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Loads of Scots went to Slade Green too. According to some of the old hands it was known as "Little Glasgow" back in the day. Having previously worked out of Sludge Island myself, I'd say anyone uprooting hundreds of miles to work there must have been desperate! As was said above though... last...

That's good, I remember breaking docs in as a teenager and spending weeks hobbling about in pain... it put me off buying them again for life! :D

I find a decent pair of black walking boots does the trick. Never got on with Docs due to the agony of breaking them in, they are comfortable once you've done it though.

Generally (in my experience) the footwear supplied by the employers is not great quality or comfortable. I've always bought my own boots. I know you don't have to, but for the wear I get out of them I'd rather cough up £100 for a good pair that will be comfortable from day one and last.

Theres a lovely guy at Orpington who has been driving longer than anyone else I've known. I'd say he must be pretty close to the 55yrs mark, quite possibly over it. Had a great chat with him once about the steam days. A real character and a gentleman, I take my hat off to him.

That is absolutely disgusting and sickening. Don't want to turn this into a BLM debate, but there is a massive problem with racism on the railway. I've sat in rooms with drivers doing the old glance around the room and then spouting racist crap while being blissfully unaware that my partner...

"Compares well even against America"... well that's absolutely nothing to be proud of! The USA (which I assume you mean by "America") is widely known for its vast inequality, ludicrous gun laws, mental president, lack of free universal healthcare, poor employment conditions, institutional...

Just seen this. Cheers mate.

I wouldnt worry about it mate. If you want to go for a job and its advertised then go for it. Otherwise you could find yourself years down the line regretting it. I spent years with a company I hated because I was scared to make the move. Ive finally done something about it and now I feel great...

I agree with @Irish Rail ... What with Covid and Brexit and the people we've got running the country, we are entering very troubled and uncharted waters. I'd stay in Oz for the time being mate... at least until the dust settles. You could very easily end up over here without a job or much...

It's not as bad as people are making out. Don't forget you will already have been given plenty of opportunity to learn the stuff you get assessed on at the end, and will have already passed assessments on it. There will be nothing in there you don't already know. I think some people who already...

There have been a few things said in this thread that smack of trolls churning out the usual comments about rail staff on a forum filled with us, looking for a bit of attention, and I was being careful to avoid biting... ...However... A sweeping generalisation about railway staff being on...

Being wary not to feed the trolls, and going back to the original post... I don't think there is any danger of this happening all the while there is any involvement of the private sector in the industry, because it wouldn't be long before the market forces that led to drivers wage increases in...

Yep. Its cut-throat. Even when you've been qualified and incident-free for years they are breathing down your neck. Picking up +1 mph on a download of a unit type known to have crap analogue speedos.... Speaking for one particular TOC only... I agree with this completely. The craziest thing is...

To be fair, I can think of plenty of examples of unsuitable train drivers being given licences! :lol:

Drivers pay has only gone through the roof since privatisation. I'd suggest it has far more to do with the free market than strong unions. Drivers weren't paid anything close to an equivalent amount in BR days but were in the same union. I'd also argue that the union is nowhere near as strong as...

Serious sense spoken here.

Yeah it was. I had the pleasure of running a couple of those. Think it was via Woolwich and sidcup though, not bexleyheath.

Very true. Imagine wasting your life like that though. 45 years doing something you hate. You'd be more than ready for the boneyard after that. What a waste.

I know. I'm just pointing out that the vast majority of these people don't want to be train drivers, they just want to earn £55k. If people who worked in Poundland were on £55k and train drivers were on £25k you'd soon see how many of these people really wanted to be train drivers. Its not the...