70s, always used an early (06:55?) Carlisle (or beyond?) train from Euston to Bletchley (there was no Milton Keynes station then).

One night he related that he'd not had as much daytime sleep as usual - Slept like a log on the way to Bletch.; thought the terrain looked a bit rugged when he did finally come to; - A winding nearby Motorway for some miles? -
- "Ladies and gentlemen, the next stop of this train in a few minutes' time, will be Penrith ......" !

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Nothing better than a nice warm train on a cold night.

I used to roam around British Railways on my free tickets back in the 70's and 80's, always tried to end up in Newcastle, so that I could catch the overnight Newcastle - Bristol, always made up with Mk 1 corridor coaches, so a good nights sleep was always available.

manna

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Watching the Alice Springs news last night (we get it on Satellite TV) Alice Springs has just recorded 146 days without rain, umbrella sales at all time low..........

manna

[giner]

De rigeur for me when I was a toddler was for my parents to catch the 11:55 p.m. from Paddington to Cardiff. This was a 'milk run' that didn't take the usual direct route. It went up via Bewdley, Stroud, and various other halts picking up churns, and other bleary-eyed folks, eventually arriving in Cardiff around 6:30 a.m. Mum and Dad would snooze on the seats, and I'd be put up in the 'hammock' of the old cord netting luggage racks. Slept like a baby (well, I was at the time ).

Oh yes, the weather. Happy to report a warm and lovely autumn going on here in the Canadian west. Actually, our seasons run a bit different here, our summer doesn't officially end until near the end of September. But I still call it autumn (fall, to the locals).

[richard]

Yes we're falling into Autumn - the last 100F weather was a couple of weeks ago, and although today is forecast 95, we've had highs below 80. Next will be two months of erratic weather where temperatures jump around 20F every few days, just to mess with my nose!

Okay new house, new garden, but a clear sign of a weird climate year: for the past two weeks we've been eating fresh bananas from the garden! According to the gardening books that should not be possible! With our frosts, banana plants are considered marginal this far north, they'll be killed by even a moderately harsh winter and to never expect fruit (fruit occasionally occur down on the coast after a mild winter - we're about 300 miles inland).

[2002EarlMarischal]

Yes we're falling into Autumn - the last 100F weather was a couple of weeks ago, and although today is forecast 95, we've had highs below 80. Next will be two months of erratic weather where temperatures jump around 20F every few days, just to mess with my nose!

Okay new house, new garden, but a clear sign of a weird climate year: for the past two weeks we've been eating fresh bananas from the garden! According to the gardening books that should not be possible! With our frosts, banana plants are considered marginal this far north, they'll be killed by even a moderately harsh winter and to never expect fruit (fruit occasionally occur down on the coast after a mild winter - we're about 300 miles inland).

Are you trying to make us jealous? Well it's working!

[richard]

100F+ isn't fun! Texas weather is very comfortable for about two weeks in spring and autumn...

The bananas are very unusual, but we also had bumper peaches and we would have had bumper nectarines if the squirrels hadn't got to them first. Peaches are a commercial crop around here, but a late frost can easily ruin the crop. The mild winter also gave us fire blight on the pear tree (which may have died, hopefully just dormant until next year) and allegedly lots of mosquitoes with West Nile virus (the big local story has been whether to aerial spray or not, but to be honest I've seen fewer this year...)

[giner]

Here's a lovely Texas song for you Richard. It starts off with, "When the hot September sun down in Texas . . ." It's sung by a famous son of Texas, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qclL5JMisX0

[PGBerrie]

Help, it's snowing and settling on the trees at the top of the hill! Unheard of so early in this part of the world and bang on the half-term exodus too. Last weekend we were sitting outside in shirt sleeves with temperatures in the seventies. Now we're shivering - where did I put my gloves and scarf!

Peter