Network Rail Track Workers

[Lawman]

Folks,
Hope l dont offend any of the Hard working Network Rail Track Workers,l know they do exist,however l observed the following the other day.

8 Track workers working/repairing the WCML near motherwell.

1 guy Holding a shovel,1 guy watching him hold the shovel,1 guy digging ballast,1 guy looking at the stars,1 guy looking at the guy, looking at the stars,after a good 30 seconds of the first guy digging,another guy takes over for at least an even better 2 min,1 guy looking at all the other guys holding a works folder,1 guy working hard at eating a packet of cheese an onion crisps
l havent even included the guys that are the lookout for oncoming trains,there exempt..............l thought Roadworkers were bad

 

[Hydro]

We used to rotate people digging when packing joints, because it shares the work out. Once the joint or low spot was opened out, only one or two men would then get in with the packing shovels. You can't get 8 blokes around one joint. Usually those who carried the jacks and bags of chipping to site didn't have to do the first turn on the shovels. Lookouts are expressly forbidden from doing anything else than looking out.

 

[Ploughman]

Stars out?
Probably during the hours of darkness therefore lookout protection not allowed unless 20 TSR in place unless I am mistaken.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

You can't get 8 blokes around one joint

Depends how slim they are

 

[Hydro]

Depends how slim they are

I was going to say after reading it back, 8 blokes and one joint sounded like the stingiest student night in I've heard of!

If I wasn't digging, I was taking full advantage of the fact (lunch, smoking, insulting those working) before I had to get back in. It's hard work sometimes, had one lad throw up and nearly faint when digging out and re-ballasting wet beds, complete with a new drainage channel to the cess.

Plus it's perfectly possible 8 men were deployed to a 4 man job.

 

[amcluesent]

Londeners who were stuck on trains for 4 hours were not impressed by this picture of (in)activity after the water main burst at Victoria earlier in the week. Is anyone actually doing anything?

 

[ralphchadkirk]

And amcluesent comes along to start another argument...

Contrary to what you might think, most Londoners were very impressed that the lines were reopened so quickly.

 

[southerner2174]

I think you will find they weren't stuck on trains but in a queue outside East Croydon station :roll:

 

[Hydro]

Londeners who were stuck on trains for 4 hours were not impressed by this picture of (in)activity after the water main burst at Victoria earlier in the week. Is anyone actually doing anything?

Looks like a briefing/info pow-wow to me, unless an orgy is about to start. The large piles of freshly dug dirt indicate yes, something was actually happening.

 

[ainsworth74]

unless an orgy is about to start.

Those sorts of things common when working for Network Rail?

 

[asylumxl]

Looks like a briefing/info pow-wow to me, unless an orgy is about to start. The large piles of freshly dug dirt indicate yes, something was actually happening.

I would go with the latter. They're just wearing high vis 'cos they like being seen in public.

 

[Tottenham Flyer]

Looks like a briefing/info pow-wow to me, unless an orgy is about to start.

That or either they're scratching their heads wondering how the hell they're going to sort it.

 

[Hydro]

Those sorts of things common when working for Network Rail?

Long nights on the railway. The orange merely represents the flamboyancy.

 

[The Crab]

The reason why there were eight men in the gang is that two were off sick and another three on holiday.

 

[DarloRich]

Londeners who were stuck on trains for 4 hours were not impressed by this picture of (in)activity after the water main burst at Victoria earlier in the week. Is anyone actually doing anything?

This chap is such a troll - and as i got told of last time for being rude so i will say simply :roll::roll:

and point out that 600 tonnes of earth were removed from the tracks and a further 800 tonnes were cleared from the embankment and that 2 of the four running lines were back open by 1800 on monday night.

 

[t o m]

Londeners who were stuck on trains for 4 hours were not impressed by this picture of (in)activity after the water main burst at Victoria earlier in the week. Is anyone actually doing anything?

Waiting for the water to evaporate?

 

[blue sabre]

Londeners who were stuck on trains for 4 hours were not impressed by this picture of (in)activity after the water main burst at Victoria earlier in the week. Is anyone actually doing anything?

Here's an idea then: trackworkers get out the van, grab a shovel or their tool of choice then get told to get on with it. What we find then is Tommy filling in a hole that Jimmy has just dug. Fred then comes along and has to dig it again. Alternatively they get out the van, assess the situation and then decide a plan of action, everyone knows their place and what they need to be doing, hence getting the job done in a third of the time.

 

[DavidBrown]

One thing that does suprise me in that picture is that not all the signals have been set to red - I'd have thought that it would have been standard with a line closure, even if there are other signals protecting the site?

 

[Rugd1022]

One thing that does suprise me in that picture is that not all the signals have been set to red - I'd have thought that it would have been standard with a line closure, even if there are other signals protecting the site?

It may be that the lines on the right were still open, it's not always neccessary to close them all during possessions. As for the signals, I've been on several possessions sitting in my cab looking at signals in front of me or on other lines going through the red / yellow / green sequence.... sometimes they're under test whilst other work is going on. So long as they don't go 'black' I'm happy.

 

[Hydro]

One thing that does suprise me in that picture is that not all the signals have been set to red - I'd have thought that it would have been standard with a line closure, even if there are other signals protecting the site?

It's an automatic signal, it's controlled by the corresponding track circuit. All the green denotes is that the section is clear i.e. devoid of trains or any track circuit operating clips/devices. The signalman has no way to reset that signal to danger manually.

You cannot use an automatic signal as protection due to the way they operate, unless it is fitted with a manual key on the signal post to switch it to red and thus can then be proved to danger and unable to be cleared until the protection is given up. Auto signals in possessions can set off a very weird set of signal aspects within the possession, as on-track machines, trolleys and rails being removed break and reset the continuity of the track circuit. It's not uncommon to see signals in blocks flickering between aspects.