-Were these rule books intended to be kept in their original book and could be then referenced from there, or were railway workers expected to take the pages out of these smaller books and put them into a larger book?
-What was the whole "new style/personalisation" idea for? I can't seem to find a previous example of a rule book.
- The pages stayed in the binder. The binder was either physically kept with you or was easily accessible when on duty. Staff were and still are assessed on their knowledge of the rules so in theory you shouldn’t need to constantly be looking at the book to carry out a task, but it needs to be available for consultation if you get stuck or need to do something obscure. This has been the case for decades and is still the same today.
- The previous book published in 1992 (BR87109, the first proper rewrite since 1972) was written in a different, more formal and verbose type of language and the peronalised rule books changed this to a more easily understandable format and to reduce the overall word count. It introduced short lists with bullet points, colour and proper diagrams. For example Section A clause 5.1.3 of the 92 books said
Employees getting in and out of passenger vehicles not in service
When getting in and out of a passenger vehicle which is not in service, an employee must ensure that the doors are left correctly closed. On a vehicle with power operated doors, he must not operate any release except those provided for use by traincrew. Internal or external emergency release handles must not be used for this purpose.
...whereas the same rule (Section A clause 11.1.5) in the Railtrack book reads
Getting in and out of passenger vehicles not in service
Make sure that when you get off a train which is
not in service you: -
- close the door(s) properly, or
- if it is a train with power operated doors you only use a release for opening doors that traincrew are permitted to use, you must not use internal or external emergency releases for this purpose
Much of the content was also revised, moved or removed at the same time. Previously everyone was issued with the same Rule Book and it contained the rules for everyone all mixed together in broad sections. The personalised Rule Book took this the other way by attempting to give only the sections and clauses required by role and excluding rules which were deemed not to be required for certain roles. There was a master book which contained everything but it was not widely issued to front line staff.
The current GE/RT8000 series Rule Book was introduced in 2003 and instead of being divided by role is modular with rules on a particular topic grouped together in a single module. You can be issued with as many or as few modules as your job requires. There are also small handbooks which are designed to be carried in a pocket (much like the pre-1972 books) and the language has changed again to become more clear. There is a style guide explaining how to write operational instructions in the correct style as per the Rule Book and a list of words that must not be used - “shall” has become “must” for example. The current Rule Book assigns a responsibility to each clause and then uses the word “You” throughout. Recently the concept has been derailed a bit by the wholescale removal of content to be hidden away in internal company documents on the basis that it isn’t really a rule but an instruction or policy. The rule I quoted above about getting on and off trains has been removed.
