Re: Time books

Yes John, they were a good idea and useful too if the Boss hunted you up for something or other.

My notebook saved me from a bollocking more than once, I had been booked up on the afternoon shunt one Sunday and started out working the Northend in the rain, the rails were slick with a film of rust from no use since early Saturday morning causing wheelslide on braking. I had to get the air put through the rake on several occasions for stopping which was a rare thing for us and the shunters hated doing as well at it broke up their work patterns.

The roster super called me over the radio that the Silver Fern Railcar had conked out, the Electric had been flogged off an up Express to tow the Railcar on its way down. The only other Enginedriver on duty at the time didn't know the road very far North so I got the run to take up a pair of Electrics light, one for a replacement and one for my Taxi ride back home. All went well, I had a blat up country and a cruisy trip back with a couple of extra hours $ and the best part, no fighting wheelslide or lazy shunters.

The next day as I turned up for work the Loco Supervisor was hunting around the Shed looking for who was booked on the Shunt, seems that "other" guy had dumped my Shunt loco in the dirt as he hadn't got the air put through the rake, but as my name was on the sheet, I was for getting the highjump over it. He spotted me and wasn't too impressed with my "nothing to do with me" answer, started in on the highhorse as was his style, his office was adjacent the lunchroom so everyone saw me going in and the door closing.

Producing the notebook to show him the times of handover with loco numbers etc was satisfaction enough to me, as that particular Boss was one of the nastiest I ever worked under.