Train spotters

[notadriver]

Can any train spotters here tell me why they are more interested in talking to the train driver rather than the guard? It seems the train guard is someone to be avoided or hated by train spotters.

 

[anthony263]

I tend to speak to both, especially if its one i know.

 

[rail-britain]

Drivers tend to have traction knowledge, guards tend to have revenue knowledge
As "trainspotters" are more interested in traction, it follows that the best person to speak to is the driver
Equally, the driver is more likely to see or have seen something, the guard may have been on revenue duties and so less likely to have seen something

However, to find out where a train is going, the guard is often the best

 

[seagull]

However, to find out where a train is going, the guard is often the best

I love the implication of that comment...

 

[rail-britain]

I love the implication of that comment...

In most cases the guard will have details of the entire route on which the train will be proceeding, the driver will only have details for the section they are driving over
When I worked on InterCity and was travelling passenger I used to discuss with the Senior Conductor, as all too often the driver had no idea (and the same often still applies)
Obviously on short routes the driver and guard stay on the same train so it makes no difference

 

[Dennis]

It;s because train drivers have time on their hands, just sitting around all day whereas guards and very busy people

 

[GNERman]

if anyone says "cos drivers give u hornzz and thrassshhh" they should be banned and shot...

both are equally knowledgable, but Drivers may have seen something, be more interested in what you are doing and have more time...

 

[TDK]

Can any train spotters here tell me why they are more interested in talking to the train driver rather than the guard? It seems the train guard is someone to be avoided or hated by train spotters.

Maybe it is what most train spotters want to be is "a train driver" however I have found thet most spotters who approach me usually ask what it is like to drive a train or some other stuff that I usually either find interesting or completely boring depending on what the spotter asks. For instance - Can I cab the train - not a very good question considering some put their footage on youtube and then the driver gets a rollocking, generally speaking most spotters ask valid questions about the company, the stock or just about the job. As for spotters talking to the driver and not the guard that all depends if they are travelling, as staff we know spotters are always after the cheapest ticket even to the degree where the ticket is sometimes invalid for part of the journey, when the guard questions this the spotter is not happy so that maybe why some spotters avoid the guards!
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if anyone says "cos drivers give u hornzz and thrassshhh" they should be banned and shot...

both are equally knowledgable, but Drivers may have seen something, be more interested in what you are doing and have more time...

Yes, this horrnnnz and thrash talk, hellfire and lordz what is it all about? I think maybe the younger grade of spotter uses this terminology and raises their hand up and down looking stupid at the end of the platform for the driver to blow up?

 

[strange6]

I always try to chat with both guards and drivers. I tend to speak with mostly Northern train crew and I find them all very open and friendly. Much more difficult to chat with the driver because they're always quite occupied but if I'm on a terminating service, I'll try to have a word at the end if I have a query. They're always very cooperative and answer my question(s) very sincerley! Sometimes i get the the impression that they think I'm some kind of undercover company man and that i'm testing their customer relations skills!

 

[Dai.]

I think I'm the only person here who doesn't speak to either. Lol!

 

[prod_pep]

I think I'm the only person here who doesn't speak to either. Lol!

Nah, you're not alone there.

Generally I know what I want to see before starting a trip, so there's nothing to ask the driver (or guard, for that matter). Never been interested in getting "tones" when filming. I've had a few by accident in London, though. Drivers there are probably more used to the younger spotters doing that, erm, hand gesture, in the hope of hearing a horn.

Locally, there are a couple of both drivers and guards that I know, so would always say "hi" to them, but that's about it!

 

[TGV]

In my job when it comes to talking to train drivers, they always have more to ask me than the other way round!

 

[GNERman]

Yes, this horrnnnz and thrash talk, hellfire and lordz what is it all about? I think maybe the younger grade of spotter uses this terminology and raises their hand up and down looking stupid at the end of the platform for the driver to blow up?

Unfortunatly, some of the younger generation have started using this utter rubbish. Not only does it make us look like a load of "frothers", it also generally ****es off Drivers. This "hornzz" rubbish is asking or signalling for a horn, for video purposes. Most Drivers do not oblige, simply ignoring them, which is what they should do...

Thrassshhh has died down a bit, thanks to the decrease in older rolling stock in use, and the general disappearing of things like the Valenta engine.

If there is anyone who is involved in this rubbish, you are embarrassing yourself and enthusiasts alike...

 

[DarloRich]

Yes, this horrnnnz and thrash talk, hellfire and lordz what is it all about? I think maybe the younger grade of spotter uses this terminology and raises their hand up and down looking stupid at the end of the platform for the driver to blow up?[/QUOTE]

There is a lot of that sort of bollox isnt there - perhaps they just want it to be fun llike it was when i was a kid. Or perhaps they are just mental!

Cant be much fun writing down all those voyager and desiro numbers. Or seeing the same pacer chug up and down all day or seeing ANOTHER 66 go past!

 

[142094]

Or seeing the same pacer chug up and down all day

What's wrong with that?

Problem with younger spotters is that some of them don't know how to behave themselves. Look at the problems at Northallerton.

I bet this whole problem of standing on the edge of a platform to get a driver to sound the horn has been made much worse by YouTube. Most of the time the videos are crap anyway, so why on earth anyone would want to watch them is a mystery.

 

[DarloRich]

Problems at Northalleton? Are the yoof there causing trouble? What next? What is this country coming to!

(ps what are the problems? - you move away and the whole place goes to rat sh*t!)

 

[ainsworth74]

(ps what are the problems? - you move away and the whole place goes to rat sh*t!)

Standing at the edge of the platform whilst EC and XC come running through at line speed on the same platform. You can see some examples here (mute your speakers their choice of music is interesting), the last one of that lot is great two of them right up against the edge facing away from traffic could have easily got clipped by a passing train they also appear to have some sort of issue with women driving HSTs. There are some even better examples than that even but I can't find them right now. I seem to recall one set of vids where they nearly get clipped by an IC225 then the next TPE train comes through and the drive gives them a right good tongue lashing whilst the train is stopped.

 

[Anon Mouse]

However, to find out where a train is going, the guard is often the best

FPMSL! , as somebody who has been the guard on a train that missed a busy station because the driver forgot to stop that phrase sometimes is true!

 

[strange6]

Unfortunatly, some of the younger generation have started using this utter rubbish. Not only does it make us look like a load of "frothers", it also generally ****es off Drivers. This "hornzz" rubbish is asking or signalling for a horn, for video purposes. Most Drivers do not oblige, simply ignoring them, which is what they should do...

Thrassshhh has died down a bit, thanks to the decrease in older rolling stock in use, and the general disappearing of things like the Valenta engine.

If there is anyone who is involved in this rubbish, you are embarrassing yourself and enthusiasts alike...

I have sympathy for them. There are a lot of youngsters coming out of school who are very poorly educated and can hardly read or write. A lot of them have been raised by mobile phone and so they think text language and the like is perfectly sound English. I'm afraid technology has its part to blame as well.

 

[Anon Mouse]

Standing at the edge of the platform whilst EC and XC come running through at line speed on the same platform. You can see some examples here (mute your speakers their choice of music is interesting), the last one of that lot is great two of them right up against the edge facing away from traffic could have easily got clipped by a passing train they also appear to have some sort of issue with women driving HSTs. There are some even better examples than that even but I can't find them right now. I seem to recall one set of vids where they nearly get clipped by an IC225 then the next TPE train comes through and the drive gives them a right good tongue lashing whilst the train is stopped.

do you have a link for that clip?

 

[ainsworth74]

do you have a link for that clip?

Right I've done a bit of digging around on youtube for you and I've found the clips in question. First is this one of a IC225 belting through Northallerton then there is this (by a different guy but they were both there at the same time) of the TPE driver telling them to get back. There is another here from the same day of a XC 220. Having watched the footage again I'd forgotten how stupid this pair of idiots were.

 

[the sniper]

I have sympathy for them. There are a lot of youngsters coming out of school who are very poorly educated and can hardly read or write. A lot of them have been raised by mobile phone and so they think text language and the like is perfectly sound English. I'm afraid technology has its part to blame as well.

This message was brought to you by the Daily Mail... 'A lot can hardly read or write'? I wouldn't say so. A few, a minority? Yes, maybe.

I think you'd be hard pushed to find many young rail enthusiasts who can't read or write. I think you'd be surprised how many of these dumb 'youngsters' you have daily conversations with on here, many of which use better grammar and spelling then some of the older patrons of this site!

EDIT: I do agree with the theme of the thread though, that some spotters are too old to be shouting and wailing at passing trains, like the dopes shown in the videos above. It's embarrassing...

 

[Anon Mouse]

Right I've done a bit of digging around on youtube for you and I've found the clips in question. First is this one of a IC225 belting through Northallerton then there is this (by a different guy but they were both there at the same time) of the TPE driver telling them to get back. There is another here from the same day of a XC 220. Having watched the footage again I'd forgotten how stupid this pair of idiots were.

Have these morons got a death wish? let alone the fact that they give enthusuasts a bad name. Did you notice the passenger towards the front giving them a rude sign? Does this prove that it makes the general public think we are all morons too?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

This message was brought to you by the Daily Mail... 'A lot can hardly read or write'? I wouldn't say so. A few, a minority? Yes, maybe.

I think you'd be hard pushed to find many young rail enthusiasts who can't read or write. I think you'd be surprised how many of these dumb 'youngsters' you have daily conversations with on here, many of which use better grammar and spelling then some of the older patrons of this site!

I thought MYLORDZ was first coined in the 70's? long before text speak and the corruption of mobile phones

 

[strange6]

This message was brought to you by the Daily Mail... 'A lot can hardly read or write'? I wouldn't say so. A few, a minority? Yes, maybe.

I think you'd be hard pushed to find many young rail enthusiasts who can't read or write. I think you'd be surprised how many of these dumb 'youngsters' you have daily conversations with on here, many of which use better grammar and spelling then some of the older patrons of this site!

I'm just going off experience at looking through job application forms, Sniper. Believe you me, standards are terrible; even among a significant number of graduates.

I refer you to this:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article4981687.ece

 

[SouthEastern-465]

I'm not a spotter but I usually have a talk to the driver. One in fact we had a chat about the 'Slammers on the SE and how he use to drive them and we had a long talk about it, he was very friendly.

 

[the sniper]

I'm just going off experience at looking through job application forms, Sniper. Believe you me, standards are terrible; even among a significant number of graduates.

I refer you to this:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article4981687.ece

Fair enough, that's spelling. I can believe that spelling standards are not what they should be, but poor spelling is quite a way off 'hardly [being able to] read or write'!

 

[junglejames]

Unfortunatly, some of the younger generation have started using this utter rubbish. Not only does it make us look like a load of "frothers", it also generally ****es off Drivers. This "hornzz" rubbish is asking or signalling for a horn, for video purposes. Most Drivers do not oblige, simply ignoring them, which is what they should do...

Thrassshhh has died down a bit, thanks to the decrease in older rolling stock in use, and the general disappearing of things like the Valenta engine.

If there is anyone who is involved in this rubbish, you are embarrassing yourself and enthusiasts alike...

Here here. Completely agree. Never use any of that terminology, and to be honest, it sounds rather sad. As for trying to get the driver to sound the horn. Thats just downright babyish.
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Have you seen one of the comments on the 'telling off' clip? Someone saying they should have told the driver to f off, because if a fast train had come through, they of course would have moved back. Ha, watch the other clips and you will realise that actually they wont move back, not even for a fast train.

They are a bunch of idiots. Do nothing for enthusiasts. Make us look stupid. They deserved all the strange looks they got from the train.

 

[SouthEastern-465]

Here here. Completely agree. Never use any of that terminology, and to be honest, it sounds rather sad. As for trying to get the driver to sound the horn. Thats just downright babyish.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Have you seen one of the comments on the 'telling off' clip? Someone saying they should have told the driver to f off, because if a fast train had come through, they of course would have moved back. Ha, watch the other clips and you will realise that actually they wont move back, not even for a fast train.

They are a bunch of idiots. Do nothing for enthusiasts. Make us look stupid. They deserved all the strange looks they got from the train.

I also completely agree with GNERman.

You get these complete idiots with these 'my lordz' s*** and kids trying to get the driver to toot the horn and acting like ****s and at the same time not knowing what problems there causing and also in some cases don't know what danger there causing for themselves. I remeber standing at Petts Wood and when there was a train coming and these 'enthusiasts' pretended to push someone whilst holding there shirt, what reaction was they expecting from the staff? I personally gave them a good bollocking.

These idiots give us enthusiasts a bad name, and there with there behaviour you can't blame some of the railway staff for being a bit cautious with enthusiasts (Although there are some exceptions, Dennis at Upminster?).

 

[Crapper]

As a driver I often see people making the 'create vacuum' handsignal, or in other words mimicking a rather frantic attempt at flushing a Victorian toilet. That is actually something which gives me an instant red mist. Besides breaking railway regulations, unnecessary use of the horn ruins videos by drowning out the engine noise. If you want horns, buy yourself one and sit in your bedroom with a photo of a 66.

As for these videos on You Tube of this that or the other 'with tones' etc, I just don't even bother to look, wether or not it could be noisy thrash.

 

[GB]

Funny you should say that. I was coming home a couple of weeks ago and spotted two young lads on a foot crossing making the same horn gesture, one was even wearing a orange HV vest:roll: