Tales of rabbit hunting in the SMJ Cutting.

There's local sayings that extra crew would take a ride on the loco footplate and be dropped off for a few hours in the cutting. The driver of a returning train would recognise the guy and take him back to Blisworth Station. The exaggerated version is that a crew member would have his shotgun on the loco and take potshots at rabbits from the moving train and stop the train if he got one. 

One correspondent via this website replies, "Listen!  Those 'sayings' were supposed to have been secret - and they were very, very true.  As a lad, waiting for my call-up to go into the army, I was often threatened with a thick ear if ever I 'opened my gob and spilled the beans'.   And yes, if we had to work a Saturday shift my old driver Bert always took along his 410 shotgun which he secreted under his coat.  On one occasion this practice impaired his getting up onto the footplate and he fell backwards onto the ground.  The loaded shotgun discharged itself, tearing a chunk out of his boot.  Luckily, he survived without actual injury to himself.   Old Bert was made of sterner stuff - you couldn't imagine him being killed off like that!"