First 458 Juniper Turn

3rd May 2007

My first 458 Juniper turn late April 2007. I did my traction training over two days in March 2007 to convert to the Juniper and I got to work a return working from Guildford to Ascot on a beautiful sunny day a few weeks later.

The good thing about the Guildford-Ascot road is that there is plenty of dwell time at Aldershot, Camberley and Ascot so I could concentrate on taking these photos without ignoring my operating or customer service duties. My wife took the photos of me, she baled out at Aldershot to go shopping!

The Juniper is a bit of an odd train to operate from a guard's point of view. There is no facility to operate the doors except from the cab and so it can get a bit lonely hidden away at the back of the train.

These photos were taken with my old 2 megapixel Canon Powershot A40 digital camera. I do use a Pentax *istD DSLR however I dare not risk leaving that unattended in the cab!

My first 458 Juniper turn! This photo was taken at Aldershot and was the 10.00 Guildford-Ascot service with 458026. 1024x768	Oh what the heck! I am really thrilled to now have five types of EMU under my belt. These being the 444 / 450 / 458 / 455 (old) and 455 (Refurbished). Hence the big smile! 1024x768	Aldershot again, have just swapped ends with my driver. 1024x768	A 'bird's eye view' at Camberley. We wait here for about 4 mins and this time the signaller has pulled off early for us. There is a level crossing immediately ahead and this does concentrate the mind! 768x1024
Here we have arrived at Ascot and now wait 23 minutes before setting back to Guildford. A beautiful sunny day and yes, I am starting to like the 'Jooniper'. 1024x772	Open the cab door and this is the sight. No first class passengers on this trip! 1024x768	This is the driver's position. My driver said he liked the 458; good peripheral vision and a well-designed console. 768x1024	Standard class. Try walking through this when the train is doing 50 mph, those seat handgrips tend to do my ribs a lot of harm! 1024x768
My side of the cab with door controls. 768x1024	Back at Camberley going the other way, another 4 minute wait. 458026 looks good in the bright April sun. I expect nothing less on my first working of course! 1024x768	Aldershot again, awaiting the road back to Guildford and the end of my first 458 turn. Not a bad turn...yes, she will do :-) 1024x768