Helen (@ProppaGander) header
Helen (@ProppaGander) profile picture

Wife 🏳️‍🌈🌈 autistic ADHD Train driver, swimmer, loves football & rugby #WAFC #WWRLFC💛💙, Petrolhead, lives in a zoo, 🐶🐶🐢🦎

Brighton
Joined January 2009
Photo by Helen (@ProppaGander)Photo by Helen (@ProppaGander)Photo by Helen (@ProppaGander)Photo by Helen (@ProppaGander)Photo by Helen (@ProppaGander)Photo by Helen (@ProppaGander)Photo by Helen (@ProppaGander)Photo by Helen (@ProppaGander)Photo by Helen (@ProppaGander)Photo by Helen (@ProppaGander)
Still can’t quite believe I’ve been shortlisted for an award at @wr_awards this year. It’s going to be an incredible night to be surrounded by such inspirational women from the greatest industry there could be.
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I had a lot of fun helping to make this. I’ve long said the railway is a special industry and it’s given me so much. You can’t be what you can’t see though, so I’m always more than happy to try and represent, and hopefully help inspire.
Ahead of International Women’s Day tomorrow, we spoke to one of our Train Managers Helen Gander.   We’re so proud of all the women who work at GBRf across the country and around the clock. Here’s Helen’s story and her thoughts on #IWD25.   #InternationalWomensDay
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Haha. The actual irony that the picture and sound cuts COMPLETELY just as they’re making an apology about the ‘temporary’ fault on Sky sports @SkySportsDarts. You couldn’t make it up. Certainly not for £135 a month 😂😂 what even is this. 😂😂😂
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Oh hi @SkySports @SkySportsDarts any chance you can send someone round the back of the Brighton centre to have a look at the truck/cables? It’s a bit 💩. I’m only down the road, want me to pop down and have a look? I can’t do a worse job than you’re doing currently?
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I’m not convinced @SkySports can call it temporary when it’s been the entire programme? Every leg has had an outage of some sort. Every single one. Remind me again why I pay a fortune for this ‘service’ ?!?
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Been a quiet week or two at work. Lots of seasonal work stood down due to the mild temps so helping out on the yard to earn my cups of tea has been the theme of late. Here’s a couple of shots from a couple of the bits and bobs.
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66798 shunted around for fuel & sand, using 73202 to shunt 73964 to the shed for maintenance.
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Yesterday was my last working day before Christmas, so 3Y90 had a touch of tinsel. Merry Christmas everyone 🎄🎄🎄
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For both ADHD and autistic traits. I cannot explain just how much some basic things are a struggle for me. I guess NT people may be trying to be kind/relate when they do this but I dunno. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️
ADHDers! Does anyone else get a little annoyed when you tell someone that you struggle with something and they tell you that it isn’t that much of a big deal because it’s something they struggle with every now and again but in your mind you know it’s not the same thing
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East Green-stead? 69005 at East Grinstead earlier today with the last Saturday 3W90 of the season. One week left to go then it’s onto SITT (snow & ice treatment train) season through winter.
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My last post about the RHTT work seems to have blown up a bit compared to my usual stuff. It’s gained me a load of new followers too, so hi.! 👋 I post more on instagram so if you’re interested, tou can find me @helen_drives_trains over there. If not, happy to have you here 💙
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Without question the hardest few days driving of my entire career. My first year doing the RHTT work and the conditions at the weekend and today have been dire, rated the worst possible on the NR adhesion index. One more to go then a couple of well earned days off.
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Photo shows 73128 ‘Kent and East Sussex Railway’ leading 73119 ‘Paul Taylor’ in full RHTT livery at Seaford first thing this morning.
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Also, as I went through Blackheath today, I noticed the pop up Christmas tree shop in the car park. It was called ‘Pines and needles’. I can’t tell you how much that made me smile. Love a good name pun. Excellent work! 🎄🎄🎄
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It’s been a nicely varied week this week. Every day a different turn, a light loco move, varied freight turns. Back to RHTT tomorrow, just in time for the adhesion forecast to get a bit punchy. I’ve said it before but I love the variety of this job & how much it challenges me
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66795 sits under the early morning sky as the sun breaks through the mist at Newhaven Town Yard last Thursday. It was a glorious day once that sun broke.
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wild that there’s no human help feature on Ubereats. If you use the ‘order took longer than expected’ it gives a generic script about traffic. No @ubereats_uk my food was stone cold because you allocated 5 different couriers before one collected it so it stood going cold🤦‍♀️
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Challenging first day back on the iron road with 3W90 today. ‘The wrong kind of rain’ made driving a challenge. It’s a very different skill set driving these RHTT trains. I love how this job challenges me every day.
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I’ve been talking a little bit (cheers insta character limit) about being autistic and the railway over on instagram today. If you’d like to see the post, featuring this fantastic photo by the amazing Jamie Squibbs, the link is below. instagram.com/p/DBgOoV9tZ_-/…
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Ooooh. That was a day! 40!! Blimey!
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