6619 at Cranbrook Road - again

I had written a whole lot of stuff about this shot and then forgot to save it! So I'm going to have to try to remember the pithy remarks I made earlier.

Back at Cranbrook Road crossing on the Kent and East Sussex Railway, this time with a trainee who is doing all the work, leaving me a bit more time to take some shots while still supervising the learner.

The weather was windy, dull and with showers which made colour photography very dull too, so I thought a black and white image would be just as good.

This shot was taken at the end of the day when 6619 was coming down the bank from Tenterden Town Station back to Rolvenden Shed at the end of the day's services. The driver could see I was taking a picture and slowed right down to enable this shot to be taken.

The sheer bulk of the engine makes the trainee seem diminuative and indeed she was a small lady. The heavy gates in the strong wind were a challenge but I didn't help too much as when she is qualified to work the gates she'll have to do it on her own anyway. In the end she managed very well.

It was hardship all around as there was no power to the hut which played havoc with warning bells but also meant there was no power for a kettle hence no hot water for tea, coffee or soup. No radio or light either. We had to resort to getting into the car and going up to Tenterden Town Station to get a cup of tea. We were told that there was a problem with the power supply to the hut and that the energy company had been informed.

At 3.30pm a person turned up, but not to fix the fault, just to read the meter which is located in the cabinet outside the hut for which we have no key. Fortunately he had a key and upon investigation we found the consumer unit in the cabinet had tripped. Testing revealed that switching the radio on tripped the power again and that the kettle would still not work. But something was better than nothing - a bit of light on a dull day and some warmth was our reward. And the warning bells were working again too.

A very useful day, interupted by having to open the gates now and then for trains. My trainee was on this year's signalman training course and was up to her ears in signalling theory (the same position as I was last year) and I was preparing for my passing out turn at Wittersham Road in August. So we were able to spend the day poring over the rule book, lecture notes and questions which was very helpful.

After a quick tea it was off to the Kent Referee's Society Annual General Meeting at Gravesend RFC. A very efficient meeting that took less time to complete than it did to get to Gravesend and back.