Veiw from your office

[Daniel cain 42,888]

Started to rain....so I'm off down to the coast for an evening fishing

level off for the next platform  and a few more posts to sink in and build some steps and a handrail next time

[tb25 4,626]

11 minutes ago, Daniel cain said:

Started to rain....so I'm off down to the coast for an evening fishing

level off for the next platform  and a few more posts to sink in and build some steps and a handrail next time

Allways busy you dan mate

[FLATTOP 3,667]

8 hours ago, Langford said:

What a beautiful morning.

 

Ahh I remember those days on maintenance the long push back to the access with all the welding gear but on a positive we used to fry sausages in a pan and use the weld slag buried in the ballast to cook them, good pic I see that as well this morning just as I was leaving bloody unsociable hours most of the time hope the public remembers that when we go into dispute shortly, I won’t hold my breath.

[FLATTOP 3,667]

2 hours ago, Langford said:

Just line blockages on here, bridge repairs that will last over a year.

We are not doing any of the works, just supervision and safety crit.

Can't say it's the most exciting of jobs but just take the money, spotted fox, lots of rabbits, a tawny owl and the parekeets. 

Yeah, I've heard Network Rail are likely going on strike, my uncle works on the OLE and has been told they're thinking of stopping engineering works on weekends, will never work in a month of Sunday's.

Maintenance boys are getting hammered mate it’s too complicated to go on about on here but going forward it will jeopardise safety, even though I’m in operations now my heart will always be in the Pway where I started I’ve never forgotten those lads and I’ve still got good relations with them now they love seeing my face when it all goes tits up lol, we’ve all got to stick together and we will achieve the right outcome.  

[mackem 23,799]

8 hours ago, WILF said:

  and moving back to this f***ing dive 

The UK isn't a dive man, C'mon, don't keep putting it down, I have lived in a number of countries, some of them really were dives, UK still has a lot going for it

 

9 hours ago, Nicepix said:

Thanks, but you have to give up at some point and the plan was to live here for 12 years which would take us to 2025, and then look for something more easily manageable. Hopefully we should get enough for it to buy an end terrace house in Barnsley. And I'm not joking. 

I did a flying course about five years back in Limoges, brit guy and his wife ran the business, really nice couple, beautiful farmhouse,and he had a landing strip in his back garden which was handy, health reasons meant they had to move back to UK, happy as Larry nowadays, doesn't have the runway in his garden nowadays, but they are both happy with how life has gone. 

[mackem 23,799]

3 hours ago, FLATTOP said:

Ahh I remember those days on maintenance the long push back to the access with all the welding gear 

My nephew is a welder on the tracks, thermite welding is it? Loves the job, doesn't like permanent nites so much. 

[FLATTOP 3,667]

27 minutes ago, Langford said:

Network Rail will be up shit creek if the signallers strike but I don't think they are planning on doing so?

Isn't this what it's all about, they are looking to reduce the maintenance work force and give sub contractors a bigger share?

Working for a principal contractor you hear a lot of rumors.

First of all it was we are all getting put on 10 hours door to door, next, they are stopping all engineering works on weekends and doing more mid-week, like that's going to work.

Stopping weekend work will never stop they are scrapping the operative role for dedicated disciplines like trackman off track ect and making it one role across all disciplines and renaming them technicians who will be required to work any where diluting there speciality basically, also scrapping the OHL supervisors role I believe amongst loads of other ideas, add this to the fact we haven’t had a pay rise since 2020 some grades 2019 were all getting pissed off with being taken advantage of not one day did I take off during the pandemic colleagues were building the Nightingale hospitals big praise from the transport secretary in writing saying how great the orange army was in a crisis situation to be able to muster such a large work force, well where’s the gratitude we are to busy wasting cash on the world problems and spunking it on furlough ppe balls ups and covid apps that don’t work and don’t get me started on Ukraine.

And yes I believe the TOCs signallers drivers operations plus maintenance have all been balloted from the different unions to take coordinated action if this isn’t resolved. 

Edited May 15, 2022 by FLATTOP
Spunking instead of skunking ?

[FLATTOP 3,667]

Oh and back to the thread here’s a view from my office taken 1 minute ago

[WILF 44,322]

13 minutes ago, mackem said:

The UK isn't a dive man, C'mon, don't keep putting it down, I have lived in a number of countries, some of them really were dives, UK still has a lot going for it

 

Mate, it’s all relative different people are happy to put up with different stuff…..what I’m willing to live with you may not be and vice versa.

This thread came back to me after I was posting this morning, popped out to watch some Sunday football with the boy before we fly home tomorrow.

Came across a decent little side, all about late 20s and early 30s…..anyway got talking to their manager and asked him about their season.

“Not bad” he said “But we had a bit of a bump that affected all the lads quiet badly”

”What was that?” I asked him

”Our centre forward got stabbed to death Christmas time!!” ……..these ain’t hood rats mate, these were grown blokes.

As I said mate, when you have the women in the shop with a vest and a body cam to sell you baked beans you know something is seriously boss eyed no matter how nice the “facilities”  

Edited May 15, 2022 by WILF

[FLATTOP 3,667]

5 minutes ago, mackem said:

My nephew is a welder on the tracks, thermite welding is it? Loves the job, doesn't like permanent nites so much. 

That’s the one Mack thermite welding turns the night into day it’s a big firework in a pot basically that pours into a mould hard dirty heavy work and as you say permanent nights as it rarely gets done on days. 

[DIDO.1 20,875]

19 minutes ago, mackem said:

The UK isn't a dive man, C'mon, don't keep putting it down, I have lived in a number of countries, some of them really were dives, UK still has a lot going for it

 

I did a flying course about five years back in Limoges, brit guy and his wife ran the business, really nice couple, beautiful farmhouse,and he had a landing strip in his back garden which was handy, health reasons meant they had to move back to UK, happy as Larry nowadays, doesn't have the runway in his garden nowadays, but they are both happy with how life has gone. 

Why did you do it in France? Is it cheaper? 

I've got 14hrs done but I stopped and never started again, keep thinking I'll give it another go 

[mackem 23,799]

7 minutes ago, WILF said:

As I said mate, when you have the women in the shop with a vest and a body cam to sell you baked beans you know something is seriously boss eyed no matter how nice the “facilities”  

I never saw that in sunderland or Surrey, that might just be your area, not indicative of the UK in general. 

 

4 minutes ago, FLATTOP said:

That’s the one Mack thermite welding turns the night into day it’s a big firework in a pot basically that pours into a mould hard dirty heavy work and as you say permanent nights as it rarely gets done on days. 

That's what he does mate, works in London, loves the job, started off with an agency cleshars in Wembley, did a load of courses, now he welds

[FLATTOP 3,667]

3 minutes ago, Langford said:

The royal family of the railway, I never saw welders mucking in with us when I worked on the P-Way. 

All in all it's a good job, doing something interesting that keeps you occupied, plus always job and knock.

 

It’s funny 20 plus years ago we were having those conversations f**k em they didn’t help us so we ain’t helping them but you can’t leave or hand back till everyone is off I always encouraged every one to get stuck in it all goes away then.

[mackem 23,799]

2 minutes ago, DIDO.1 said:

Why did you do it in France? Is it cheaper? 

I've got 14hrs done but I stopped and never started again, keep thinking I'll give it another go 

I did it in France because it was a residential course with beautiful accommodation, my lady was with me as we were going to Paris later, wasn't cheaper, it was a holiday for her really, we did the same sort of thing in Thailand. 

[FLATTOP 3,667]

3 minutes ago, mackem said:

I never saw that in sunderland or Surrey, that might just be your area, not indicative of the UK in general. 

 

That's what he does mate, works in London, loves the job, started off with an agency cleshars in Wembley, did a load of courses, now he welds

There’s a lot of welds there lol