Train driver assessment day

[387star]

Well right royaly ****ed that up, i passed everything except the bloody dots! And to make it worse it was the first test! I let my nerv's get the best of me and went to fast and missed some. But every other test i scored good or higher so there is some good news on it. There were two other chaps in there with me and i dont know if they passed they are members on here so they might come on and tell us.

The mem test was.......................................suprise suprise GLOB! Or the smile went from ear to ear! the cabes and dails test was there too andfast reaction which i did panic and mess up but i stopped then continued and passed!

Bloody DOTS!!!! The staff were great and even telling me i failed they told me what i got right and how well i did and you could tell they dont like telling anyone they failed.

So back to donny in Nov 5th approx. Time to keep calm and carry on.

Regarding the fast reactions I'm told you are meant to come 'undone'
and this proves how well you can cope with stress and bring things back under control. Can't rememebr where I read that though. You are aloowed to pause for a period of time to bring yourself back together and I am assuming it is possible to get back on track then? Best of luck for next time I am thinking of taking the tests at some point.

How did you revise for the reactions test- BopIt! ? Was there a paticular physics book that was useful to you for the mechanics part? Finally for the memory test would you advise sitting with a tape rewinding it and seeing how much you can remember?

PS something that has been bugging me. What is the difference between SCATT and Bourdon?

 

[GARYCLARK]

Dont worrie between scatt and bourdon in the test at donny it will go like this :-

1ST TEST - DOTS (they only do dots) 5 pages on 1 big sheet every 2 mins you change to next set of dots test lasts 10mins.

2nd TEST - MEMORY (glop/sandite) You have a 5 mins reading on a cd plus the passage in writing, you lisen to tape once then get 5 mins to read along the same passage whilste making notes if you want, Once the time is up you hand all back to mandy / lisa then you get 5-8mins to answer the multi choice question on the passsage.

3rd TEST - MEMORY 2 Same as Memory test 1 but on train rules and regs dont worrie you dont need to know anything its all in passage.

(THE MEM TEST COULD BE DIFFRENT PASSAGES THIS IS JUST TO SAY WHAT I GOT)

4th TEST - DAILS AND CABLES TEST. This is the dails test which im sure you all know about put them in order of failure ect if you need any more in just message me.

5th Test - MECHANICAL TEST - Yep it the cogs and pullys test with some wedges ect just go at you own speed and look at the pictures and it multible choice answes (IF YOU FAIL THIS YOU WILL NOT FAIL COURSE, BUT IT WILL BE NOTED ON YOUR TEST PAPER/CERTIFICATE)

6th RAPID REACTION - The computer test hi/low sounds pedels and colours hit them when they come up on screen. 1st part starts slow gets faster 2nd part go at your speed but make sure your quite quick and accurite.

Then break for lunch if you failed any, your told now and asked to come back in 6 months. After lunch its the interview and you should be out the door at 3pm skipping in to car park as you have got your certificate.

Hope this helps you lot. Any more info just ask. Gary

 

[387star]

This was very useful thanks! only surprise is the dials test wonder if this covered in mechanical tests or gcse physics books?

 

[GB]

If the dials test is the one I am thinking of then it is not covered in mechanical tests or gcse physics books, but don't worry, its a piece of cake.

 

[DrT]

Hi Gary. I was one of the others (the older one) with you. When Lisa took me up in the lift she told me it was good news, which surprised the hell out of me because I really thought I'd screwed up the reaction test. She took me to a room where I filled in a form with questions about life experiences, situations etc. They then used this to prepare a grilling whilst I went for lunch. After lunch I was grilled for an hour to see how I coped. The question were things like "describe a time when you've been alone for a long period of time...", "...emergency or unexpected situation..." etc

My experience of the day:

I'd practiced computer based dots so was freaked out when I saw it was paper based. In reality it was better on paper because you could go back if you missed any.

The mechanical comprehension was easy, if a little wooly in places.

The GLOP passage was OK. As I was taking notes I did wonder if I was noting the right things. In the end I was. Go with your instinct - think Krypton Factor (if you're that old)!

The dials freaked me out too, because I'd been practising on white, black, grey, and then found they had used zones and scales.

The reaction test - all I can say on this is make sure you know which way the pedals pivot before you start, and don't go wildly pressing buttons. I struggled with the practice because I'd assumed the pedals pivoted at the heel end. They actually pivot at the toe end. Believe me, it makes a difference. Thankfully I spotted this before the real thing.

I'm gutted for you Gary. Hope you get through the next one.

Regards

Derek

 

[387star]

Thanks but is there any way I can revise for the dials test before the practise material?

I have never encountered dials before you see :P

 

[GB]

I haven't seen any material that would be relevant to the dials test, but if you can do (and understand) the ones in the practice booklet you should be fine.

 

[TDK]

Hi everyone

When i did my aptitude test for driving in the early 90s still a driver by the way i was always told with the dots test if you dont finnish in time dosent matter just make sure you get the ones you did correct.Take your time with the reaction test also dont panic, relax and focus thats what train driving is all about focus and concentration on the job ahead

best of luck


mick

With this test you are correct however when they are marked they are looking for consistency so it is no good getting all the 1st page and only half the last it is better getting half all the way through

 

[GARYCLARK]

Well done D i'm glad you passed i just got a bit nervous at the start and balled up but you live and learn i will now be fine for the next one. Do you know if the other lad from liverpool made it? - Gary

 

[DrT]

I suspect he didn't make it. I expected to see both of you at lunch. I hope they fed you before you went.

On a different note, I contacted Lisa the following day to see if I could get some contact details to submit a speculative job application with DB Schenker. Mandy got back in touch and said that DBS were not recruiting for the forseeable future. So it seems they'll take your money for an assessment day knowing that the chances of employment are slim

 

[TDK]

I suspect he didn't make it. I expected to see both of you at lunch. I hope they fed you before you went.

On a different note, I contacted Lisa the following day to see if I could get some contact details to submit a speculative job application with DB Schenker. Mandy got back in touch and said that DBS were not recruiting for the forseeable future. So it seems they'll take your money for an assessment day knowing that the chances of employment are slim

DB shenker have too many drivers for the work they have and most probably will never recruit again all the time it is DB shenker, although it is an advantage to pass the tests privately I would have personally waited for a vacancy to arise at a toc or foc first and taken their assessment.

 

[Redviper]

Hi
in reference for the tests download link, I went to download them however I get the error message "this sites monthly download limit has been reached".

Does any one know a alternative place I can download them from? or when its likely to be back up again.

Many Thanks

 

[Rjhsteel]

I was sent a Practice paper from NXEA. I will endeavor to scan it and post soon.