Great Western Coffee Shop

Hello all.  Not a regular contributor to this brilliant forum, but a regular browser and a semi-long periodic member.

Earlier this year I applied for the position of Trainee Train Driver with FGW.  With my interest in the railways ever growing and with railway experience elsewhere behind me, it was a position that interested me very much.

I was invited to partake in both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the assessment process to which I am pleased to say I comfortably passed.  I was then invited to a Driver Managers interview at SPM earlier this month.  A very welcoming manager and his accomplice interviewed me and I walked out feeling bewildered but excited.

Just before Christmas I was contacted by FGW HR and was conditionally offered the position, pending a successful medical examination.

What a Christmas present that was.  I was overjoyed and almost in tears.  I couldn't believe that out of the thousands of people that presumably applied, I was one of a select few to be successful.

I had my medical yesterday at Bupa, Bristol.  It went very well, as I expected as I consider myself a fit and healthy young man, and I was considered fit and capable by the consultant.  I now await the contract for me to sign and a formal start date (I've been penciled in to start on the 7th April although this has to be confirmed by FGW HR).

Therefore, fellow FGW travellers (especially around the Bristol suburban area) to beware.  I will soon be undergoing training for this exciting new role and by years end, will be driving west DMU's around the Bristol area (under close supervision of an instructor of course).

I haven't been this excited for a long time.  It's an amazing turning point in my life and one I will appreciate for a long time.  I look forward to conveying some of you around the Bristol network in the future, off course, in a safe and professional manner.

Rewind. 

Very many congratulations.

I'd have been worried about over indulging at Christmas with a medical so soon after!  (That said I think it would have been a forlorn cause in my case!)

Personally I don't use many unit services around Bristol but I am sure once you've completed the training we will have nothing to fear.

Look forward to hearing how your training goes.

May I add my congratulations to those of bobm, ReWind! A lot of work to come before you get let loose alone, but I'm sure it will all work out well. Keep us posted.

Looking forward to having you transporting me between Avonmouth/Shirehampton and Bristol Temple Meads, ReWind.

Congratulations.  ;D

Hello to you, too, ReWind!  :)

There is no requirement that I know of that says anyone has to be a regular or frequent poster on the Coffee Shop forum to become a valued contributor to our discussions.  ;D


And I shall look forward to being so conveyed, ReWind - with my congratulations on your getting through that very rigorous selection process!  :D

Congratulations for making it this far especially as you said out of so many people who applied including myself.

Sadly although I passed stage 2 my score was not enough compared to othert candidates.

Anyway I do look forward to you transporting me around Bristol in the near future

Congratulations Rewind ............... try not to smash up the infrastructure ..... too much ............ its very fragile you know  ;D

I shall take particular care to look through the cab window to see the face of the driver when a train with 'L' plates pulls in at Yatton.  :D

Congratulations, and may 2014 be the beginning of an enjoyable and fulfulling career.

Thankyou for all your kind words.

I have now received and signed the contract and it's all now official.  I will be commencing in April with many a week at SPM.

Well done, ReWind!  :D

Many congrats ReWind, and welcome to the forum (I'm only a few weeks newer than you on here).  They're a nice bunch, you'll feel right at home, just as long as you don't go too heavy on the brakes!! ;)

Can I add my congratulations to those already posted, Rewind, well done!  You don't say what date in April you start.....  I wouldn't want to start waving randomly at passing cabs on the wrong date!

By the way, your signature has had me singing along to the Lennon/McCartney song of the same name ever since I read it!  (From the 'Revolver' album, for the benefit of all you youngsters out there)  I'm sure they weren't the inspiration for your signature though!

Welcome (back) ReWind.
As a First rubber-wheeled driver 'down far West', it's unlikely our paths will cross, but you might well meet some of our rail replacement drivers who frequently work north of the Tamar.
I always hankered after train driving (even taking a Longmoor Military Railway operations course when a cadet - in the days when it was a railway)!
Events took their course & I'm finishing off my working life with busses, but still enviously glance to the Longrock yard when I drive past.
Good luck for your future.
Forum-wise, I've only managed one strong rebuke (so far)  ;D

An update on the course a week and a bit into it.

Just going through the corporate process really, with the mandatory First Aid, Fire, Disability etc courses.  Just starting PTS too so this could be an interesting end to the working week.

Got to say it has been very organised so far. Got my uniform now which helps make me feel a part of the company.

We are constantly reminded, and rightly so, of the importance and detail ahead of us though.  Start rules next week.   Eeeeeek.

Sounds like quite heavy going to me, Rewind, good luck with the rest of the course!

For the even younger, I should explain that Lennon / McCartney were two members of a popular music combo called the Beatles, formed during the Prime Ministership of Harold Macmillan. You will know a third member from "Thomas the Tank Engine".

I'm posting this here somewhat mischievously, as I'm sure ReWind will be learning about such differences ... :P :


CfN  ;D

Just a little update on the progress one is making.

Currently completed all corporate courses which included;

- Putting Customers First
- Conflict Management
- First Aid
- PIDD ( gold star for whoever knows this abbreviation )
- Safety & Evacuation
- Disability Awareness
- Fire Training

Then we completed a 2 day PTS course around SPM which finished off with a track walk to North Somerset Junction and back.

We then had 2 weeks called "Safe Railways" which is a basic introduction to all aspects of the train driver role covered in the rule book.  It gives you an insight into the content you go into in much further detail in Core Rules.

I am now in week 4 of Rules, with one more week of topics left to cover next week before Feedback, Revision and Interim 1 in week 6.

A brief snapshot of topics covered so far in rules includes;

- Absolute Block Signalling
- TCB Signalling
- Passing Signals at Danger
- Signal irregularities
- Wrong Route Movements
- Single Line Working
- Working of a Single Line
- Pilotman Working
- Train Working
- Station & Dispatch duties
- AWS & TPWS
- DRA
- DSD and DVD devices
- Tiii Possessions
- Shunting
- Propelling
- Depot Working
- Fixed Signals
- Shunt Signals
- Hand Signals
- Level Crossings
- Degraded Working from Level Crossing Failure
- Cab Discipline
- Mobile Phone Discipline

and more plus more to do in week 5 (next week) which is many Protection. 

A long way to go still before I am let loose with a DI.  As expected, a very intense and thorough course but understandably so.

Passenger Information During Disruption  ;D

Is there Passenger Information Standing Sideways (On Front Foot)?

Now added to the Acronyms/Abbreviations page.  ;)

ReWind, am I right in thinking that DSD is Driver's Safety Device? Aka, the dead man's handle? Most often in British rolling stock a pedal which must be kept depressed otherwise the emergency brake will kick in.

That is correct BnM.

Like you said, a pedal (known as the Dead Mans Pedal) that must be kept suppressed at all times unless no other control of the train has been activated for 60 seconds, when a DSD alarm will sound which requires you to reset it by taking your foot off and back on again.

The reset of the DSD is known as the Vigilance system (DSD & vigilance are 2 separate systems integrated together).

Am I right in thinking that some older stock/locos only have DSD with no additional 'vigilance'? Or is it the case that any stock operating scheduled passenger services in the UK now has to have the 60 second (if no other control input) 'foot off, foot on, reset'?

I'm sure I've read of incidents in the recent past where it was surmised, or proved, that the DSD had been over-ridden by the simple expedient of a driver placing something heavy on the pedal or wedging it down.

It used to be the DSD on its own, but as you say, circumstances introduced the vigilance system, which stopped anyone who may have thought it was a good idea to place a bag/other object on the pedal.

143's were retrofitted with the vigilance system, before they were released back into the wild a few years ago.

Another update then.

Finished rules!   Yay!!!!!!!!   ;D

Sat Interim 1 (of 3) last Wednesday and passed with a modest score of 97%.  Known as the easiest of the 3 Interims, was still a paper that one had to concentrate and take time doing.  99 questions altogether.

Now commencing the first of 4 weeks of traction.  Had my first drive of a Class 150 unit today, just back and forth in the siding on SPM.  Good to get a feel of the brake though. 

Now starting to learn the whole set up underneath the solebar.

I never new the mechanical set up of a Class 150 unit was so complicated (for a non mechanically minded person like myself anyway).

Going through step by step the many different components from underneath the solebar including;

The Auxiliary Battery
The Starter Battery
The Coolant pipes and uses
The Fuel Tank
The Cummins 6 Cylinder Engine
The Westabo pre heater
The Turbocharger
The BSI coupling
The AWS/TPWS receivers
The Splitter
The Driving Bogie
The Running Bogie
The Sander
The Alternators (2 on 150/2's, 1 on 150/1's)
The TCA
The Voith Hydraulic Transmission Box
 
There are some other, German named things but they have already gone out of my head for now.  Also, we had a brief look at door operation and passenger saloon equipment including the Toasting Fork, Uncoupling Rod and Air Pipe.

Lots to learn for such a small train.  Loving it but it certainly is a very challenging course.  Looking forward to August 18th when my handling starts and I'll be driving trains on the main line (under DI supervision of course).

You have been warned!  :)

Toasting Fork? Please do explain.  ???

Likewise TCA & BSI please..
What a difference between the rubber & metal wheel drivers (hence the pay differencial, of course!).
We are required to drive, with no, or minimal knowledge of how the engine works.

Keep up the good work, and thank you for the updates, very interesting.

The TCA is the Track Circuit Activator.  To put it briefly it is a small pulse box under each driving cab that sends a pulse down to the track circuit to boost the track circuit signal, which alerts the signaller to the exact presence of your train.

The BSI is the coupling system used on all 15* series DMU's.  It is a German named system which I won't attempt to spell right now. 

As for the Toasting Fork, it is a "nickname" for a tool used to isolate the transmission box.  I can't recall the official name for it again, I will revisit again later today and inform.  It is used by RST's to isolate the air supply to the transmission box. Basically it is a large spanner type tool found in a cupboard behind the driving cab that reaches across to a cock and turns it to isolate the transmission box.

'Bergische Stahl Industrie', subsequently taken over by 'Faively'...

Needless to say there's a significant minority who think that coupler type has some kind of British Standard Institute designation.   Usually just before they blame the Dellner/Scharfenberg style used on EMUs on those pesky foreigners...    ;D

Paul

Actually its called a ' Track Circuit Assister'.  This creates a large current between a pair of wheels which breaks down rust and leaf residule on the rail head to 'assist' in the operation of track circuits: http://www.unipartrail.com/WebPDF/ProductBulletins/313.pdf

Also known as a track circuit actuator!

Agreed it does have an alternative name that is copyright of Delta Rail (previously known as BR Research and later privatised as AEA Technology PLC): http://www.tillyweb.biz/heritagesignal/robertwoodspaper.pdf.pdf

Warning - nostalgia alert.
When I started at BR Research in 1988, Robert Wood (the author of the above paper) arranged a day's Cab Ride for me to learn signalling from a "user's" perspective.  He and I travelled many miles that day, to see various types of signal from the sharp end, some at 100mph or so.

Another update then. 

I drove my first mainline passenger service (under supervision) today.  2K26 & 2K27 if anyone was on it.  All went Ok, no incidents occurred thankfully.  GSMR registration failed though but that's it.

Will be driving trains on suburban Bristol routes for the next 2 weeks now before being moved to Westbury for 5 weeks of driving due to lack of instructors at Bristol.  225 hours to go now.

Interim 2 also in amongst that.

If you notice any dodgy driving whilst out and about, wait for the next service.  lol.

Thanks for that update (and warning), ReWind!  :)

Congratulations on your progress.  ;) :D ;D

Any chance of a heads up should you be on the Severn Beach Line? Let us know what days so I can take the bus instead.

Only kidding of course. If you see a portly guy with a grey flat cap (and currently sporting a 'tache) at Shirehampton, Clifton Down or P1 at Bristol TM, do say "hi". I can then run away and get that bus...

Again, joking. Congratulations on getting this far. As a lad I wanted to be a train driver, and even 30+ years later I'm extremely envious of those who get to sit at the business end of a train.

Well done ReWind.  ;D

Altho' I'm driving with rubber wheels, would prefer metal ones, & generally give a 'what-if' sigh when passing Longrock MPD.

I couldn't make up my mind between solicitor or train driver as a career, which is how I became, by a tortuous route, and a Jethro Tull connection, a Civil Servant.

Seed drill or flute?

Flautist's mother.

Edit:

I just got the insult. I'm not that old, young man!