Saturday 18 December 2010

Snowpocalypse 2010 (v.3)

Well, we've been hit again. Snow, wonderful on the telly on "Snow Sunday" and suchlike, but not so hot (sic) when it's a few inches thick (and getting thicker by the hour), and still falling.

Even the Trams, informally famous for having little trouble coping last time (a few weeks ago, no less), were having a few problems this time - frozen points were the hiccup, this time around.

The photo (taken through the drivers door to the saloon of the tram, hence the blind grid lines) shows the tram driver at the Church Street tram stop, working with one of his engineering colleagues, to free up the points there. The previous two drivers had few problems with this; they took a special pole-like tool with a spade point, cleared some clag from the rails set into the road, stuck the point in a manual lever slot, and stirred the pole around like they were making an industrial-sized pot of soup, and presto, the points were freed up.

Not so this time, of course, and naturally, this time, it was for the tram that I was on. Figures, really.

This time, it took a great deal longer this time, a driver, an engineer, and a LOT of stirring. And yet more clag removal, more stirring, more clag removal, more - well, you get the gist of it. Something like five or ten minutes later, we were finally on the move, and I got to work.

Which was a pity, because we all thought someone might actually see sense and pull us all back off the road for an early dinner.

No such luck.

Someone in city hall must have done a reverse snow dance or something, because once I got out there in a bus, the roads quickly got back to close to passable, despite some truly appalling and frankly cringe-worthy driving from the amateurs out there. Frankly, I was amazed to note that I didn't see a single wreck out there today - mind you, the roads were about ten times lighter on the traffic side than they were normally on a Saturday, so I guess most folks took heed of the weather, and left their cars at home!

Oh well, day off tomorrow.

What's the betting we get ten more inches of the muck overnight?

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