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  1. gorilladan

    Railway Industrial Disputes Mk2

    I raise you, Marcus Aurelius. "The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject."
  2. gorilladan

    Train Driver in hospital after yobs hurl brick through windscreen (04/02)

    Hope our colleague makes a speedy recovery. Does anyone know if the train windscreen is designed to stay in 1 piece once it has been shattered ? I understand that it's laminated (with 3 layers?) but in this instance shards/small pieces/powdered glass particles came through into cab, striking...
  3. gorilladan

    Arriva Rail North DOO

    I am told, on good authority (& from 2 different sources), that Northern have recently attempted to install monitor screen(s) in trial cabs of 15x stock and had been about to consult on exact cab positioning. When questioned as to what purpose the monitor would be used for, no answer was...
  4. gorilladan

    Southport: why is arrival so slow?

    Minimising maintenance costs due to poor ground /track conditions, tight(ish) curves for pacers, old wooden sleepers, short-jointed track, multiple rabbit warren's et al. Generally lower speed = lower costs via less frequent maintenance requirements etc I've been reliably informed that to renew...
  5. gorilladan

    Class 195 depot allocations.

    The new King St stabling depot at Blackburn has 6 roads (2 of which are fuel/hydrostatic oil/c.e.t etc equipped), all of suitable length to take up to 5 carriages of 195 or 158. The depot is compact and bijou but It'll be great for its intended stabling tasks. It will however take a bit of...
  6. gorilladan

    Northern Unit Refurbishments

    I feel your pain, clearly not an option for you but I carry duct tape in my driver's bag to seal the gaps beneath the driving desk. All unit types I drive have v poor draughtproofing & often the noise from the corridor connection door on 150/2's & 156's is something very special indeed. We're...
  7. gorilladan

    Pacers in the Manchester area

    Get on't Preston-Ormskirk 142 services. Virtually guaranteed that this route will be operated with 142's. Never travelled on anything else on this route. Have been told of 153's being used but not for many moons. Added bonus with this route is the "Wild Mouse" bounce, lurch and bump whilst...
  8. gorilladan

    New Northern crew depots at Blackburn and Bradford?

    Just a couple of minor points. Blackburn drivers haven't been road-learning Blackburn to Hellifield recently. The full drivers link from Blackpool North depot have been learning it. This would somewhat preclude the need for Blackburn drivers to sign it. Vic to Wigan Wallgate via Atherton is not...
  9. gorilladan

    Stations which have platforms shorter than the train:Discussion

    Most stations on the east lancs lines & up down colne line have platforms too short for the weekend trains (usually 1x142 & almost as ancient 1x150 coupled, rear set locked out of public use from Preston to colne). Single line to Colne doesn't even have a passing loop resulting in regular...
  10. gorilladan

    Arriva Rail North DOO

    The driver is the final arbiter of whom is or is not allowed into their cab when they're driving from it, not the manager sat in an office. There are situations where a cab access refusal would not be the most appropriate response such as; whilst being assessed by their dtm, if requested to...
  11. gorilladan

    Cat stuck down Liverpool railway embankment

    +1 Should the animal be shot dead to prevent possible trespass/ill-fated amateur rescue attempts ? I'm not keen on this solution but it is an option that should be given consideration due to the wider safety concerns.
  12. gorilladan

    Northern Rail , what now for the Guard ?

    I was not implying what you suggest & want that fact on record. I've re-read my original posting in full & can't see where I imply what you claim. I fully repudiate what you claim & do not wish to be associated with it in any way. I want the retention of competently trained Guards on the...
  13. gorilladan

    Northern Rail , what now for the Guard ?

    Elucidate please & show me any Northern Security Staff member who is PTS trained, qualified to operate doors & keep the PTI secure ? Obviously, they don't exist. If you read my posting & not just the edited quote you would note the point I was making.
  14. gorilladan

    Northern Rail , what now for the Guard ?

    And these extra people will be doing exactly what at the platform train interface ? Opening doors when it's safe to do so ? Perhaps closing doors ? Sounds suspiciously like the role of the Guard ! Guards protect the PTI such that people don't die or get legs ripped off by heavy moving...
  15. gorilladan

    Northern Rail , what now for the Guard ?

    How do you propose to incentivise Train Drivers to take on the added responsibilities of door control & the can of worms that is PTI ? The only incentive available is, wait for it, by offering the drivers more money. The very thing you expect to save by introducing DOO. It is not possible to...
  16. gorilladan

    "The North Of England Is Getting A Rough Deal" discussion

    I appreciate that the Super Clarets are well deserving of the phrase "Pride of Lancashire", but surely the reward for achieving Premiership status should be a bit more substantial than the Todmorden Curve (and the threat of a few Pacers to run on it, possibly at the end of this year):D
  17. gorilladan

    TPE Trainee Drivers

    Northern are after 100 extra drivers this year due to loss of experienced drivers to neighbouring toc's & extra drivers required for electrification purposes. Their training school at Bolton can't cope with the volume of courses required so it's being moved to bigger premises (still in Bolton...
  18. gorilladan

    thanks, just posted to it. good luck for the future. You're in a much better position than...

    thanks, just posted to it. good luck for the future. You're in a much better position than 1000's of prospective candidates. You've met the required standard & Northern want you but there are loads of reasons why jpositions get pulled. From what I've read it mainly comes down to funding/ budgets...
  19. gorilladan

    Northern Rail talent pool

    Hi Andrew32, I'm also in the talent pool with Northern after meeting the required criteria standard. I was informed that a start date for my training would be given when further recruitment had taken place for the depot I'd applied for and more positions were available. Training places would...
  20. gorilladan

    Hi Herdster, apologies for delay replying I can't seem to find your message. I've read it but...

    Hi Herdster, apologies for delay replying I can't seem to find your message. I've read it but didn't reply immediately & now it's disappeared. I don't have a start date yet, I'm just in the "talent pool". Not been given a medical or any references requested. HR expected it to be Jan or Feb...

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