Most Fridays at the colliery begin with a race between the mainline locomotive and shunting engine. The competition being to see which one covers 75 yards from a standing start the fastest.
Much like the Brooklands car races of the 1930s, the driver, at the blow of the starting whistle, has to run and climb into the cab, start the engine and then accelerate as fast as possible until 75 yards are passed. They must slam on the brakes before the single line section is reached to avoid a crash in the event of no clear winner, which due its proximity right next to the public bar of The Miners Arms must never happen. And of course it never has, for the public bar at The Miners Arms is an institution and the holy grail for post-shift activities.
And finally, Clive who is running the competition today, is checking out the engines, also known as scrutineering, for any illegal modifications or loose components which might come astray during the race, that’s him up there on the right hand engine….
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