Most Constrained Driving Jobs.

[D854_Tiger]

By constrained I mean dull.

 

The Waterloo and City line springs to mind and the Stourbridge Town branch but how many other driving rosters were (or are), shall we say, limited in scope such that very little distance is covered or little distance is covered a heck of a lot.

 

Also, what was done to alleviate the potential for sheer boredom and the obvious safety implication that stems from that.

[russ p]

I may be a boring job but I'd love to own the Wells harbour railway. I bet it's an absolute gold mine.

 

Some drivers for various reasons can be restricted to a particular depot,yard or station or maybe between two of these.

I don't know if it's true but I've heard in BR days the Waterloo and city was a punishment job for some.

IE if you'd gotten into trouble of some sort you were restricted to line for a given time

[Phil Bullock]

Holyhead Breakwater branch perhaps?

 

Phil

[big jim]

anything involving driving a UTU (ultrasonic) train for hundereds of miles at 30mph is dull

[The Stationmaster]

Our branch is 5 miles long with two intermediate stations and there used to be two branch based Drivers in steam days plus others working in.  This carried on after dieselisation but eventually the two local turns went as the men retired although effectively the branch trains were covered over the day by three or four turns which included the empty moves in and out.

 

Recently talking to an FGW (as it then was) Driver I found that they're now not supposed to do more than 3 or 4 return trips over the branch in the course of a turn 'for safety reasons' - presumably to avoid boredom setting in?  I can see some point in this but as the weekday service runs at a 45 minute frequency for much of the day it does result in some complicated turns as some also include mainline work as well as travelling to/from the junction on the mainline so it's hardly efficient diagramming.

 

So there you are - at least one TOC appears to have thought about and assessed the potential boredom risk.  But I'd love to know what the two old chaps who did nothing else for years on end would think of it?

[D854_Tiger]

Our branch is 5 miles long with two intermediate stations and there used to be two branch based Drivers in steam days plus others working in.  This carried on after dieselisation but eventually the two local turns went as the men retired although effectively the branch trains were covered over the day by three or four turns which included the empty moves in and out.

 

Recently talking to an FGW (as it then was) Driver I found that they're now not supposed to do more than 3 or 4 return trips over the branch in the course of a turn 'for safety reasons' - presumably to avoid boredom setting in?  I can see some point in this but as the weekday service runs at a 45 minute frequency for much of the day it does result in some complicated turns as some also include mainline work as well as travelling to/from the junction on the mainline so it's hardly efficient diagramming.

 

So there you are - at least one TOC appears to have thought about and assessed the potential boredom risk.  But I'd love to know what the two old chaps who did nothing else for years on end would think of it?

 

 

I heard a story from the days of loco haulage on the Far North Line of a Thurso based driver that claimed his route knowledge ended at Georgemas Junction and how the impending introduction of class 158s, to the line, and the ending of portion working over the Thurso branch had caused him to consider (and take) voluntary redundancy.

 

He had only ever travelled south of Georgemas, presumably on the cushions, for his medicals.

[GordonC]

are any drivers restricted to shunting around yards these days or are those duties shared out in the rare occassions they still exist?

[Rugd1022]

are any drivers restricted to shunting around yards these days or are those duties shared out in the rare occassions they still exist?

 

With very few pilot / yard shunting jobs left it's a tricky one when a Driver is medically restricted. Some have had to leave the job in recent years or take employment elsewhere in the company, often office work and suchlike. I know of one driver at Crewe who is currently working as a Booking On Clerk whilst he is restricted.

 

As for the most boring or constraining job, for me it would be spending more than five minutes conducting a railgrinder.... hateful, hateful contraptions, some of which can grind up to twenty miles of rail at a maximum of 8mph... tedious isn't the word!

[4630]

. 

[Banger Blue]

Slough - Windsor

[peak experience]

Aylesbury-Princes Risborough is a pretty short journey.

[fozzy280472]

Romford to upminster branch always looked like a boring driving turn with only the stop at Emerson park for interest.

I spent many an hour watching the Cravens dmu go back and forth .....my mum and dad's house backed on to it .

[russ p]

anything involving driving a UTU (ultrasonic) train for hundereds of miles at 30mph is dull

Not as bad as conducting the big rail grinders!

Preserved railways can be a bit dull. I remember years ago when railways actually took note of high fire risk spending all day running between Weybourne and the station they call Holt for a whole week with a diesel, talk about tedious

[Bert Cheese]

I'd imagine the novelty of shuffling between Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin wears thin after a while?

[russ p]

With very few pilot / yard shunting jobs left it's a tricky one when a Driver is medically restricted. Some have had to leave the job in recent years or take employment elsewhere in the company, often office work and suchlike. I know of one driver at Crewe who is currently working as a Booking On Clerk whilst he is restricted.

 

As for the most boring or constraining job, for me it would be spending more than five minutes conducting a railgrinder.... hateful, hateful contraptions, some of which can grind up to twenty miles of rail at a maximum of 8mph... tedious isn't the word!

Sorry I haven't noticed you mentioned grinders. I can never understand what they are saying on them,they all seem really broad Scottish.

Norwich still has a green card link for shed and pilot

[Mark Saunders]

Not as bad as conducting the big rail grinders!

Preserved railways can be a bit dull. I remember years ago when railways actually took note of high fire risk spending all day running between Weybourne and the station they call Holt for a whole week with a diesel, talk about tedious

 

Russ

 

At least with the big C21's you keep moving forward, remember the fun on the little ones umpteen passes on the same curve, but Tampers are similar but more uncomfortable!

 

Mark

[russ p]

Any track machine is hideous including MPVs

At least on the little grinders you can get off if they are doing passes as they are in the block

[Talltim]

I'd imagine the little cab on a 153 is quite constrained.

VWC drivers are limited to either one or two return trips per shift (can't remember which it is) because of the boredom factors, notwithstanding the fact that most suburban shifts are are much more boring, have many more trips and have to conecentrate on stopping at far more stations. No wonder that Virgin can pick and choose their drivers.

[russ p]

The little dog box cab on a 153 actually has more legroom than the original but it is quite claustrophobic.

I had one a year or so ago from Norwich to Doncaster via the joint line,dog box all the way!

[stewartingram]

By constrained I mean dull.

 

The Waterloo and City line springs to mind and the Stourbridge Town branch but how many other driving rosters were (or are), shall we say, limited in scope such that very little distance is covered or little distance is covered a heck of a lot.

 

Also, what was done to alleviate the potential for sheer boredom and the obvious safety implication that stems from that.

 

W&C drivers are part of the Central Line, though their shift for the day doesn't involve both lines.

 

Stewart

[Rugd1022]

Sorry I haven't noticed you mentioned grinders. I can never understand what they are saying on them,they all seem really broad Scottish.

Norwich still has a green card link for shed and pilot

 

I just nod and say ''oh aye, mon", it usually works...! They're a great bunch but the job itself is so boring.

 

There was one link at Old Oak back in the early '80s where you'd just be on empty stock to Padd and back all day / night long, by the third trip you'd run out of things to talk about!

[russ p]

W&C drivers are part of the Central Line, though their shift for the day doesn't involve both lines.

 

Stewart

I wonder if the BR drivers were TUPE'd over to LT when they took over

[Baby Deltic]

By constrained I mean dull.

 

The Waterloo and City line springs to mind and the Stourbridge Town branch but how many other driving rosters were (or are), shall we say, limited in scope such that very little distance is covered or little distance is covered a heck of a lot.

 

Also, what was done to alleviate the potential for sheer boredom and the obvious safety implication that stems from that.

A good friend of mine Drives the Waterloo & City and he loves it down there. Generally it's Central Line drivers who work the roster and if he has to go back on the 'main line' he hates it.

[John M Upton]

We used to have a duty for both drivers and guards on a Sunday that was nine and a half hours shuttling between Littlehampton and Bognor Regis.  Thankfully those jobs have now been split up so you only do a few shuttles with a Brighton or a London Victoria before or after them.

 

There are also the night shunter turns at Bognor and Littlehampton.  The Bognor one never gets more than twelve coach lengths beyond the signal box all night until the last bit, the first set of empties to Barnham at about 5 am.

[big jim]

Aylesbury-Princes Risborough is a pretty short journey.

that turn is usually part of a bigger diagram (or used to be) when i was with chiltern you had a job at birmingham that used to be moor st-marylebone, marylebone-aylesbury via the met, aylesbury-risborough-aylesbury, aylesbury-risborough then pass back to moor st, we used to swap with an aylesbury driver though and do one straight back to marylebone after the first trip and they did the branch trips and we ended up on the same you caught back passenger from risborough at marylebone (or if you ran an earlier one) and they got an early finish