Well that’s not where I expected to be driving to when I booked on for duty today! 😳👀 I haven’t signed this route for over two years now… So what am I doing here? Well… (short 🧵) 1/4

gWr control centre must have been short of drivers today; I sign the traction (800) but not the route, and another driver signed the route but not the traction (presumably they were also short of a suitable train type to swap it for, which the guard also signed). So… 2/4

I got “route conducted”. I drove the train while the other driver told me what to do. That includes permissible speeds, whistle boards, braking points for stations, route indications at junctions, and where the next signal is when we received cautionary aspects. 3/4

It’s only the second time in 25 years driving that I’ve been route conducted outside of a training scenario - the first was an HST on the “Weymouth Wizard”! 🧙🏻‍♂️ 4/4

@driverbod125 Sadly the removal of RK by the powers to be, no longer allows the flexibility for control to task drivers. You were lucky you had someone (on a Sunday) that signs the route.

@driverbod125 Had similar when a loco failed at Immingham HIT. They needed a loco from the coal pads. The driver signed the loco but not the route...the trainee with him signed the route but not traction. It was interesting telling the driver to approach his own failed loco.