Great Western Coffee Shop

A photo of an SDO panel (link below.)
http://trainfellows.blogspot.com/2008/02/selective-door-opening.html

Now, it may be just my mischievous sense of humour again, but what actually happens if you do turn the key to the 'five o'clock' position, marked X ... ?

Nothing.

That X is over an arrow which basically shows, don't put your key this way..

Thanks, Ollie - I hoped there'd be a 'safe' answer!  ;D

Seriously, though, there seem to be lots of illuminated buttons and 'remember' notes: is SDO actually that difficult to operate, in a live 'train on platform' environment?  How do the train staff find it?

Well personally the amount of briefings that were sent out to do with the introduction of SDO was a bit of an overload.

Short Platforms
Bike Storage Changes
Using the panel

The label on the panel is a reminder, it's not as if train managers are arriving at a short platform and having a quick read before they unlock some doors.

But I'm not a TM so hard for me to comment on how they find it.

As a follow up would you prefer I said which each button or light represents?

Yes please, Ollie  :)

Do a mental note now of the image and relate to these numbers:

( 1 )   ( 2 )
( 3 )   ( 4 )
( 5 )   ( 6 )
( 7 )   ( 8 )

1. If the green light is lit you can use the panel, so that would mean it works or that no other panel is in use.
2. This light shows when you put a CDL key and activate the panel.
3 & 4. These two buttons must be held down together for a few seconds in order to unlock the doors.
5. Locks the doors.
6. Buzzer to the driver.
7. To hear the driver buzz back.
8. Where you put the key.

Does that help?

Ollie, thanks, it's not a problem!  I'm just curious, because SDO has had such a bad press, it has raised the perception that it's a very complex system - and that is its weakness: it's too complex to work in real time on a short platform, for example.

As you say, briefings that were sent out seem to have been a bit of an overload, but if FGW felt the need to cover all the aspects you mention, for staff who were not actually going to use the system, (apart from TMs), does that not raise some concern over its complexity?

Re: your offer to explain what each button or light represents - how about adding that to your site, as a resource for everyone?  That would be just the sort of 'plain English' explanation of technical matters that 'customers' such as me would find very useful, and which is not really covered on FGW's website!

In the meantime, thanks for adding it to ours.

Yes, sorry, Lee, I think you and I bumped into each other, when replying to Ollie!

Ollie, THANKS AGAIN - very helpful, as always!

Chris  ;D

Reasons for me getting briefings on the panel due to me being trained in dispatch, and if doing empty stock movements from Paddington it would be myself locking the doors.

When I mentioned all the briefings that a lot got, it was mainly information so we could advise where customers should be on train for short platforms, etc..

I think with anything new it will have teething problems, but once everyone is used to it, I expect it will work out.

The page isn't actually loading for me yet...

But the position (2) is a power on light IIRC and lights up when the key is selected!

Which has four postions Off, All doors unlock, Doors to rear of panel unlock, Door in advance of panel unlock.

Guards have to use their knowlegde of the stations with short platforms because when let's say somewhere like Charlbury on the up and on the down a guard would have to select the same key postion ie doors to the rear of the panel. this is due to the station only having one platform and because the train now always stops with the standard class vehicles on the platform. Think yhats right!

Wasn't there an 'SDO hold' option fitted?

Turn the key to "X" five o'clock

A message is sent to FGW control that the TM is larking about

P45 in the post, Big Brother is watching.

The resolution of the picture is poor on my machine.  >:(

As such, I can't read the text on the SDO panel.  :(

Could someone enlighten me?  ???

PS- thanks for the explanation!  ;)

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l50/liamy_2006/swr/sdo.jpg)

Thanks DM.

What does "SDO Hold" mean?

I take it that the blurb on the sticker is just health and safety etc.

SDO Hold is the position you turn the key too when you need to remove it when the doors are unlocked in SDO Mode

Good one, Smokey!   ;D ;D ;D

Much better illustration :)

But yes, green button is definitely for the driver-guard comms