Michael Kaye

The Following memory comes from Michael Kaye who recalls a story about his Great Uncle.

My great uncle was working one Christmas Eve on the ‘Rothwell’ branch, the branch ran from Lofthouse North Junc to Stourton Junc on the E&WY Union Railway, it was snowing heavily and they were the last train back along the branch, returning to Ardsley Depot engine and brake, whilst in the ‘section’ my uncle stopped under the A61 Leeds Road at where the gardeners Arms is located, my uncle, fireman and guard went to the pub to bring in Christmas, meanwhile the two signalmen were asking each other where the train was, because obviously they wanted to close the line and go home, so after a while the crew returned to the train and trundled their way back to the shed.

A couple of days later my great uncle was summoned to the shed master at Ardsley Depot, on the shedmaster asking my uncle why he was ‘stood in the section so long’ this was the reply, ‘we were returning to the depot in the heavy snow, when I sneezed and my teeth fell out in the location of Leeds Road, so I stopped the train and the guard, fireman and myself looked for my teeth’, the shedmaster asked if my uncle did find his teeth, my uncle gave a ‘great big grin’ on that he was told to leave the room !