Norwegian at Rolvenden

Last day of the season on the KESR today. Next workings are December weekends for Santa Specials. I was at Wittersham Road with a trainee. It was interesting as he is a qualified signalman at Tenterden and he was beginning to learn a second box, this was his first turn at Wittersham. Added to that he had injured his back and couldn't pull any levers!

This was also a Sunday service with the Wealden Pullman Sunday Lunch train operating which added to the timetable complexity. So much to pack in but he was a quick learner but confessed that working Wittersham Box was much more involved than Tenterden. Perhaps the boot will be on the other foot as I'll be learning Tenterden next year and he may well be training me!

We also had the onerous duty of putting paraffin lamps in some of the signals as the last train of the day and the season came home in the dark. Putting them out was not a problem but walking 600 metres up a single track in the dark in the middle of nowhere and climbing the ladder to get them back at the end of the day is not the most pleasant of tasks. If I'd been on my own I'd left them in and asked someone to bring them in the next day.