A career as a signaller

JMH77 · 22 Nov 2017

choochoobacca said:
Hello guys,
New to the forum and looking at a career change at the age of 39. (is this too old for signaller starting out?) I have 3 applications in for trainee train driver jobs and have recently looked at the signaller side of things and am really interested.
Going to apply for the Cambridge position and just wondered if anybody could give any advice regarding how long it takes to fill in the application? I'm time pressed today so don't want to start it if I can't finish it in one sitting...
Many thanks for any advice.

Hi,

I recently turned 40 and have no concerns about being too old to be starting out. I think if you can demonstrate the necessary skills and ability to learn age shouldn't be an issue to either yourself or your employer.
The initial application takes a little while, I think it was about 60 yes/no questions where on quite a few you had to give situational explanations when you answered yes. It wasn't too taxing though and one section just asked about role specific experience which for me at least were all straight no's.

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choochoobacca · 22 Nov 2017

JMH77 said:
Hi,

I recently turned 40 and have no concerns about being too old to be starting out. I think if you can demonstrate the necessary skills and ability to learn age shouldn't be an issue to either yourself or your employer.
The initial application takes a little while, I think it was about 60 yes/no questions where on quite a few you had to give situational explanations when you answered yes. It wasn't too taxing though and one section just asked about role specific experience which for me at least were all straight no's.

Thanks for the info JMH77, I'll get cracking on it this evening.

Sunset route · 22 Nov 2017

Matt711 said:
Am I right in thinking that three bridges ASC is still on an 8 hour roster?

Any plans to become a 12 hour roster?

Your both right and wrong. At present TBASC is a 65 week 8 hour roster, but from January 2018 it will become two 38 week rosters. One roster (link) will become a 12 hour roster and the other roster (link) will continue as a 8 hour roster. All current staf were placed on the roster of their choice.

Esu96kph said:
Good morning all.

I have been reading this thread with a great deal of interest as I should shortly be joining NR as a grade 9 signaller at Three Bridges ASC.

Finally, I know there are two separate rosters in play for these vacancies. (The 8 hour or 12 hour turns). Does anyone have knowledge of these including the frequency of Sunday and Night turns

First of all, welcome to the team.

I’ll pm you regarding the rosters. Happy reading lol

mitch.swiggins · 22 Nov 2017

JMH77 said:
Thanks, that was what I was thinking. I was just concerned it might count against me in some way if I went ahead with them when they had already contacted me to say the position was no longer available and it might give the impression I'm not very on the ball!

ha! I know what you mean! that said, you could always ring NR recruiting and check with them. in my experience(rung'em a dozen times) they've always been very helpful.

nom de guerre · 22 Nov 2017

Tom Quinne said:
Being a Grade 9 is what you make of it, if can be stressful but then again it can be easy - some desks are link grade 9 not Desk grade 9.
So the link may have one or two grade 9 desks, but the other desks may be if aoo graded a much lower grade.

A grade 9 desks running without incident is easy, but when it’s messed up you earn your money !

Exactly.

My link covers four workstations, and only one - maybe two at a push - justify the overall grade. Two are quieter and would be graded lower if they were assessed on an individual basis.

As Tom says, a Grade 7/8/9 can be quite relaxing during normal running. A VDU workstation (e.g. MCS, WestCad) equipped with ARS/ACI essentially runs itself - of course, you need to constantly monitor your screens, but interventions may be minimal. A Grade 2 signaller at an Absolute Block box will working harder per train, although, clearly, dealing with fewer trains overall.

The flipside is that you're responsible for a lot of trains, and a concentrated or large area - so when it does go t%ts up, it can be quite demanding (but also fun!).

Tom Quinne · 22 Nov 2017

choochoobacca said:
Hello guys,
New to the forum and looking at a career change at the age of 39. (is this too old for signaller starting out?) I have 3 applications in for trainee train driver jobs and have recently looked at the signaller side of things and am really interested.
Going to apply for the Cambridge position and just wondered if anybody could give any advice regarding how long it takes to fill in the application? I'm time pressed today so don't want to start it if I can't finish it in one sitting...
Many thanks for any advice.

First thing is 39 is NO WAY to old to apply or even get the job! A lad on my course was 54 when he got the job.

Regards the application, add your CV and copy the questions down onto a word document or similar, get your competence evidence down on that make sure it’s all up to standard then revisit the online app and copy n’ paste onto the boxes - you won’t be able to write a decent application directly onto the form it’ll time out and you will lose your efforts (bitter personal experience speaking!) plus you’ll have it all ready for next time if indeed there is a next time.

Cambridge is a readvertisment, initially it was for x6 grade 7 jobs.

Best of luck with the app.

Tom Quinne · 22 Nov 2017

nom de guerre said:
Exactly.

My link covers four workstations, and only one - maybe two at a push - justify the overall grade. Two are quieter and would be graded lower if they were assessed on an individual basis.

As Tom says, a Grade 7/8/9 can be quite relaxing during normal running. A VDU workstation (e.g. MCS, WestCad) equipped with ARS/ACI essentially runs itself - of course, you need to constantly monitor your screens, but interventions may be minimal. A Grade 2 signaller at an Absolute Block box will working harder per train, although, clearly, dealing with fewer trains overall.

The flipside is that you're responsible for a lot of trains, and a concentrated or large area - so when it does go t%ts up, it can be quite demanding (but also fun!).

Just to add to that, when it goes wrong time flys by! A 12hr turn feels like a few hours when it’s all go, the feeling when you book off tired is great that you’ve really worked hard and got everyone home safe, and hopefully got the service back on it’s feet.

Control can only do so much, you are the eyes and brain who realty make the system work when it goes pear shaped.
A good Train Service Controller will work with you and take your view onboard, nine times out of ten they’ll go with you but they can also offer longer term viewpoint like what the trains next turn is, stuff you as a Signaller haven’t got access to or indeed time to look at.

It is great though, the best job I’ve ever done!

baz962 · 22 Nov 2017

Tom Quinne said:
First thing is 39 is NO WAY to old to apply or even get the job! A lad on my course was 54 when he got the job.

Regards the application, add your CV and copy the questions down onto a word document or similar, get your competence evidence down on that make sure it’s all up to standard then revisit the online app and copy n’ paste onto the boxes - you won’t be able to write a decent application directly onto the form it’ll time out and you will lose your efforts (bitter personal experience speaking!) plus you’ll have it all ready for next time if indeed there is a next time.

Cambridge is a readvertisment, initially it was for x6 grade 7 jobs.

Best of luck with the app.

Bombed me out of Cambridge saying more suited applicant's now won't let me re apply lol.

nom de guerre · 22 Nov 2017

EvieG2017 said:
The issue is I have now gained a degree in a totally unrelated discipline, which I fear may impact my ability to find work as a signaller.

Don't worry - it won't.

There is no requirement for applicants to have a degree, let alone one in an obviously relevant subject. You 'just' need to satisfy the benchmarks for the screening questions and the online testing. The emphasis is very much on aptitude and competence, rather than an applicant's educational background.

Regards,
A Signaller with an, ahem, media-related degree :oops:

Sunset route · 22 Nov 2017

nom de guerre said:
As Tom says, a Grade 7/8/9 can be quite relaxing during normal running. A VDU workstation (e.g. MCS, WestCad) equipped with ARS/ACI essentially runs itself

What a grade 9, on a workstation with ARS/ACI I must be in the wrong job pmsl :lol:

Our busiest job used to get 1600 trains per day, NX Panel, no ARS/ACI

and then the buggers split the panel in 1/3 and 2/3 so now the busier of the halves only gets 1400 trains per day (and the quieter one just under 1000) boo hoo

they took out all the fun

. But even in those days when it was one job, once you were up to speed it had its quieter moments when the services as just ticking along with no faults or failures and no track workers were out and about, busy yes but not to hectic and then you would have the days when the train describer goes south, a power failure takes out a really room, the TDMs have failed and boy, then you worked you arse off.

Tom Quinne · 22 Nov 2017

baz962 said:
Bombed me out of Cambridge saying more suited applicant's now won't let me re apply lol.

New account resubmit - job done

baz962 · 22 Nov 2017

Tom Quinne said:
New account resubmit - job done

Mate I can't do anything on there now I tried to apply for a different one and I had to do the 70 question's twice as it won't submit I gave up today I can't do it a third lol.

Tom Quinne · 22 Nov 2017

A lad at our place tried to submit a app today it rejected it and error came up.

I’ve taken to using a word doc then copy and pasting across that way it doesn’t time out, and if it does have a hissy fit you won’t have wasted a good hour or so writing.

Tom Quinne · 22 Nov 2017

Sunset route said:
What a grade 9, on a workstation with ARS/ACI I must be in the wrong job pmsl Our busiest job used to get 1600 trains per day, NX Panel, no ARS/ACI and then the buggers split the panel in 1/3 and 2/3 so now the busier of the halves only gets 1400 trains per day (and the quieter one just under 1000) boo hoo they took out all the fun . But even in those days when it was one job, once you were up to speed it had its quieter moments when the services as just ticking along with no faults or failures and no track workers were out and about, busy yes but not to hectic and then you would have the days when the train describer goes south, a power failure takes out a really room, the TDMs have failed and boy, then you worked you arse off.

But there the best days aren’t they

I reckon I oversee about 500 or so Train movements over my 12hr turn, but I’ve four double track south west to midlands/north and East to west lines meeting with only three loops so when it goes pop it goes pop big time lol

nom de guerre · 22 Nov 2017

Sunset route said:
What a grade 9, on a workstation with ARS/ACI I must be in the wrong job pmsl

You'd probably get bored :lol:

Sunset route · 22 Nov 2017

nom de guerre said:
You'd probably get bored

As I’ve got older, I think I do bored quite well these days. I’ll leave being the hero to all the newbies as and when they get through the application process lol :lol:

Saracen_83 · 23 Nov 2017

Submitted an application for three bridges, and my status application is “invited to test”.

Is an online SJT? Or something else??

Also, completely unrelated, how many days annual leave does a signaller at three bridges ROC get per year????

martin2345uk · 23 Nov 2017

It will be an online SJT, possibly numerical and English test too, both also online.

Sinistah · 23 Nov 2017

Is whether you get through to interview based dolely on your scores from test

Sinistah · 23 Nov 2017

Sorry only based on your test scores

nom de guerre · 23 Nov 2017

Matt711 said:
Also, completely unrelated, how many days annual leave does a signaller at three bridges ROC get per year????

On a 12h roster you're entitled to 17 or 18 days (exact figure depends on local rostering agreements). This increases by two days after ten years' service.

Opt for 'lower rate' on bank holidays (150% pay + a day's leave for bank holidays worked; a day's leave for bank holidays not worked) and you'll get an extra eight days' 'Comp leave' each year (each valid for a 12-month period).

Sunset route · 23 Nov 2017

nom de guerre said:
On a 12h roster you're entitled to 17 or 18 days (exact figure depends on local rostering agreements). This increases by two days after ten years' service.

That’s very interesting as when we did the calculations for the new 12hr roster at our place we got 16.45 days rounded up to 17 for under 10 years service increasing to 18 days for above 10 years service. This was backed up after consulting with our NOC (national operations council) rep.

Against the 8hr roster which is 25 days for under 10 years service increasing to 27 days for above 10 years service.

choochoobacca · 24 Nov 2017

Tom Quinne said:
First thing is 39 is NO WAY to old to apply or even get the job! A lad on my course was 54 when he got the job.

Regards the application, add your CV and copy the questions down onto a word document or similar, get your competence evidence down on that make sure it’s all up to standard then revisit the online app and copy n’ paste onto the boxes - you won’t be able to write a decent application directly onto the form it’ll time out and you will lose your efforts (bitter personal experience speaking!) plus you’ll have it all ready for next time if indeed there is a next time.

Cambridge is a readvertisment, initially it was for x6 grade 7 jobs.

Best of luck with the app.

Many thanks for the advice and information Tom. Application submitted and email for online test received so I shall work through those today. Got my fingers crossed!

nom de guerre · 25 Nov 2017

Question for those already on: how common are Meal Break Reliefs covering single-manned areas?

One of our reps is claiming they're commonplace everywhere except the South East. I was under the impression that they were very rare, full stop (the two Acton Wells MBR jobs on the internal list are the only ones I can remember seeing).

Thoughts?

Sunset route · 25 Nov 2017

nom de guerre said:
Question for those already on: how common are Meal Break Reliefs covering single-manned areas?

One of our reps is claiming they're commonplace everywhere except the South East. I was under the impression that they were very rare, full stop (the two Acton Wells MBR jobs on the internal list are the only ones I can remember seeing).

Thoughts?

To re-enforce what your saying, I only know of one location that is a single manned that has a meal relief in the south east.

nom de guerre · 25 Nov 2017

Sunset route said:
That’s very interesting as when we did the calculations for the new 12hr roster at our place we got 16.45 days rounded up to 17 for under 10 years service increasing to 18 days for above 10 years service. This was backed up after consulting with our NOC (national operations council) rep.

Yes - interesting.

I presumed (yes, I know) that 17/19 was the national norm. Perhaps my area is the exception? Or maybe the combination of rosters at your place was a factor?

Anyone else here working 12s? What do you get?

TRain87 · 25 Nov 2017

I work in single manned box in south East...and no sight of another human, let alone someone to come and cover for meals. We do 12 hours on a Sunday, and it's make your food, around the trains timetable. Works out ok though

Llanigraham · 25 Nov 2017

nom de guerre said:
Question for those already on: how common are Meal Break Reliefs covering single-manned areas?

One of our reps is claiming they're commonplace everywhere except the South East. I was under the impression that they were very rare, full stop (the two Acton Wells MBR jobs on the internal list are the only ones I can remember seeing).

Thoughts?

I know of none in Wales or on the Marches route.

Tom Quinne · 25 Nov 2017

I was under the impression in a single manned SB you have to work your personal needs round the service ?

Although saying that if you need to go, you need to go....just don't lock the WC door

Cavan · 25 Nov 2017

nom de guerre said:
Question for those already on: how common are Meal Break Reliefs covering single-manned areas?

One of our reps is claiming they're commonplace everywhere except the South East. I was under the impression that they were very rare, full stop (the two Acton Wells MBR jobs on the internal list are the only ones I can remember seeing).

Thoughts?

Is Acton Wells a double Manned box? How can a one man box have a meal relief Man?

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