Railway Rules

[Kris]

For those of you who haven't seen them before - these are the rules that we have to learn (applicable by grade in the margins).

http://www.rgsonline.co.uk/rail/rule_modules.html

Bit heavy going at times but easier than the rule book when I started nearly 20 years ago e.g. : -

"Make sure your train has clean antimacassars."

"You must go to the signal box by the most expedititious method."

(Make sure the headrests are clean and get there as quickly as possible )

Handy for anyone contemplating a career on the railway rather than working

 

[mbonwick]

Crikey! A lot to learn there!

Thanks for tht Kris, something to waste some time on

 

[Guinness]

I've found a few copies of them at home. Blue A5 things, quite useful too.

 

[westcoaster]

ive got mine in a couple off weeks, we no longer do them in a class room, over two years you have ride outs and the manager asks you questions and that is now basiacley it.

 

[nath9425]

Why on earth do they want people to learn all that! Surely if you pass a simple test you could just push the throttle and go! I would love to have ago in a TOC'S Simulator......

 

[westcoaster]

Why on earth do they want people to learn all that! Surely if you pass a simple test you could just push the throttle and go! I would love to have ago in a TOC'S Simulator......

it aint as easy as it looks sunny jimtop:
think before you speak, you actually need to know a lot like how to lay protection, plus when and where it will work, what to do in an emergancy, what you can and cant do, signals, power supply's, distance from the track, pts, any safety critical role has rules they are there to protect you.

 

[Guinness]

Because you need to learn what happens in an emergency, do and don't s if you go trackside. Rules on Set Procedures, Safety Regulations. The list goes on.

 

[Kris]

Why on earth do they want people to learn all that! Surely if you pass a simple test you could just push the throttle and go! I would love to have ago in a TOC'S Simulator......

Because you're in charge of £2,000.000 quids worth of train with up to 700 people on board - sometimes doing 100mph in the fog (or faster up country).

AND IT'S ALL DOWN TO YOU !!!

Far as I'm concerned though - if I'm safe up the front - they're safe at the back. To be honest - most of the time you don't think about what's behind you.

Most of the the time you just think 'Donuts' drool - cue Homer Simpson

As for a simple test ....... it ain't at all. We've had qualified pilots fail. A lot of good people fail because it is an unrealsitic test.

 

[Dennis]

The rules and regs surrounding railway operation have obviously evolved over a hundred or more years to ensure safe and efficient operation, but are there any really daft or pointless rules or regulations in existence?

 

[Kris]

The rules and regs surrounding railway operation have obviously evolved over a hundred or more years to ensure safe and efficient operation, but are there any really daft or pointless rules or regulations in existence?

My biggest bugbear is having to repeat the starting bell to the guard. Never have understood the point.

Get interlock - guard gives the bells - go. Guard knows you have had the bells because the train is moving.

How ever ......... if the guard wants to give you one bell to stop in emnergency ..... they can't - because you're giving unecessary bells back, overiding the system. ARRGHHHHHH :angry6:

I never used to give the bell back until we got 'Big Brother' Disastro - download your every move for the next millenia data recording systems.

 

[Tom]

442s have OTMR as well, Kris. Although, they don't have it to such a degree as on the Desiros.

 

[Kris]

Yeah - but they don't record the bells

 

[Nick W]

My biggest bugbear is having to repeat the starting bell to the guard. Never have understood the point.

Because otherwise there would be an exceptiomn to the "reapeat all bells" rule.

 

[Tom]

Nick... you haven't actually answered the point of that sentence. What is the point of repeating the RA, or say the 1 bell (stop train immediately) when the driver would take action based on that, the train starting up is good enough "RA" proof surely?

 

[Mojo]

Perhaps it could be to do with something that happenned last night, for example?

The train was dispatched by the platform staff and the guard closed the doors, and gave the RA on the bells to the driver. However, the driver wasn't ready - he'd only just got on as the doors closed and had to start the engine, turn on the lights and do whatever drivers do when they get on (take off their coat? ) So we didn't actually leave for about a minute after the bell code was given. Perhaps the guard might've assumed he'd not got it and go up to see him or something, to find the train move on.

But TBH, regardless of that, which mustn't happen very often, it seems very pointless to me.

 

[Tom B]

I'm sure there's a reason somewhere in the mists of time - I think I might have seen something about it before, but I'll look it up.

 

[Tom B]

That's it - the "ding ding and away" culture. Drivers, upon receiving a signal from the guard, would just sail off even if there was an adverse signal aspect, which caused the Paisley crash. Not helped by several procedure changes by which the guard first was, then wasn't, supposed to check the starting signal before giving the bells.

 

[Kris]

That's why we have a D.R.A. now.

 

[westcoaster]

i do believe the driver gives two back to say he is ready to start aswell, back when we had the dmu's on the bedford -bletchley, a guard gave two on the bell, but the driver did not give two back, so he went down to speak to the driver as he got near the front the train started, and left him behind on liddlington platform lol.