MoaningOldGit
Member
MrsP2010. That's great. Do you have any advice on how to be successful in this role?
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A career as a signaller
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I’m still waiting for a start date (since April!) so be patient is my advice!!
89jordanbj
Member
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.
My advice is to not check for updates every day as you will drive yourself up the wall eventually! You will receive any important updates via email.
Good luck!
@Pugman could you possibly tell me the address of where the medical takes place? I had the call this week stating that I would get confirmation and that hasn’t happened. It’s next week
Peterperfect
Member
- Joined
- 5 Apr 2018
- Messages
- 88
Get the app quizlet on your phone. Then look for sets of questions on the subjects.
@Cleanshirt
Great insight into your journey into the signalling role, and it mirrors mine...although mine was 9 weeks. 1 thing that baffled me though...
"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."
There is no way on earth, after 3 weeks from leaving sig school, you'd be expected to pass out and run the panel, surely? It's more like 6-8 weeks minimum.
You learn how to signal lights in school, you learn how to signal properly on the panel - anyone thinking they can pass out ofter 2 weeks, is definitely not ready
Great insight into your journey into the signalling role, and it mirrors mine...although mine was 9 weeks. 1 thing that baffled me though...
"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."
There is no way on earth, after 3 weeks from leaving sig school, you'd be expected to pass out and run the panel, surely? It's more like 6-8 weeks minimum.
You learn how to signal lights in school, you learn how to signal properly on the panel - anyone thinking they can pass out ofter 2 weeks, is definitely not ready
Snap, same here.
I didn’t really want a location from the second section as they are all over 60 minutes away but chose Lincoln as it was closest to where I am in Uttoxeter.
Fingers crossed on this “Future Opportunities“ application as I previously had a Crossing Keeper application change to “invite pending for assessment 2”, got excited but the role was withdrawn, I suspect got swallowed up in this “Future Opportunities“ recruitment drive.
Tom Quinne
On Moderation
- Joined
- 8 Jul 2017
- Messages
- 2,225
A week to learn the box, and the other two to figure out how to work the kettle and where the best local curry house is who will delivery to the access gate lol
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.
nom de guerre
Member
- Joined
- 24 Nov 2015
- Messages
- 776
The only boxes that are grade 2 for the boxes for that vacancy are Dorrington and Onibury
I’ve got Dorrington and I believe the other vacancies in it have been filled but I may be wrong
Llanigraham
On Moderation
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
Llanigraham
On Moderation
Have they upgraded my old Box, Bromfield?
MostlyHarmless
Member
- Joined
- 1 Mar 2018
- Messages
- 988
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!
Apologies, Bromfield is a grade 2 too
Many thanks for all the information I shall go over it and have a look at the local housing market.
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 ways
I'm awaiting release to make the opposite move!
Why are you doing that? change of scenery so that you can work different boxes? or are you looking to get the mortgage payed off a little earlier?
MoaningOldGit
Member
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!!
will220498
Member
Some feedback from the pre recorded interview if anyone's got one coming up...
3 questions, 1 minute to prepare and then 3 minutes to answer. All the questions were fairly standard, definitely more personal than competency based, focused on personal achievements and conflict resolution. I did it on my phone using the wepow app and it worked fine and was very intuitive.
Good luck to anyone who's got one coming up!
Also just wondering if anyone has completed one and got the results back, how long did you have to wait?
Cheers!
3 questions, 1 minute to prepare and then 3 minutes to answer. All the questions were fairly standard, definitely more personal than competency based, focused on personal achievements and conflict resolution. I did it on my phone using the wepow app and it worked fine and was very intuitive.
Good luck to anyone who's got one coming up!
Also just wondering if anyone has completed one and got the results back, how long did you have to wait?
Cheers!
89jordanbj
Member
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?
What would you say is the most common mistake signallers make?
And what is your favourite part of the job?
Tom Quinne
On Moderation
- Joined
- 8 Jul 2017
- Messages
- 2,225
The call of shame you have to make when you’ve missed a train in a line block margin to the COSS or PC to have the block back 5 minutes after you said they could have it for at least an hour, then the call to TDA in an attempt to shift the blame as you’ve a train on the block for 3 minutes!
Favourite part of the job? Payday, and home time lol
Seriously, making a difference you actions or indeed inactions have a massive impact on thousands of passengers, and tons of freight.
Trying to find new ways of creativity routing to keep the big freights rolling when you’ve a conflict.
Conorg
New Member
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.
HamSandwich
Member
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
craig1992
Member
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
I'm in that group...I've only heard so far that I start on October 5th but had no further information in regards to signaller school. Also quite interested to find out what we will be doing prior to our school dates as they sound like they will be after October 5th for most people.
Kraken
Member
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.
Such a good post. I’m a bit late to the party here but thank you. I like the way you don’t sugar it too much but it’s obvious you had a great time. It was very useful for my stationery shopping list too
89jordanbj
Member
Got my confirmation today that I will be starting IST at York on the 24th of this month and had a couple of questions..
Does the course still have an earlier finish time on Fridays to travel home? I am a 4 hour train journey away so would be very helpful if this was still the case!
And has anybody stayed at the Elmbank hotel during their previous training?
Does the course still have an earlier finish time on Fridays to travel home? I am a 4 hour train journey away so would be very helpful if this was still the case!
And has anybody stayed at the Elmbank hotel during their previous training?