As a Conductor working out a depot on the south WCML I must say I find it depressing how few of my colleagues venture out from their hideaways, let alone check tickets. There are some conductors that have recently started with us and most of these, at the moment, from what I have seen, seem to be pro active which is good. I become bored if I’m not doing something, and on most trains you can have a “craick” with the passengers especially on the more lightly loaded ones. So it passes the time. I was on yesterday, Sunday, and to be fair I would say, at a rough guess, 97% had valid tickets on the 5 trains I worked. I have a ticket scanner, so picked up one chap who showed a ticket “Cancelled by TTL (that’s the Trainline), he bought another… another who had exited with a ticket at New St on 5th August, he bought another…as well a one person with an out of date, by 6 months railcard, she bought another. All were perfectly pleasant though, trying I suppose to dodge the the fare, but paid up. I find, if you are quiet and pleasant in the vast majority of cases all can be resolved without the “red mist” descending. By my walking through the train too, some will undoubtedly have bought tickets when they saw me enter the carriage - this shows up as “Purchase after depart” in red on the ticket, so I have a gentle word with them and ask them if I hadn’t come around checking your ticket, would you have bought one? A few, genuine people, smile and say “No”. At least they are being honest I suppose. Even if conductors would only walk through the train, telling people to take their feet off the seats and stopping any loud music playing or any other anti social behaviour it would help and re-assure passengers too. I put the general malaise down to few checks by our bosses and staff not being pulled up on the matter. I was once told many years ago, there are “Railwaymen” and men who work on the railway. Sadly, I have witnessed fewer and fewer “Railwaymen”. Most now, seem to join for the money, rather than the love of the job. Just my two penny worth.