As I travelled by train across Romania, one thing stood out to me – the stationmaster on guard as we rolled through each station.
It was a cold and grey winter, and there they stood in their red hat and black coat.
Even with a light dusting of snow on the platform, there they stood.
As the snow grew deeper, they had to clear a path between their office and the tracks.
But there they were, with their hand lamp at the ready to flag down trains.
As we headed deeper into Romania, so did the snow.
When snowdrifts now started to pile up, the stationmaster might just stick their head out of their office door.
But even blizzards didn’t stop them.
Roll-by inspections – a relic of the past, or an important safety practice?