Train drivers favorite and least favorite routes to drive?

[Peregrine 4903]

Apologies if this should be in the railway jobs and careers section.

I've always been curious. What are train drivers, favorite and least favorite routes to drive.

Its obviously going to massively vary depending on the part of the country you are in.

One example I've wondered about is for example, drivers who sign the Brighton Main Line, do you have a favorite section of the BML you like to drive, do you like driving all of it, or do you hate all of it and prefer to drive quiter routes such as the Uckfield Line.

Just curious to see the different opinions.

 

[HST274]

I have always wondered this too. Another question I have is the comparatives between intercity and regional services- for example is the cross city line boring compared say to a grand central break from London to York or Doncaster or do both have their perks?

 

[75A]

Apologies if this should be in the railway jobs and careers section.

I've always been curious. What are train drivers, favorite and least favorite routes to drive.

Its obviously going to massively vary depending on the part of the country you are in.

One example I've wondered about is for example, drivers who sign the Brighton Main Line, do you have a favorite section of the BML you like to drive, do you like driving all of it, or do you hate all of it and prefer to drive quiter routes such as the Uckfield Line.

Just curious to see the different opinions.

Preferred the Arun Valley route rather than the BML, especially @ night.
Favourite turn though, was the Eastbourne / Hastings / Ore paper train, seeing the Long Man of Wilmington through the mist as the sun came up was awesome, made getting up @ 3am worth it - honest.

 

[Peregrine 4903]

Preferred the Arun Valley route rather than the BML, especially @ night.
Favourite turn though, was the Eastbourne / Hastings / Ore paper train, seeing the Long Man of Wilmington through the mist as the sun came up was awesome, made getting up @ 3am worth it - honest.

I'm not a train driver, but going down the Arun Valley Line is really quite spectacular, escpecially the section around Arundel. A very underrated scenic route.

I always thought that running through busy areas like East Croydon or Gatwick Airport on the BML would be really interesting to drive through, considering how busy they are and how much is going on there, but I'm not a train driver so could be completely wrong.

 

[75A]

I'm not a train driver, but going down the Arun Valley Line is really quite spectacular, escpecially the section around Arundel. A very underrated scenic route.

I always thought that running through busy areas like East Croydon or Gatwick Airport on the BML would be really interesting to drive through, considering how busy they are and how much is going on there, but I'm not a train driver so could be completely wrong.

By the very nature of being busy, the signals were closer together and 4 aspect, meaning unless it was at night you were normally chasing yellows. The Mid Sussex was still Semaphore and had much more of 'a feel' about it.

 

[Flange Squeal]

I quite like driving semi-fast regional type services. The sort of services that stop at each station out in the country (typically 5-10 minutes apart), but then as you get closer to the city you start skipping some. I find this keeps the level of interest going as it provides a mix of enough to 'do' out at the country end, but as you get closer to larger levels of civilisation you get the sensation of whizzing through the closely spaced suburbs and their stations at speed - all experienced in one journey.

Some of the services I drive are suburban stop-start every 2-3 minutes, which I find can become a bit monotonous after a while. Very occasionally I'll pick up the first/final leg of an express type journey, so while not driving the whole end-to-end long distance journey I may still have 30-40 minutes between a pair of stops. These make me wonder if I'd be happy at a long distance operator, as I fear I may begin to find it tedious not stopping for long periods, once the initial high speed novelty wore off.

We do also have a little bit of branch line work which does feel a bit more relaxed and sedate, and therefore sometimes makes a welcome change from heading in/out the city (particularly if the mainline has all gone wrong but you're safely tucked out the way!). That said, going up and down the same bit of track all day can start to grate if you go through a spell of picking up such work several days on the bounce!

Overall though, I feel I'm lucky working where I do as I get to experience elements of branch line, busy stopping, semi-fast/regional, and a little bit of express work, rather than being stuck with just one type.

 

[bramling]

Apologies if this should be in the railway jobs and careers section.

I've always been curious. What are train drivers, favorite and least favorite routes to drive.

Its obviously going to massively vary depending on the part of the country you are in.

One example I've wondered about is for example, drivers who sign the Brighton Main Line, do you have a favorite section of the BML you like to drive, do you like driving all of it, or do you hate all of it and prefer to drive quiter routes such as the Uckfield Line.

Just curious to see the different opinions.

There is no set answer to the question, as everyone is different, and different people have wildly different preferences.

The only real themes are that suburban metro work (especially DOO) tends to be more intensive and draining. Otherwise it really comes down to individual preferences. Some people love long distance work, others prefer suburban work as it means never straying too far away. Some people love branch work, others hate it. Some people are happy doing the same route all day every day, others like variety.

 

[PudseyBearHST]

or do you hate all of it and prefer to sit spare

Fixed that for you. With all due respect, I think you’ve misunderstood the train driver’s role. It’s 60% drinking tea, 30% moaning and 10% driving trains.

 

[Class2ldn]

Driving from Brighton or three bridges to Bedford every day gets a bit monotonous.
Interesting about the busy sections, for me thats when you're most likely to encounter incidents or make mistakes so you'll find most drivers probably would like the opposite lol.
The North side tends to be a better run.

 

[baz962]

Currently drive the north London line and gospel oak to Barking. The whole gospel is ok. On the north London side , I like Clapham junction and Richmond and as far as around Camden road , but could quite happily terminate there as I don't have the same enthusiasm for hackney area. Last day tomorrow though and off to an intercity toc , so may update this .

 

[Need2]

Currently drive the north London line and gospel oak to Barking. The whole gospel is ok. On the north London side , I like Clapham junction and Richmond and as far as around Camden road , but could quite happily terminate there as I don't have the same enthusiasm for hackney area. Last day tomorrow though and off to an intercity toc , so may update this .

Where are you off to baz?

 

[Deepgreen]

Welcome to our American cousin.

Fixed that for you. With all due respect, I think you’ve misunderstood the train driver’s role. It’s 60% drinking tea, 30% moaning and 10% driving trains.

With a lot of overlap!

 

[notadriver]

Any short route like romford to Upminster of grove park to Bromley north. A shift can have 8 trips of those things!

 

[DorkingMain]

Any short route like romford to Upminster of grove park to Bromley north. A shift can have 8 trips of those things!

Romford to Upminster is a peaceful fuss-free run though I bet. The only thing that bothered me about those sorts of shuttles is that you can never get comfortable in the cab because you then have to change ends over and over

 

[baz962]

Romford to upminster has bad adhesion and open level crossings. I believe they can have more than eight trips too.

 

[43066]

Any short route like romford to Upminster of grove park to Bromley north. A shift can have 8 trips of those things!

Grove Park - Bromley North poppers are rather more than eight per shift, I’m reliably informed! Diagrams can run to three pages worth…

Anything where you’re stopping every few minutes is a bad day out.

 

[43066]

Last day tomorrow though and off to an intercity toc , so may update this .

That’s good to hear. You certainly won’t regret making the move.

 

[Deepgreen]

Romford to Upminster is a peaceful fuss-free run though I bet. The only thing that bothered me about those sorts of shuttles is that you can never get comfortable in the cab because you then have to change ends over and over

How comfortable do you mean - a small sofa?

 

[Blinkbonny]

I've often wondered about the guy on the Stourbridge shuttle. Easy job option, or enough to drive you potty?

Gets paid the same as any other driver presumably?

 

[Ken H]

surely some places are a bit rough to drive. Always the risk of vandalism, obstructions places on the track or kids chucking stuff at trains. That must be wearing.

 

[the sniper]

I've often wondered about the guy on the Stourbridge shuttle. Easy job option, or enough to drive you potty?

Gets paid the same as any other driver presumably?

No, they're externally operated and not on the pay of an ordinary driver.

In BR days though it was a New Street turn, popular with some.

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

I've often wondered about the guy on the Stourbridge shuttle. Easy job option, or enough to drive you potty?

Likewise with the Waterloo & City Line on the London Underground. I've always thought that must be one of the most boring, monotonous routes to drive - perhaps more so than your example of the Stourbridge shuttle, as the whole thing is in a tunnel.

Out of interest, how do the drivers on the Waterloo & City Line work? Do they drive on other lines too?

 

[James H]

The W&C line drivers also work on the Central line

 

[Watershed]

The W&C line drivers also work on the Central line

Well really it's the other way around. The W&C is staffed by Central line drivers from Leytonstone depot.

 

[baz962]

That’s good to hear. You certainly won’t regret making the move.

Could be the TOC you are at , although that's a guess

 

[Yabba]

When I was sat in the mess room for a job interview at TPE, some of the drivers were talking about their dislike for the Manchester to Hull route. I never heard the reason why it was being treated with such disdain so I have wondered about that for a while. The only think I can think of is that there are no bends to navigate from Selby to Hull so must be a bit of a bore.

 

[387star]

The Sutton loop I used to dread. Lots of off side platforms with various gradients making braking a bit tricky. I was never keen on the mirrors and it took me a while to get confident with stopping. Lots of random speed changes and stations as close together as bus stops.
Bedford to Brighton is a route totally lacking in scenery save for around Harpenden and South of Three Bridges. Horsham to Finsbury Park was a drag too because you never really got out of urban sprawl and going via Redhill made you envious of the fasts.
I quite enjoyed the run from Stevenage to Finsbury Park. Around 20 minutes worth of rushing at 100mph towards the big smoke.

Driving from Cosham to Brighton never really gets old but it's a rare job at my depot and it's fun whizzing past the small stops.

 

[6Gman]

No, they're externally operated and not on the pay of an ordinary driver.

In BR days though it was a New Street turn, popular with some.

Used to do the diagrams for that - now that was a boring job.


And the alterations for a Bank Holiday !

 

[choochoochoo]

I challenge you to find a driver who actually likes driving the Northern City Line between Finsbury Park and Moorgate.

 

[bramling]

Likewise with the Waterloo & City Line on the London Underground. I've always thought that must be one of the most boring, monotonous routes to drive - perhaps more so than your example of the Stourbridge shuttle, as the whole thing is in a tunnel.

Out of interest, how do the drivers on the Waterloo & City Line work? Do they drive on other lines too?

It is crewed from Leytonstone using Central Line drivers. From what I gather, there's a coterie of drivers who like working on the W&C and will do swaps to get on there. The monotony is countered by the fact they're never on the train for more than a few minutes, and no doubt some "fiddles" happen which spread the workload around, so to speak.