A most unusual 'signalling' problem at Worcester ...

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

This one should be for 'The Lighter Side', but as it quotes industry sources I think its best here in FPC.

Some problems this afternoon in the Worcester area. The reason:

Western Route Incident Signaller issue at Henwick update 16:35

All trains stopped at Henwick (Worcester Foregate Street) due to loss of contact with the Signaller at Henwick LC^▸ (Level Crossing)

Driver of 1P65 is walking to the signal box to investigate.

More when known

Update: Local Operations Manager is on site and the Signaller is stuck in the toilet...

 

Credit to fellow team member bobm for the heads up on this one.

[Worcester_Passenger]

Thanks for posting that - I was going to ask what had happened.

I was travelling back from Liverpool. The 17:19 from New St to Worcester was shown on the displays as "expected 17:55". Ended up on a very overcrowded 17:49 (which arrives from the depot rather than from the Worcester direction).

[Brucey]

I saw a member of railway staff post about this on Twitter earlier.  Needless to say, I didn't actually believe them initially...!

[thetrout]

The amount of times I've found myself in a similar situation, I really shouldn't find that funny!

Brilliant Find

On a more serious note though... Possibly a brilliant reason to take your mobile with you when spending that penny.

[bobm]

Can't use a mobile on duty?

[thetrout]

Can't use a mobile on duty?

Whilst I suspect that is some kind of pun (If that is the case, it was awful )

Having a switched off Mobile Phone on your person I would deem perfectly acceptable when and only when used in situations such as this!

[JayMac]

Wrong-side failure of toilet door?

Or interlock failure?

[thetrout]

Mobile fell down the pan?

[bobm]

Can't use a mobile on duty?

Whilst I suspect that is some kind of pun (If that is the case, it was awful )

I thought, judging by Chris from Nailsea's posts, that bad puns were a pre-requisite for the job!

[Chris from Nailsea]

They are! 

It was clearly a failure of the SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening). 

[JayMac]

I wonder what was written in the log...

[Chris from Nailsea]

In the vernacular: "Bog off!", probably. 

[Andy W]

Perhaps he's worried he'll get his Pee45

[JayMac]

Apparently I'm a 'mischievous web forum user'. I've been called worse things!

From the Worcester News:

In-convenience for passengers on Worcester - Malvern - Hereford line after toilet break at Henwick

WE APOLOGISE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE: The Henwick signal box and outdoor toilet in St John^s, Worcester. Picture: Paul Jackson.

TRAINS travelling through Worcester had an unscheduled stop after an unfortunate signalman got stuck in the toilet.

Passengers found themselves being held up at the Henwick signal box in St John^s on Wednesday afternoon after the man who was meant to be controlling the signals made an ill-fated dash to a Victorian outdoor toilet.

The disruption was publicly announced as ^signalling problems^, but one mischievous web forum user lifted the lid on what really happened when he posted Network Rail^s official incident log.

It shows that trains were being forced to stop at Henwick after all contact was lost with the signalman.

The driver of the 15:13 Hereford to London service is then reported to have got out of his train and walked to the signalbox to see if he could sniff out the problem.

The next update simply states: ^Local operations manager is on site and the signaller is stuck in the toilet.^

Network Rail apologised for the ^unfortunate incident^.

^Much of the railway is still controlled from Victorian signal boxes, which often have outside loos,^ a spokesman said. ^Our plans to modernise the railway will see control moved to state-of-the-art regional control centres, where unfortunate incidents such as this simply wouldn^t be an issue. We apologise to anyone whose journey was delayed or disrupted.^

[bobm]

I apologise for putting the 'mischievous web forum user' up to it in the first place!