Train Driver My Story

This story belongs to Lucy and her grandad Trevor.

It's a tiny tale about Grandad Trevor and the things he used to do.

Now it's time for him to share his memories

and take Lucy on a journey of discovery.

Her grandad Trevor has lots to tell about the things he loves to do.

-Wow, Lucy, what are you doing there?

-I'm colouring in.

-What are you colouring in?

-A train.

-A train?

-Did I ever tell you about when I used to be a train driver?

-No.

This was my train driver's hat when I was younger.

-What kind of trains did you drive?

-I used to drive steam trains.

Before I was a train driver, I used to be

a guard on the railway as well, so I would clip all the tickets,

wave the flags and make sure that the train left the station safely.

How old were you when you started driving trains?

The first train I ever drove was when I was 18 years of age.

That's a long time ago now, Lucy.

-What was your favourite train?

-My favourite train was the River Mite.

And they talked a while about long ago,

when Grandad Trevor first worked on the railways.

How interesting!

So Lucy and her grandad went for a walk

to find out about his love for trains.

Grandad, did you always like trains?

Yes, Lucy, I've always liked trains from a very young age.

When I was a little boy, we used to travel up and down on the trains.

Oh, look, there's Grandad Trevor with his little sister on the train.

I can always remember what the steam trains were like.

And Grandad Trevor still loves trains.

Look at these old pictures from a long, long time ago.

In the olden days, just like now, lots of people travelled by train.

But they were steam trains.

A coal fire was used to heat the boiler

and the water got so hot that it turned to steam.

And that steam powered the engine and made the train go faster.

And the faster the train went, the noisier it became.

WHISTLE BLOWS

It was a lot of fun for the passengers.

But with all that shovelling coal

to keep the fire burning and the engine running,

it was a hard and dirty job for the train driver.

These steam trains may look very old-fashioned

but they are still used today,

and lots of people love to take a trip on them.

We are now in the signal box

where Grandad used to work and still does work.

-What's a signal?

-A signal is to make the train start and stop.

They also help to keep the trains safe on the lines.

There's many trains and many passengers

and they all have to be kept safe. That's why a railway needs signals.

What other signals do you know, Lucy?

There's a traffic light with a green and a red man.

When it's on the green man, it goes beep, beep, beep.

Then people can walk across and the cars stop.

That's safe to cross the road. Very good.

What do these levers do?

Signals are just like traffic lights for trains instead of cars.

-You see this signal, 2-2, 22?

-Yes.

-We'll pull that lever.

You help me pull the lever.

And as the lever comes out, it pulls the signal down.

Like that.

And we can see the signal there up the line

that's ready for the train to come.

It lets the train driver know when it's safe to go.

Wa-hey! The train has arrived.

But it's not reached its destination yet.

It's heading for Grandma's very special cafe.

But Lucy's got a lot to learn before it leaves.

Lucy, I used to do lots of different jobs on the railway

and one of them was to be a guard.

When you're a guard on the trains, you need a flag, a bag and a whistle.

What you need to do is check up and down the train,

click the tickets, make sure everybody's on safely.

Gosh, that's a lot to remember, Lucy.

What was it? Tickets first.

Make sure everyone is safely on board.

Now it's time for the whistle and the flag.

Over to you, Lucy.

-Tickets, please, are you going to Grandma's cafe?

-Yes, please.

-Tickets, please, are you going to Grandma's cafe?

-I am, thank you.

-Tickets, please, are you going to Grandma's cafe?

-Yes, I am.

-Thank you.

-Tickets, please, are you going to Grandma's cafe?

I certainly am. Thank you.

All aboard!

TRAIN WHISTLES

Well done, Lucy, you did it!

Lucy is very lucky that her grandad Trevor is in charge of the trains

and allows her to sit up front to see what's going on.

Do you want to blow the whistle?

WHISTLE BLOWS

Yeah!

Just like everywhere else, accidents can happen on trains.

So be careful when you're around them.

Remember, steam is created by the fire which helps drive the engine.

I was always fascinated by steam trains.

So I was very lucky to grow up to be able to drive a steam train.

This steam is exactly the same as the clouds.

Grandad's going to blow the whistle now.

WHISTLE BLOWS

Look at the lambs running away.

Oh, wow, look at the big horse!

There's so much to see when you're out and about on a steam train.

I see an old quarry, where they used to get the stone from.

-There's owls living there.

-They only come out at night.

That's right, owls come out at night.

They are supposed to do too-wit, too-woo!

Too-wit, too-woo!

A well-deserved break for train driver Trevor

and his new recruit Lucy.

Another very special person to Lucy, who works on the railway,

is her grandma Ruth.

This is my grandma.

Lucy's grandma Ruth runs the cafe at the end of the line.

Hello, Trevor. Hello, Lucy. What can I get you today?

Can I have a hot chocolate, please?

-Would you like marshmallows and cream?

-Yes, please.

Lucy loves coming to Grandma's cafe to get her favourite drink.

Mmm!

Lots of delicious hot chocolate.

Mmm! Cream.

And marshmallows - delicious!

-There we are.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

So, Lucy, are you going to drink your grandma's hot chocolate?

-Yes.

-Go on, then.

I bet that's good.

You look just like me - you've got a moustache!

And you've got cream on your nose end. Lick it all off, that's it.

LUCY LAUGHS

Oh, no! Dirty Grandad - he's spilt all down his uniform.

So, how do you turn a train around when it reaches the end of the line?

Well, Lucy, we've had our hot chocolate in Grandma's cafe,

but we've got to go back to Ravenglass now.

But the engine's the wrong way round. What shall we do?

We could put the train on the turntable

and turn it around until it gets to the right track.

Right, but I don't think I'm strong enough to do that on my own.

-I think we need some help, don't we?

-Yes.

Who's going to help us turn the engine, Lucy? Um...

-Shall we shout your brother?

-Yes.

-One, two, three...

BOTH: Will!

This is my big brother Will.

Give us a hand and push this engine round.

You get on there, mate.

Are you ready?

One, two, three...heave!

-That's it.

-Whoa! It's just like a toy train set.

Oh, that's hard work.

Keep pushing. Ready to go!

Now the train's facing the right way,

Grandad Trevor and Lucy can go back to the station.

WHISTLE BLOWS

Lucy loves doing that.

Lucy wants to know why these trains are so special to Grandad Trevor.

I always thought the trains here were great.

I thought they were good because they were little,

not as big as the big trains on the big railway,

so I used to like riding on the engine

cos they were all little engines and I really enjoyed it.

And Lucy does, too.

The journey is nearly over,

but Grandad Trevor and Lucy have one more stop.

So, Lucy, here we are, back at the station.

-Have you had a fantastic time?

-Yes, have you?

-Yes, I really enjoyed it.

What do you think of the jobs Grandad did on the railway?

-Fantastic!

-What's the best job you like to do?

-Blow the whistle.

-Do you want to have a go at blowing the whistle one last time?

-Yes.

OK, come on.

WHISTLE BLOWS

Well done, Lucy, that was good.

What a nice day we've had.

What a fabulous heap of fun!

That was Lucy and Grandad Trevor's tiny tale

about the things Trevor used to do and the fun he had,

and why he has an old train driver hat.

Grandad Trevor has shared his story with Lucy.

And now Lucy is starting her own story.

Do you know someone with a story to share?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd