nuclear trains

[davo882000]

Random question guys....

Does the nuclear train still go through Sunderland station?

 

[Adam_Harrison]

Certainly does, i've seen it every other day in the last few weeks, couldn't tell you when though.

 

[davo882000]

Oh thanks I'll keep an eye out for it... Is going to stellafield or do u not know?

 

[swadbus]

Oh thanks I'll keep an eye out for it... Is going to stellafield or do u not know?

The famous lager reprocessing plant?

 

[scotsman]

Oh thanks I'll keep an eye out for it... Is going to stellafield or do u not know?

I hope so - I don't know where else they plan to take it!

 

[Nym]

Stellafeild? just saw that...

Shal we just say Windscale? heh

 

[HugePilchard]

Shal we just say Windscale? heh

No, Windscale is where that accident happened.

I forget where that is in relation to Sellafield, but I'm fairly sure it's not exactly the same place but with a different name. Surely they wouldn't try and pull the wool over our eyes by just renaming it?

 

[wensley]

It runs once weekly (officially) to Seaton on Tees, the day has varied from what I heard. Someone said Fridays, others have said Tuesdays. Apparently outwards running is mid morning, 0900ish if I remember right and return early afternoon. In theory anyway.

 

[sutty]

I also have a question. To work in the nuclear industry you're going to go through several layers of security clearance.

Does the driver of the train get vetted or is the driver an employee of the nuclear plant?

Ta!

 

[wensley]

I also have a question. To work in the nuclear industry you're going to go through several layers of security clearance.

Does the driver of the train get vetted or is the driver an employee of the nuclear plant?

Ta!

Drivers are from DRS. Not sure how the security clearance process works though!

 

[davelew99]

Well DRS are owned by BNFL/NDA so technically they are nuclear employees. I guess they'd have to go through some sort of special training/asssessment for the jobs involving radioactive material.

 

[sprinterguy]

It runs once weekly (officially) to Seaton on Tees, the day has varied from what I heard. Someone said Fridays, others have said Tuesdays. Apparently outwards running is mid morning, 0900ish if I remember right and return early afternoon. In theory anyway.

It runs southbound through Sunderland at 09:35 as 6E44, and returns northbound at about 13:50 as 6M60. As you say, the day gets varied, although in my experience it tends to stay the same throughout a block of regular running.

 

[185]

Much of the waste seems to be emptied into the coffee machine in York messroom

 

[gordonthemoron]

No, Windscale is where that accident happened.

I forget where that is in relation to Sellafield, but I'm fairly sure it's not exactly the same place but with a different name. Surely they wouldn't try and pull the wool over our eyes by just renaming it?

Sellafield is just the current name for what was (when I worked there) Windscale & Calder Works. The accident, i.e. fire, occurred in one of the reactors by North Gate in 1957, I have stood ontop of that reactor and also ontop of one of the Calder Hall reactors & the AGR.

 

[Flamingo]

Guys, just a thought, there are nasty people out there, lets not post anything that might help them cause an accident with a train-full of nuclear nasty (I know, it's only Sunderland, but even so)...

 

[gordonthemoron]

come off it, they are built like brick ****houses and there's nothing inside that any terrorist could do something with before they died

 

[Flamingo]

Thank you for your reassurance.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

I also have a question. To work in the nuclear industry you're going to go through several layers of security clearance.

As I've mentioned on here before, I did some work on some of the UK's reactors when they were being developed and commissioned.
At that time I'd taken a wander over the top of a reactor while it was on-line (like gordonthemoron it was an AGR) and worked in a little plant room under a reactor on several occassions, again while on-line.

I daresay there might have been some security check that I wasn't aware of, or a requirement that I agreed to some confidentiality which I've long forgotten, but I did undergo a medical examination and received a dose-badge (which was little more than a photographic film in a frame to record any radiation). Touching fuel rods was forbidden, not because of any perceived personal risks but because any natural oils on the hands may be transferred to the casing and impair the even burning of the rod.

I seem to recall a scam that might have been used to get access to the reactor hall when the dose-badge indicated that the wearer's recommended maximum exposure had been exceeded.

Things may well have changed, but I struggle to see why transport staff dealing with waste removal need any special security clearance.

 

[gordonthemoron]

to work at Windscale, you had to sign the Official Secrets Act

 

[sutty]

Thanks, for that. I'm not highly re-assured. I would have though as the drivers are technically in receipt of nuclear materials they'd have to be cleared through the vetting agency.

Sidenote: How about the driver of the royal train? I'd have thought at least a CT check?

I wouldn't worry about posting the timetable on here. If terrorists want the timetable, Greenpeace have it on their website

http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/MultimediaFiles/Live/FullReport/7848.pdf

 

[Legzr1]

Well DRS are owned by BNFL/NDA so technically they are nuclear employees. I guess they'd have to go through some sort of special training/asssessment for the jobs involving radioactive material.

Nothing 'special'.

Nuclear waste is just another type of Dangerous Goods as far as the railway is concerned and the Working Manual 'Pink Pages' deals with mishaps/issues conveying these goods.

Take my word for it,in the past the railways have conveyed far more dangerous products than nuclear waste.

I'm talking about immediate threat to any living thing that is unfortunate enough to touch or inhale said product.

Having said that,the fact that headcodes and trust timings are freely available online (and are being posted on this thread) does make me feel a little uneasy.

Maybe I've watched too many Spooks / B-rate Hollywood movies...

 

[sutty]

Understandably the railway has carried dangerous items in the past but given the fact that nuclear material is something that the gits of this world would like to gather, I'd have thought it'd be a protected asset.

I'm guessing the flasks are locked somehow for when said train is at a signal, stopped?

 

[GB]

All train crew that deal with the material are fully vetted before given their security clearance.

 

[33056]

Sidenote: How about the driver of the royal train? I'd have thought at least a CT check?

The Royal Train drivers are "merely" DBS drivers with the requisite route and traction knowledge, no special checks required AFAIK.

 

[sutty]

Crikey! I would have thought they'd want something more robust than just knowing the route. *shocked*

 

[Chester025]

Crikey! I would have thought they'd want something more robust than just knowing the route. *shocked*

Such as what? White gloves?

 

[sutty]

Such as what? White gloves?

Hah! Sorry, I'll remove any hint of ambiguity. I meant with regards to securely vetting drivers of the royal family

 

[talltim]

yeah, they might hijack the queen and steer the train off down some sidings or something

Edit: except that on the modern railway, all sidings seem to have been removed

 

[sutty]

Such as what? White gloves?

Hah! Sorry, I'll remove any hint of ambiguity. I meant with regards to securely vetting drivers of the royal family. I'm not trying to say the drivers lack competency, by the way. I'd have just thought secure vetting would be a prerequisite

 

[33056]

Why? Train driving is a responsible job and it is not as though you actually get in close proximity to your passengers on that particular train. In any case there are (or used to be!) at least two railway inspectors who travel as well. Anyway, what happens with regard to rostering the train crew if one of the Royals travels on a service train as they have done in the past?