MoaningOldGit
Member
MrsP2010. That's great. Do you have any advice on how to be successful in this role?I’m 49 and was offered a position earlier this year so it’s definitely do-able!!
MrsP2010. That's great. Do you have any advice on how to be successful in this role?I’m 49 and was offered a position earlier this year so it’s definitely do-able!!
I’m still waiting for a start date (since April!) so be patient is my advice!!MrsP2010. That's great. Do you have any advice on how to be successful in this role?
A month is no time at all, even more so in the current climate. I have had applications open for months and months before any updates. Patience is a virtue.Hi all. I applied for 2 signaller positions at the beginning of July one in Ridgmont the other at Wembley. I successfully completed the online tests on the 13th July and have heard nothing since. No thanks but no thanks and no offer of interview. I'm just wondering if this is usual at this stage or if I simply need to stop fretting and wait patiently for news? Any input is much appreciated.
Thanks LOM. I've been given an in person appointment in Cardiff next week...
Brilliant! Thanks for taking the time to write that, it is very helpful. I'm due to start York signalling school on the 16th November.
Dumb question time, when you say use flash cards are these just small cards with brief notes on them?
Thank you
Snap, same here.Yeah I had the same when I applied, all the options I wanted were in the first section so I just checked which option in the second section was closest to me and ticked that. Sleaford is about 90 minutes away but you had to select something to finish the test.
I’m in a grade 2 AB box, so yes, 2-3 weeks is doable! None of that TCB wizardry here (or VDU - we barely have electricity to be fair)
Congratulations, you can actually plan your life in advance instead of just from the Thursday, how are you going to manage?
The only boxes that are grade 2 for the boxes for that vacancy are Dorrington and OniburyHello, I was hoping someone could narrow down what box the vacancy IRC 2192552 is for as the location covers a good 5 or 6 boxes, I assume it is not Bromfield as their is a separate vacancy and I think either Onibury crossing, Craven Arms or Marshbrook. As always thanks for your help.
I’ve got Dorrington and I believe the other vacancies in it have been filled but I may be wrongThere are a few movements happening along that line at the minute, so the notice doesn’t refer to anything specific. Your chances are likely to be for Onibury (although i think this is now covered) or dorrington.
Hello, I was hoping someone could narrow down what box the vacancy IRC 2192552 is for as the location covers a good 5 or 6 boxes, I assume it is not Bromfield as their is a separate vacancy and I think either Onibury crossing, Craven Arms or Marshbrook. As always thanks for your help.
The only boxes that are grade 2 for the boxes for that vacancy are Dorrington and Onibury
Good Evening Everyone. I'm considering applying for a signaller role. It will be a complete career change at 49!
Any advice?
Thanks.
MOG
Apologies, Bromfield is a grade 2 tooHave they upgraded my old Box, Bromfield?
There are a few movements happening along that line at the minute, so the notice doesn’t refer to anything specific. Your chances are likely to be for Onibury (although i think this is now covered) or dorrington.
The only boxes that are grade 2 for the boxes for that vacancy are Dorrington and Onibury
If it is a Grade 2 vacancy then it won't be Craven Arms.
Bromfield is my old Box, and it is a decent Box to work.
Onibury has no levers and is a bit of a shed.
Marshbrook is OK but a bit dark.
All 3 oversee level crossings
Very true, they defiantly don’t worry about age, I’ve just had my offer for Feltham at 19... judging by the mix of people on this forum it would seem that this profession is quite diverse in a lot of waysI'm...erm.. ahem a bit older than you and I start a whole new career as a signaller on Monday so don't let age be a barrier and just go for it. Good luck!
I'm awaiting release to make the opposite move!
Thanks for posting & being so positive (& that goes to everyone that's replied to my original post). My application has gone in so fingers crossed!!I'm...erm.. ahem a bit older than you and I start a whole new career as a signaller on Monday so don't let age be a barrier and just go for it. Good luck!
One for the existing signallers..
What would you say is the most common mistake signallers make?
And what is your favourite part of the job?
No I'm not on the facebook it wasnt a good idea with the job I'm currently doing, have you heard anything else about school or reporting times yet or do you think we will hear it on the 16th?Nothing more yet - are you in the FB group? I'm so excited to start, October seems so far away but have to remember to try and stay patient.
No I'm not on the facebook it wasnt a good idea with the job I'm currently doing, have you heard anything else about school or reporting times yet or do you think we will hear it on the 16th?
No worries. I haven't heard any more about signalling school, a couple of people in other areas have signalling school start dates - 2 people are starting in November and one in January, otherwise nobody else has heard anything (34 trainees in the group), I think everyone has the employment start date of the 5th October for this intake (although happy to be wrong). I presume we'll be at our bases and doing box visits where possible? Counting down the days now, October seemed sooo far away when they first said as a start date and now it's a mere 50 days away. I'm going to send you a PM
Hello everyone.
I would like to share my experience, having recently qualified as a signaller. This post may also answer a lot of questions some of you might have and I will also try and add in some advice as well.
Firstly, the recruiting process - now, I know this has changed a little, and COVID19 has also made this a different animal too. But I think one thing that has NOT changed, is this takes a while. For me, it was 9 months from applying to being offered the job. I had no real issues and I remained patient, even when stuck at pending assessment 2 for 3 months!
Once I was offered the job, it was plain sailing though. My LOM was very good, and made everything quite simple.
Next step was getting my signalling school dates! One thing to bear in mind, was I went into signalling school PRE COVID 19. So please expect some significant delays getting on tour course. My understanding is that the training schools are currently running smaller classes (up to 6 I believe) instead of the usual 10-12, and there are less courses running at once now too at each location. Results may vary, but I expect this backlog to take a while to sort.
Training School - Now here is an eye opener. This wasn’t an easy course. Not even close. People do, and will fail. We started with 10/11 and finished with 7. So please, prepare as much as you can. Expect to put in significant study in the evenings. I found joining in with a study group was the best way for me, but everyone is different.
The course itself starts at 09:00 each morning - earlier if it is your turn for the simulator session that day - and finishes around 15:30 - or later if you are on the evening simulator group! Fridays can see you on your way home by midday.
Make best time of these sessions! And try and learn how to run the “back desk” (the simulator) as quickly as possible. There is nothing worse than having no instructor and not being able to run the simulator yourself! Not every instructor will stay behind until 18:00 each and every evening with you - they have lives too!
Classroom environment is pretty basic - Death by PowerPoint! Frequent breaks and lots of tea and coffee on hand to help keep you going!
If you have no railway experience at all, you could be in for an uphill battle! EVERYTHING is new to you and its like learning french fluently in 3 months! (Or if you speak french, another language you don’t know!)
Be prepared each day - silly things like having the correct stationary, having dividing/marking tabs to put in your rulebooks etc will make your life much easier when it comes to study. Flash cards - I cant stress these enough.
There were 3 Written exams when i completed the course on weeks 3/6/11.
Week 3 was basic signalling knowledge. This is all about how to signal trains normally, what signals mean what, bell codes etc etc. (the easiest of the 3 by far, but still plenty you are expected to know)
Week 6 was the difficult one, and covered some quite heavy topics like wrong direction moves etc which for me at least, was difficult to grasp.
Week 11 covers a bit of everything, but was possibly the heaviest exam of the lot, covering everything you learned from week 7 onwards.
There were also multiple practical assessments on the simulator covering the normal running of trains, Line blockages, obstruction danger and a final week 12 assessment which takes around 3 hours. It’s referred to as the worst shift you will ever have
Your first assessment comes at the end of week 2 - Normal Mode of Signalling - where you are essentially doing the job of a signaller, signalling trains normally. And that’s by week 2! The next 10 weeks of the course however, is learning how to deal with the railway when it goes wrong, and given the 10 weeks you have to learn it all, lot’s can go wrong!
However, the course has now changed, and I’m sure someone who has done it more recently than me can chime in here, its now 10 weeks, with only 2 written tests i believe?
The instructors (or WDS) are mostly excellent. If you get Phil or Tom, you are laughing - absolute top notch.
Best advice I can give? Go prepared. Have flash cards handy, something to organise your rule books with, maybe even learn a few of the bell codes before you go - These are available online with a quick search. Most importantly, enjoy the course. I loved it, it was something completely different for me and a real challenge. I don’t know anyone who didn’t put tonnes of hours study in that passed.
Oh, if you don’t already know it, learn your PHONETIC alphabet!
A small point to note - Signalling school is very classroom based, and the free food in the hotels is tasty... you have been warned!
Once I Got through signalling school, I managed a week off then straight into training in my new Signal Box. However, COVID 19 meant getting into the box was a real struggle, with many staff uncomfortable with having another in the box with them. Normally it would have been 2-3 weeks to “pass out” and start running the box by yourself but for me it was closer to 3 months due to the lack of time spent training.
Last thing - It’s well worth it. This is a great job, Network rail look after their staff (from what I can see anyway) and if you are comfortable with your own company a little single manned signal box is a nice place to be for 12 hours at a time!
If anyone has any questions, more than happy to help you out.