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Regarding a typical day, my IST went along these lines (not at Bristol, admittedly) 07:00 - 09:00: Practice on the simulator in pairs. 09:00: Lessons start (09:30 on Mondays). Endless PowerPoint slides. 12:00 - 13:00: Lunch. 13:00 - 15:30: More PowerPoint slides. 15:30 - 17:30: Practice on...

Varies entirely from place to place. Where I’m at, the policy is that there’s no requirement to wear uniform; but, if you have requested/ordered kit regardless, you’re somewhat expected to wear it. So simply don’t put a request in if the uniform isn’t for you. The standard order consists of...

I notice that the North Norfolk Railway are clinging on to some of the previous restrictions. Only those with tickets for travel will be permitted access to station platforms and facilities (whereas previously they were open to the public); compartments appear to be reserved for those who wish...

We don’t live in a technocracy; TfL need to weigh up the relative merits of enforcing a mask against the negatives and make a balanced decision. For example, consider how enforcing mask wearing basically renders on-train CCTV useless for identification of criminals and hence as a deterance of...

I've wondered this, as it's an interesting hypothetical. Even at the moment, when facemasks are required on services, there is no legal requirement to poses any documentation to demonstrate an exemption or even disclose the reasons for this (one doesn't need to consult a medical professional to...

Sorry to hear that. I tend to ramble in interviews also, but what really changed my approach was taking a much longer pause before starting to answer. I know that sounds condescendingly simple, but there's always a temptation to leap straight into waffling without first forming the basic...

Unless they've changed the policy for cab-passes, you might be able to occasionally ride in the cab as a signaller whilst learning your patch (although I think this happens much less frequently with today's reticence to have people out on the infrastructure). You could have your cake and eat it...

What are the lottery numbers tomorrow, out of interest?! With regards to money and from my general knowledge of driver pay grades, I would imagine that the grade-six salary would only reach parity the basic driver salary after a decent portion of nights, sundays, rest days and overtime etc...

Lordy, picking excrement and condoms out of the locking must have been a miserable job. Generally, it seems like cleaning all manner of unpleasant material comes pretty top of people's lists.

Inspired by this recent thread, alongside this older one regarding the Woodhead tunnels, I wonder...what do you think was, or indeed is, the worst job in the history of the railways? Doing a six-hour stint in the choking, dark and damp environment of the Woodhead tunnels must be pretty near...

Badminton station, on the GWR's South Wales and Bristol Direct Line, was allegedly granted the land/permission to open by the Duke of Beaufort on the condition that any first-class passenger could request to alight at the station, regardless of whether the train was scheduled to call or not. As...

Indeed, I also had very fond memories of endlessly wandering around the exhibits and galleries as a child, learning something new each time I peered into the back of a display case to spot an item I hadn't noticed before. I shan't go back until they've had a considerable change in their...

It's a little bit of a divergence, but I'm surprised that the Imperial War Museum (London) hasn't been mentioned with regards to dumbing-down. It's probably one of the worst examples of this worrying trend. Before the Great War centenary, the basement galleries were full of artefacts from...

A note on historic GWR benches at various stations - I wouldn't assume that all of these are original (especially the shirt-button logo varieties). A colleague of mine was asked to restore one for the modern-day GWR and it was determined to be a replica (after comparisons of casting marks and...

What I believe to be a full picutre (suffice to say, it would be prohibitively complex): I believe you need to be sponsored by a company approved/accredited by the Sentinel scheme, who are the admininstrators of PTS qualifications. So, you couldn't just set-up a company purely the purpsoes of...

The ATF wire was run as a lineside cable through the most visually exposed parts of the Cotswolds, rather than suspsended from the top of the masts as normal. This allowed the mast height and general clutter to be reduced. The SWB only runs through the Cotswolds between Alderton and Chipping...

Yes, you could fill it with water bowsers to lower the suspension, but I think it may already be touching or even over the limit for overhead lines. I reiterate that’s just conjecture though - given it can’t move under its own power I suspect nobody’s really had to test the issue. Similarly, the...

All the traction equipment has long-since been removed: it'll never run again. Similarly, I've also heard that (not confirmed, mind), owing to general height and the fact that it's riding high on the suspension (given it's an empty shell), it's too tall to squeeze under the OLE wires that have...

It's pretty good, but only two weeks is the longest I've been there. It has a good bar, restaurant, gym, sports hall and swimming pool. There's space for lawn activities in the summer and I believe you can hire mountain bikes. As far as I'm aware, all the rooms are single, en-suite and there...

I'm not saying that this holds exactly true for Crossrail specifically, but there's a bit of blame for both sides really: those producing the progress reports and those setting & receiving them. As long as some work is being done, it can be easy to hide productive progress towards a single...