• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Someone be attemptive...

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Dennis

Established Member
Joined
8 Aug 2005
Messages
2,676
Location
Trowbridge
As a parent, I know only too well that kiddies can go wandering off. If he fancied a train ride, well, why not? Could have been worse - he might have gone for a walk up the tracks or even gone to Teignmouth beach for a spot of drowning.

Just hope his parents gave him a good slap (uh-oh - politically incorrect) and told him to make sure he had a valid ticket and knew what train to catch to get back home next time he wanted to go for a train ride.

What I find more worrying is that he was able to travel for so long with nobody questioning the absence of his parents.
 

Craig

Established Member
Joined
15 Jun 2005
Messages
3,958
Location
Newcastle
Dennis said:
What I find more worrying is that he was able to travel for so long with nobody questioning the absence of his parents.
Surely he should have been gripped by Exeter?? ;)
 

Ben

Member
Joined
8 Jun 2005
Messages
999
Dennis said:
What I find more worrying is that he was able to travel for so long with nobody questioning the absence of his parents.

Just what im Wondering!

Surely The Conductor should of got the Calculator out and put 2 and 2 Together!
 

Lewisham2221

Established Member
Joined
23 Jun 2005
Messages
1,472
Location
Staffordshire
It depends what he was doing on the train, people may have just assumed that his parents were within range and keeping an eye on him?
 

Dennis

Established Member
Joined
8 Aug 2005
Messages
2,676
Location
Trowbridge
Couple of months ago, I was on a VT service, coincidentallly travelling between Exeter and Taunton. It was in the evening and some kiddy, about 6 or 7 at a guess, sat behind me, alone and looking very nervous. The conductor came around when we were approaching Taunton and asked for his ticket - he did not have one, would not give his name, say where he was going or who he ws travelling with.

Eventually, the conductor got a bit fed-up and said he would call the police and that they would meet the train at Taunton and left the kiddy.

I turned around and asked him if he was OK; at this point, the kiddy burst into tears and explained his mother was hiding in the bog because she could not afford a ticket to Bristol. A few minutes later, the mother appeared all apologetic to the kiddy and quizzed me about what had happened and then proceeded to tell the kiddy off for talking to me!

Anyway - I alighted at Taunton and don't know what happened after this.

The point of this little yarn is that one upset looking kiddy, travelling alone, did merit the concern not only of myself but also a member of the traincrew and I remain surprised that in an hour, no one thought it unusual for a 5 year old to be completely on his own. A sad reflection on society perhaps?
 

devon_metro

Established Member
Joined
11 Oct 2005
Messages
7,715
Location
London
Just read that in the Herald Express :lol:

Now i need to deliver it hmmm.

And anyway, the guard shouldn't be checking people, but if he had checked if he had a ticket then he would have realised he didn't and would have noticed. This just shows how easy it is to get a free ride on the train nowadays. I can't imagine it was a large train if it stopped at Teignmouth. So therefore surely he would have has his ticket checked by the time he got to Taunton...
 

voyagerdude220

Established Member
Joined
13 Oct 2005
Messages
3,264
Liam said:
I can't imagine it was a large train if it stopped at Teignmouth. So therefore surely he would have has his ticket checked by the time he got to Taunton...

There's a few Voyagers which stop at Dawlish/Teignmouth on weekends, so it could've been a VXC service.

I don't really know about FGW though.

Edit: I forgot to say that i also agree with The Slash's comments to Yorkie..
 

metrocammel

Member
Joined
11 Aug 2005
Messages
954
Location
Ashton, Lancashire
If it was a HST then it was very understandable, as children do have a tendancy to run up and down long trains, often not within view of the parents, for example on a Pendo I was on tuther' day, there was a five or six year old girl running up & down to train- god knows where her parents were? Plus on a HST, with its very generous amounts of luggage space, it would be easy for a little kid to crawl under the seat backs or into one of the luggage racks, and easily not get noticed. You never know, perhaps he is a young HST "ned" ;) wanting some free extra mileage, and in a few years perhaps maybe on this forum!
 

Ben

Member
Joined
8 Jun 2005
Messages
999
AlexS said:
Yorkie, Jamie, Ben, Frank and Steve, please stand well away from the argument,

thank you :)
If everyone stays away from the Argument there will be no Arguement - Which sounds good to me.

I Apologise for my part in The Argument.
 

bunnahabhain

Established Member
Joined
8 Jun 2005
Messages
2,070
I didnt realise there was an argument, I certainly didnt know I was participating in one. :)
 

David

Established Member
Joined
9 Jul 2005
Messages
5,103
Location
Scunthorpe
According to the Daily Mail today (or the Race Hate Times as 1 member likes to refer to it), all the kid wanted to do was find Thomas the Tank Engine.
 

Nick W

Established Member
Joined
5 Nov 2005
Messages
1,436
Location
Cambridge
60006 Scunthorpe Ironmaster said:
According to the Daily Mail today (or the Race Hate Times as 1 member likes to refer to it), all the kid wanted to do was find Thomas the Tank Engine.

Poor him, should have got a train in the other direction to bodmin parkway during one of the fun fun thomas the tank engine specials.
 

The Gricer

Member
Joined
11 Aug 2005
Messages
269
Location
MP 34½ SWML
Jamie said:
I didnt realise there was an argument, I certainly didnt know I was participating in one. :)
No, neither did I, and if my posts are going to be deleted every time I dare to disagree with a mod/admin then they can stick their forum where the sun doesn't shine.

I really feel strongly about this, especially as I was argueing with no-one. All I remember saying was that if the conductor had been checking the tickets then the situation may have come to light a bit sooner. Now what was wrong with that statement to make it warrant deletion?


Frank
 

Craig

Established Member
Joined
15 Jun 2005
Messages
3,958
Location
Newcastle
The Gricer said:
I really feel strongly about this, especially as I was argueing with no-one. All I remember saying was that if the conductor had been checking the tickets then the situation may have come to light a bit sooner. Now what was wrong with that statement to make it warrant deletion?
That's the kind of controversial opinion that will get your posts deleted ;)

Perhaps one of the staff would like to comment on the alleged argument?
 

Tomnick

Established Member
Joined
10 Jun 2005
Messages
5,825
The Gricer said:
No, neither did I, and if my posts are going to be deleted every time I dare to disagree with a mod/admin then they can stick their forum where the sun doesn't shine.

I really feel strongly about this, especially as I was argueing with no-one. All I remember saying was that if the conductor had been checking the tickets then the situation may have come to light a bit sooner. Now what was wrong with that statement to make it warrant deletion?


Frank
Frank,

I've been away today, so I'm not really aware of all the facts yet. Had a quick look through the deleted posts (several of them, not just yours) though, and it looks like yours post in question wasn't deleted because the content disagreed with the opinions of someone else, but rather because it was part of a discussion which seemed to be turning into one of those arguments that we don't like! I can't see anything wrong with your statement, but other deleted posts had definitely taken a step too far. Whether your post was deleted in error, or because it was a part (innocently, of course!) of the argument that developed after, I don't know. I'll make my best efforts to find out though.

From my own point of view, I think it's great to have a bit of healthy discussion - if we all agreed all the time, it'd be boring! Sadly things do go a bit far sometimes, and I suspect that's what's happened here.

Tom
 

AlexS

Established Member
Joined
7 Jun 2005
Messages
2,886
Location
Just outside the Black Country
It was deleted in reference to argument participated in by one of our moderators - which you might have guessed in my post telling him to step back first and foremost.
 

Coxster

Established Member
Joined
9 Jun 2005
Messages
9,244
AlexS said:
It was deleted in reference to argument participated in by one of our moderators - which you might have guessed in my post telling him to step back first and foremost.
How can you tell him to step back from the "arguement" when we wasn't actually part of it? The point he was trying to get across could have been said even if the now deleted "argument" hadn't occured. As for his reply to a comment posted by a staff member, it wasn't a direct argument - it was a quite innocent observation that I feel is absolutely true and does STILL have a place within this thread.
 

AlexS

Established Member
Joined
7 Jun 2005
Messages
2,886
Location
Just outside the Black Country
The post was made as a response indicated via the quote to a 'confrontational' post by yorkie, or so it appeared to me, since I chopped all of the posts with any reference to that, it's gone too.
 

yorkie

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
6 Jun 2005
Messages
67,429
Location
Yorkshire
I was only 'confrontational' because of 158 having a go at guards, it was unwarranted and he expects too much of them, IMO.

But I accept the argument did no-one any favours, and it's probably for the best that it was deleted and it is not really doing anyone any favours that it is still being debated now.

We all have our own opinions on this, we'll just have to agree to disagree.
 

TheSlash

Established Member
Joined
7 Jun 2005
Messages
2,339
Location
Marwell Zoo
I feel that Yorkie made an arguement where there wasn't one. I looked into the thread, started reading posts discussing the topic, then suddenly theres a post by Yorkie accussing 158 of causing trouble, 158 replied in a perfectly acceptable manner and Yorkie upped the anti on him.
'The Management Team' need to ask themselves why so many people have told them to stick they're forum lately. Theres a common demoninator in it all.
 

Tom C

Member
Joined
4 Jul 2005
Messages
549
I was only 'confrontational' because of 158 having a go at guards, it was unwarranted and he expects too much of them, IMO.[\quote]

Can I just ask......

You appear to be saying that 158 should be showing guards/conductors etc more repect and shouldn't expect to much of them......

So why do you call them grippers or DESPERATE grippers??

Even without the "desperate" I still find this nickname a little below the belt. I am a RPI and I have to check tickets as part of my job and I don't appriciate people slating you because you are simply doing what you are paid to do.
 

yorkie

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
6 Jun 2005
Messages
67,429
Location
Yorkshire
Tom C said:
So why do you call them grippers or DESPERATE grippers??
The vast majority are not "desperate"!

As for gripper, this is from a "basher speak" page:

Gripped = Hole punched in ticket
Gripper = Guard or other ticket collector doing ticket check

And this is from Dreadful.org:

Grip - Ticket inspection normally followed by a hole being punched in ticket - "gripped".
NG - Not gripped as in "1A84 was NG to New St"

I don't use the term "gripped" or "gripper" very much. I occasionally use the term "desperate gripper/guard/whatever", or "that's quite desperate" or something like that.

Tom C said:
Even without the "desperate" I still find this nickname a little below the belt. I am a RPI and I have to check tickets as part of my job and I don't appriciate people slating you because you are simply doing what you are paid to do.
It's a term used by enthusiasts, it's not actually "slating" them. It's not actually meant to be derogatory, for example http://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/trf/alan_b.htm "and those of you who came across him in his work will know that he was an extremely desperate gripper" isn't insulting him, and is meant affectionately in that example!

"Desperate gripper" can be used to mean someone who is very conscientious on checking tickets, but it could also be applied to someone who tries to claim tickets are invalid when they're not. Tone of voice would determine that. Please don't think it's an insult - it isn't, as far as I am aware!

It's just another slang word, like "hellfire", "gen", "dreadful" etc that only enthusiasts understand. I was onlu introduced to these words only a couple of years ago, but they've been used for decades.

[EDIT]
158 said:
I Agree with TheSlash and Tom C
Can you please post something constructive, rather than just "I agree", otherwise the forum could be full of people simply saying "I agree".
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top