AlexS
Established Member
Anywhere worth it's salt will require safety critical staff to have a medical. Certainly to be a signalman/guard I've had my hearing, eyesight, blood pressure, 'pee test' (diabetes etc) etc done. I think I'm next due for reassessment in a couple of years because I'm fairly young, once you get beyond a certain age I believe on our gaff it becomes six monthly.
To say incidents like this are 'not uncommon' on preserved lines is a fallacy though. That gives the distinct impression that locos are seriously damaged and wagons thrown through the air on a regular basis which is as far as I am aware not the case, or at least not the case on railways that pay some attention and take some care and pride in their operating practices. Accidents do happen but that's no different to anywhere else (EMT scrapping several HST trailers in a shunting accident in the last year or so, various wagons being off the road in various places including one on the MML at Barrow stone terminal straying on to the fast lines and such come to mind).
To say incidents like this are 'not uncommon' on preserved lines is a fallacy though. That gives the distinct impression that locos are seriously damaged and wagons thrown through the air on a regular basis which is as far as I am aware not the case, or at least not the case on railways that pay some attention and take some care and pride in their operating practices. Accidents do happen but that's no different to anywhere else (EMT scrapping several HST trailers in a shunting accident in the last year or so, various wagons being off the road in various places including one on the MML at Barrow stone terminal straying on to the fast lines and such come to mind).