lpbkdotnet

I play weekend #telephoneEngineer at the #DeanForestRailway #steam #railway - it’s all fun and games until a #steamEngine starts a small lineside fire directly on top of the #telephone cable!

This damage took out phones at 3 stations, and the token machine used by our #signalBoxes

Luckily it wasn’t too hard to get to, and we had a suitable length of scrap cable we could joint in as a temporary fix

Jointing grease filled cable in the sunshine… there are worse ways to spend a Saturday!

Jun 3, 2023 at 6:20pmWeb
Show threadAlex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UKJun 3, 2023

LB (for those who might be curious what happened as its uncommon nowadays (although it can also happen when heritage locos run on Network Rail tracks) and why it had to be fixed quickly) - steam trains can eject hot ash from the ashpan and cause these fires.

The telephones and the block token machine are safety critical - they are used to make sure only one train is in the block (a section of track) at any one time, so @lpbkdotnet has to repair the burnt portion of cable..