Recent content by gorilladan

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

+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.

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...

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.

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...

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...