The human side of the railway...

[Michael Hodgson]

2 hours ago, Peter Kazmierczak said:

Conversation point. "Where do I put this chock, mate?"

As long as it's not the bloke on the right saying you didn't oughter took that chock out from under that loco mate !

[Mike 84C]

Top man John Besley, should have popped your glasses in your top pocket. Only allowed for reading back in the day!

[PhilJ W]

5 hours ago, Peter Kazmierczak said:

Conversation point. "Where do I put this chock, mate?"

He might get an answer he might not like.😲

[John M Upton]

On 01/09/2023 at 14:19, Oldddudders said:

Too true! In the mid-80s, when certain senior S&T people were convinced that the IECC would shortly be the only form of signalling control, Southern apparently had just two locking fitters. It was said they were not allowed to travel in the same van, just in case.... I believe there may yet be pockets of semaphore signalling on the former Southern Region. 

 

I think just Bognor Regis and Littlehampton are left still with semaphores (certainly on my patch anyway) and possibly Rye area.  Littlehampton was supposed to be losing them this year but there seems to have been no movement lately so that may be delayed, meanwhile the planning applications have just gone in to get rid of the Bognor ones.

[John Besley]

14 hours ago, Mike 84C said:

Top man John Besley, should have popped your glasses in your top pocket. Only allowed for reading back in the day!

 

In which case I'd now be relegated to shed shunt and disposal if I am lucky

[The Stationmaster]

10 hours ago, John Besley said:

 

In which case I'd now be relegated to shed shunt and disposal if I am lucky

It's different now.  Definitely banned from the footplate in steam days and really should remain banned on steam for safety reasons although an exception sometimes seems to be allowed if they're made of the right type of material.    Basically wearing specs on a steam job is not a sensible idea in my view, one gauge g;ass blown and that could be your eyesight gone forever.

 

But in the day  of the diesel/electric on BR you were at last allowed to wear spectacles (of an approved type) as a Driver.  And when booking on a supervisor doing his job properly would check that you had your spare pair with you and not allow you to book on if you hadn't got the spare pair.

[LMS2968]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

It's different now.  Definitely banned from the footplate in steam days and really should remain banned on steam for safety reasons although an exception sometimes seems to be allowed if they're made of the right type of material.

This one's always intrigued me.

 

2959 at Leyland station with the 11.40 Wigan NW - Carnforth passenger, 19 September 1964. The driver - wearing glasses - is looking back for the tip. Apparently, he took exception to being passed in the station by a Class 40-hauled parcels and wanted to catch and pass it. This story was told to the SMF by the photographer, Steve Leyland.

Edited September 3, 2023 by LMS2968

[St Enodoc]

5 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

It's different now.  Definitely banned from the footplate in steam days and really should remain banned on steam for safety reasons although an exception sometimes seems to be allowed if they're made of the right type of material.    Basically wearing specs on a steam job is not a sensible idea in my view, one gauge g;ass blown and that could be your eyesight gone forever.

 

But in the day  of the diesel/electric on BR you were at last allowed to wear spectacles (of an approved type) as a Driver.  And when booking on a supervisor doing his job properly would check that you had your spare pair with you and not allow you to book on if you hadn't got the spare pair.

Do French drivers still wear goggles?

[Joseph_Pestell]

7 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Do French drivers still wear goggles?

 

yes, at least on the steam trips I have done.

[Southernman46]

On 02/09/2023 at 14:43, Peter Kazmierczak said:

Conversation point. "Where do I put this chock, mate?"

Chock, Chock ????????????????  IT'S A WHEEL SCOTCH ............................. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Peter Kazmierczak]

OK, OK. So "Where do I put the scotch?"  "In the minibar..."

[Mike 84C]

I wonder if that driver is wearing those protective goggles locomen were issued with?  Never wore mine! must see if I still have them would they class as artifacts  now?

[LMS2968]

Glasses, I think.

 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by LMS2968

[The Stationmaster]

5 minutes ago, Mike 84C said:

I wonder if that driver is wearing those protective goggles locomen were issued with?  Never wore mine! must see if I still have them would they class as artifacts  now?

They do look to me like spectacles - having also enlarged  the view of his face.  

 

If they are spectacles then he is definitely not complying with the restrictions which were clarified in a Railway Staff Council (RSC) letter issued on 19 April 1963 which clearly restricted Drivers wearing spectacles working on steam engines  to shed and shunting work only  (as previously mentioned  by Mike 84C).  My ASLE&F Conditions of Service book is the 1977 edition and the 1963 letter still applied then  (and was probably never altered in BR days).

[Mike 84C]

My safety glasses, which I cannot find now, were a very similar shape with a black frame and had a triangular piece on each arm that was supposed to stop dust. 

  Never saw that situation before but every day's a school day!

[TheSignalEngineer]

 

On 01/09/2023 at 14:19, Oldddudders said:

Too true! In the mid-80s, when certain senior S&T people were convinced that the IECC would shortly be the only form of signalling control,

In the 1970s there was a Southern proposal that the whole region would be covered by three enormous power boxes. On the LMR the proposal was 13 boxes for the region. I had to draw up some ideas for the West Midlands, the easiest of which were to leave Saltley largely as it was with a few additions to mop up fringe areas, a new box to take over the existing New Street, Wolverhampton and Walsall areas with extensions to cover  the Kidderminster, Cannock Chase and Lichfield lines and Coventry to be extended to take the line to Nuneaton and control resignalling from Leamington to Aynho. I actually made a cardbord scale mock up of the panel for the latter to prove it could be fitted in the existing Coventry PSB.

 

On 01/09/2023 at 14:19, Oldddudders said:

Southern apparently had just two locking fitters. It was said they were not allowed to travel in the same van, just in case.... I believe there may yet be pockets of semaphore signalling on the former Southern Region. 

Back in the 1980s I was Staff Rep for a group of S&T staff. We had just got the papers for a consultation over heavy staff cuts when our boss man came on a visit. I complained to him about the proposal to get rid of all specialist locking staff on the region. His rather flippant reply was that as I was a capable locking designer and the Works Engineer standing next to me knew how to alter and maintain locking there was no problem. I must admit to giving him a severe tongue lashing to the effect that he had little idea of the time and money required to complete the development and implementation of his ideas. I told him I was intending to retire by 2008 at the latest. My estimate at the time for the replacement of the last mechanical signal boxes was 2030 at the earliest and that in my worst case scenario I would by 102 years old when lever frames finally disappeared from the network. At the moment 

[Welchester]

Gareth Jones 1938-2023. See my post in Obituaries. Anthony Manor was photographed at an open day at Machynlleth. One of the women in the first picture is Gareth's mother.

[Merfyn Jones]

On 01/09/2023 at 13:01, DIRTY DIESEL said:

Merf would definitely, I’m going for Wyne Davies, I’m sure he relieved me a few times at Colwyn Bay Box…

Even though I’ve worked an NX Panel for the last 26 years, I saw the ‘lesser spotted’ Locking Fitter more as it was the only place Dave Kips could work/fax his timesheet off. 

They still maintain our two ground frames, the last time I asked their area nearly covered the Western side of the Uk up to Cumbria…

The late Ivor Williams was the locking fitter and Arthur Roberts his mate.  I recall Wynne Davies  (think that was the name) A relief man at Rhyl who went round in an old VW Beetle.

Talking of locking fitters, I recall Arthur telling me one day that there were 11 left in the UK.  For a while in Jarvis days (pre 2004) they were loaned to CIE for a few weeks on a few occasions, as CIE only had one left !

[TheSignalEngineer]

When I started my training on the LMR most of my time was on stagework for PSB schemes, lots of layout alterations on existing boxes

 At that time we had about 20 pairs of fitters on the LMR alone. I worked alongside at least seven in my first three years. I worked on locking design and checking for various scheme across about 13 years. When my log was being checked during the introduction of licensing I found that I had been involved in some capacity with work on at least 17 variations of frame.

The last job where I was hands on was  testing an alteration to a frame on one of my projects in 1993. One of the people involved in the design is still active as a senior man in Network Rail but for how much longer.

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by TheSignalEngineer

[Rugd1022]

Liskeard at silly o'clock this morning - I'd just arrived and the road was off for the down Sleeper...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rugd1022]

My brother recently - he'll be driving his mate's HST on the NVR in October...

 

 

 

 

 

[russ p]

12 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

My brother recently - he'll be driving his mate's HST on the NVR in October...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morning Nidge,  is Mick on Cross country now?  I thought he was on GB

[30368]

HST's still look good do they not?

 

Kind regards,

 

30368

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, 30368 said:

HST's still look good do they not?

 

Kind regards,

 

30368

Some of them are being sold to Mexico.

https://www.railtech.com/all/2023/08/29/british-high-speed-trains-set-for-mexico/?gdpr=accept

[30368]

On 08/09/2023 at 11:48, PhilJ W said:

Some of them are being sold to Mexico.

 

Many thanks for the info Phil.

 

Still a ripple of pride on my part for being involved in one of the BRB's most successful Rolling Stock projects - transformed Inter City and BR's image. Take care of them guys.

 

Kind regards,

 

30368

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by 30368