Engineering related work

[Eng274]

Hello all, this is a different avenue to the usual driver/conductor queries on these forums;

I am currently in my final year of a BEng degree in mechanical engineering. I have had an interest in the railways since i can remember, and an interest in transport in general for just as long.

Does anyone know what the best method would be to getting an engineering-based job, whether it be with a TOC, Network Rail/DfT/ORR, or even with a ROSCO?

Do East Coast use an agency, since they never seem to have any vacancies on their website? Scotrail have a full time vacancy for a skilled technician right now, but that is of little use to me during term time unfortunately, apart from the fact they want a "time served" engineer.

In an ideal world I'd like to be at least working for one of the above part-time during my last year, so I can hit the ground running so to speak when I graduate.

Any advice (especially from engineering staff working for a TOC) would be most helpful!

Jamie

 

[MggW]

Quite a few run graduate training schemes.

 

[Old Timer]

In the Infrastructure world, a Degree in Mechanical Engineering would suit you for OHL (which is primarily a mechanically based system), including design, or within the plant organisations.

I would recommend Balfour Beatty Rail which has both and also gives you the opportunity to overseas.
l
I woud find it very hard to recommend Network Rail because they have shown no loyalty to the engineers they have trained through University, but also because the NR pay, terms and conditions of employment (pensions, sick pay, holidays, etc, etc) are far inferior to any of the major Infrastructure Contractors. I also know for a fact that the major Infrastructure Contractors treat their staff far better.

If International work appeals in the longer term then whatever you do make sure you go into the Industry through a major Infrastructure Contractor as foreign Railways will now not employ former Network Rail engineering and Projects staff under any circumstances.

 

[Eng274]

In the Infrastructure world, a Degree in Mechanical Engineering would suit you for OHL (which is primarily a mechanically based system), including design, or within the plant organisations.

I would recommend Balfour Beatty Rail which has both and also gives you the opportunity to overseas.

Thank you very much for the advice, I had never considered OHL gantry design work, as I was always under the impression the civils dealt with that.

Ironically I have a part-time job working in the design office of a steel fabricator that supplies electrical substation structures for National Grid, which isn't all that dissimilar to OHL gantries and catenary! (specifying steel supports for earthing clearances of transformers, insulators, earth switches etc)
my role includes identifying suitable steel sections, specifying the anchor bolts, and ensuring the design could cope with imposed loads by wind/ice and the equipment sat on it - very CAD intensive and lots of design compliance to British standards. May I ask what your job entails exactly?

I'm sure you're better placed to know this, but will there be enough work for OHL design engineers in the UK rail industry over the next decade or so? I am now intrigued and surprised that my experience in steelwork design could be ultra-useful here.

Like in the power distribution industry, is the actual cabling and transmission work designed by electrical engineers presumably?

Many thanks, and apologies for the Jeremy Paxman-like grilling!

Jamie

 

[Old Timer]

In OHL engineering all the structures, fittings and foundations are standardised into various designs. In effect the OHL Designer is designing via a CAD system the OHL design using a variety of standard fittings.

Construction is the point at which the design is taken from the drawing and implemented. On that basis, specified staff will have designated "site design" authorities will allows them to make minor modifications to the design where site issues occur during construction - for example there may be a need to modify the means by which a support is attached to a gantry because of an issue identified that could not have been seen during the design process, or the radial load on a curve causes a stovepipe to bend for example.

There is currently a serious shortage of suitably qualified and experienced (note BOTH those phrases) OHL Designers and indeed installation staff within the UK.

Network Rail in their ultimate wisdom and the timining only they are capable of, determined they would destroy the UK OHL market just prior to the release of some of the largest tranches of work for years, so as to bring down the salaries of OHL construction staff.

With their usual incompetence they failed to understand that the OHL market world-wide has been on the up for several years now, and the results of their actions have been to drive all the best people away. These people were snapped up to go the Australia and the Far East (where UK railway experience commands a substantial premium) leaving a contingent of relatively inexperienced staff supported by European (make your own judgement) OHL staff who are only used to working on constant height equipment (like CTRL for example).

Because of the larger Continental loading gauge they have little experience of working on complex equipment in very tight clearances and on systems where there are constant changes in the OHL grading.

Of all the major Infrastructure Contractors Balfour Beatty Rail have by far the largest OHL unit, as well as OHL contracts world-wide. They were the first electrification Contractor, (followed by Pirelli - who went out of business many years back) and the Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3 systems were designed by BB, who still own the manufacturing rights to the components.

When Network Rail decided to use their own construction staff to work on parts of the Rugby Project, they managed to assemble and install a motorised OHL switch so badly that they had strap it out and then had to call BB Rail engineers in to show them how to rectify and re-build it post-commissioning.

Incidentally I do not work for Balfour Beatty but I do admire the professionalism of their OHL units, both here and on the Continent.

 

[Eng274]

In OHL engineering all the structures, fittings and foundations are standardised into various designs. In effect the OHL Designer is designing via a CAD system the OHL design using a variety of standard fittings.

Construction is the point at which the design is taken from the drawing and implemented. On that basis, specified staff will have designated "site design" authorities will allows them to make minor modifications to the design where site issues occur during construction - for example there may be a need to modify the means by which a support is attached to a gantry because of an issue identified that could not have been seen during the design process, or the radial load on a curve causes a stovepipe to bend for example.

There is currently a serious shortage of suitably qualified and experienced (note BOTH those phrases) OHL Designers and indeed installation staff within the UK.

Network Rail in their ultimate wisdom and the timining only they are capable of, determined they would destroy the UK OHL market just prior to the release of some of the largest tranches of work for years, so as to bring down the salaries of OHL construction staff.

With their usual incompetence they failed to understand that the OHL market world-wide has been on the up for several years now, and the results of their actions have been to drive all the best people away. These people were snapped up to go the Australia and the Far East (where UK railway experience commands a substantial premium) leaving a contingent of relatively inexperienced staff supported by European (make your own judgement) OHL staff who are only used to working on constant height equipment (like CTRL for example).

Because of the larger Continental loading gauge they have little experience of working on complex equipment in very tight clearances and on systems where there are constant changes in the OHL grading.

Of all the major Infrastructure Contractors Balfour Beatty Rail have by far the largest OHL unit, as well as OHL contracts world-wide. They were the first electrification Contractor, (followed by Pirelli - who went out of business many years back) and the Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3 systems were designed by BB, who still own the manufacturing rights to the components.

When Network Rail decided to use their own construction staff to work on parts of the Rugby Project, they managed to assemble and install a motorised OHL switch so badly that they had strap it out and then had to call BB Rail engineers in to show them how to rectify and re-build it post-commissioning.

Incidentally I do not work for Balfour Beatty but I do admire the professionalism of their OHL units, both here and on the Continent.

Highly informative stuff, thank you very much indeed!

As an employee in such an industry yourself, would it do me any harm to fire off a few speculative emails to rail infrastructure businesses some point soon, listing my relevant experience in steelwork design and my desire to work in the rail industry, and see what they come back with?

Jamie