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"What it is driver..."

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TheBadger

TheBadger

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Bletchleyite said:
Ah, I see. To the outsider it read more like having an undertone of "what do you want now?" :)
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If you read it as "what is it Driver?" Then yes, it sounds like an aggressive question. But in this case it's the start of a statement: "what it is Driver...is that the Queen's bloomers have fallen off the back of the Royal Train and that's why you're being held."

Not a question and not aggressive in my eyes.
 
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Panupreset

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TheBadger said:
If you read it as "what is it Driver?" Then yes, it sounds like an aggressive question. But in this case it's the start of a statement: "what it is Driver...is that the Queen's bloomers have fallen off the back of the Royal Train and that's why you're being held."

Not a question and not aggressive in my eyes.
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Held whilst they setup pilotman working to or from an obstruction?
 
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Mugby

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bengley said:
The OP is stating the signaller says 'What IT IS driver', not 'What is it driver?'

As in 'What it is driver - I'm unable to clear the signal ahead due to a track circuit failure...'

Just to add my two cents - yes signallers say this regularly. I don't see it as rude or aggressive in any way - it's simply a way of starting a conversation about what a situation involves.
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Exactly. This expression goes back many years and was/is used widely by both manual and PSB signallers.

During my time on the P/Way, if we answered the old 'cuckoo' for example, lots of signallers would start the conversation by saying:
"Yeah, what it is....."
and proceed to describe the problem or situation.

A perfectly reasonable opening line, I would have thought!
 
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HaggisBotherer

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Just sounds like a railway version of the many, endlessly repeated passing cliches that seem to infest every part if the English language nowadays:

"Thanks for reaching out"
"Nice to e-meet you"
"Hi folks"
"I'm loving this"
".... is now a thing"
"... is now an actual thing"

... and so on.

Personally I respect people who have something original to say, not merely parroting the latest buzz phrase that they hear other people spout.
 
Kneedown

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bengley said:
The OP is stating the signaller says 'What IT IS driver', not 'What is it driver?'

As in 'What it is driver - I'm unable to clear the signal ahead due to a track circuit failure...'
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You're absolutely correct.
Recently been prescribed reading glasses and not quite in the habit of carrying them with me all the time yet.
 
paulravuslante

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craigybagel said:
Incidentally, "what it is....." is a rather notorious phrase for conductors working in Wales, usually preceding a long tale of tragedy and woe that will attempt to justify the story tellers presence on board a train without the means to pay for their journey.
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Not that he dodges fares but my Welsh father uses this phrase on the phone a lot. With a second is for emphasis :D
 
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plymothian

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Just rewatched The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway and the guy playing the signaller in the simulator says "What it is driver...". Once you hear it you notice it more.
 
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dtaylor84

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HaggisBotherer said:
Just sounds like a railway version of the many, endlessly repeated passing cliches that seem to infest every part if the English language nowadays:

"Thanks for reaching out"
"Nice to e-meet you"
"Hi folks"
"I'm loving this"
".... is now a thing"
"... is now an actual thing"

... and so on.

Personally I respect people who have something original to say, not merely parroting the latest buzz phrase that they hear other people spout.
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Hi folks, thanks for reaching out. You're saying "thanks to e-meet you" is now a thing? an actual thing? I'm loving this!

(But really, I've heard all the others but thankfully no-one has said "e-meet" to me yet...)
 
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SPADTrap

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East Midlands Control Centre, any panel who calls you 'What it is driver..' :lol:

I think it is a northern thing.
 
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LAX54

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Highlandspring said:
It’s funny because I only ever tend to hear the phrase “you see, what it is is that....” from signallers or shift managers who are trying to explain away some sort of obviously incorrect regulating or forgetting about a train that I’ve just watched happen live on the CCF, to try and convince me that the ARS really did run that class six out of the loop 120 minutes early ahead of the Royal Train or whatever. I always just give them a weary “oh right yes I understand” unless it’s something really egregious that’s taken place when I’ll probe a bit more. “You see...” never seems to be used when there a genuine explanation for something; I thought it was just me who had noticed this phrase.
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Don't start on about ARS ! :) sometimes that does have a mind all of it's own, I am sure if you could med-screen the system, soemetimes it would fail ! We have S-ARS here. which does do odd things, the other morning out of the blue it wanted to send the 0500 Norwich to Liverpool Street via Mistley, Signaller noticed far enough in advance to take route back, or it does, on a regular basis do some weird regulating moves that you look at and think 'What' ? !
 
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LAX54

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Tomnick said:
There’s a prescribed script? o_O

I’ve heard “state your message” on the other end of the line (but I never used it as a signalman unless it was an emergency call). Quite often it’s more like “what can I do for you driver?” or “yes duck?”! Personally I find it much easier to come to a clear understanding with a *slightly* less formal approach rather than an approach where one or both parties are concentrating more on “the script” than the information contained within!
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Up here, I have heard both 'State your message' and "What it is Driver...' to me, the 'What it is...' seems slightly more friendly :)
and yes Tomnick there is a 'script'. it's in the form of a booklet here, but when I am doing voice comms, I find those that stick to the written word, seem to struggle more with the conversation trying to keep to the 'script' whereas those that use a slightly more casual, but still clear and concise, get the message over far clearer.

The call that does silence the box and make the hairs on your neck stand up, is when the REC goes off !
 
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