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Author Topic: hello to all from fgw driver  (Read 38665 times)
hstdriver
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« on: January 18, 2008, 00:09:21 »

hello all
              i am a hst driver based at sunny bristol sadly by FGW (First Great Western) any questions about hsts/ running/ rules just ask many thanks as i probaly see alot of you on the platforms!!!

                    hstdriver


ps: please dont tap your watch when i roll in i dont want to be late cos that means i get home late just like you!!!! thankx
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2008, 00:39:31 »

Hello, hst driver - welcome to the forum!

It's good to see more staff from FGW (First Great Western) joining these discussions - it all helps to improve everyone's wider understanding of the current problems.

Look forward to hearing more from you!

 Smiley
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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post - a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London, depending on context) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: Stop, Look, Listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Timmer
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« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2008, 07:26:17 »

Welcome to the forum hstdriver. Great to have you on board.

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Graz
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« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2008, 22:41:03 »

Very warm welcome hstdriver, I don't get HSTs (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) too often (mostly 158s now) but am still very much looking forward to reading your posts.

PS- I'm definitely not one of those rude watch-tappers!
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Mookiemoo
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« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2008, 22:44:48 »

hello all
              i am a hst driver based at sunny bristol sadly by FGW (First Great Western) any questions about hsts/ running/ rules just ask many thanks as i probaly see alot of you on the platforms!!!

                    hstdriver


ps: please dont tap your watch when i roll in i dont want to be late cos that means i get home late just like you!!!! thankx

I nearly always get HST (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units))'s

Do you ever do WOS» (Worcester Shrub Hill - next trains)-PAD» (Paddington (London) - next trains) or vie versa?

If so, I'm the on in orange hi vis pants and jacket waiting at the front!

And can I ask - if you do do WOS-PAD.......

Why do some drivers pull up so far ahead of others that judging where the first door of G is on each day is a random guess effort
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Ditched former sig - now I need to think of something amusing - brain hurts -I'll steal from the master himself - Einstein:

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love"
hstdriver
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« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2008, 05:59:43 »

have you ever seen wing mirrors on a hst?Huh no its all best guess work if there is no stop board and trust me its hard to judge. i do know that all drivers do try to do there best at stoppong in the right place but sometimes either being it railhead conditions, or a slow comming off brake these things can add to the problems of stopping with 420tons within 2-3ft of where you want it more difficult.
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Ptolemy
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« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2008, 08:53:22 »

That's a great answer, thanks for taking the trouble to write that hstdriver - I must admit, I'd often wondered why the stopping position tends to vary so much. Welcome aboard!

I always make a point of smiling and nodding a to the driver by way of thanks and appreciation when a train pulls in, in much the same way as I always thank a bus driver when I step off a bus - and yet not once in 20 years have I ever received as much as an acknowledgement back. I'm fortunate in my business enabling me to travel First Class on HSTs (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) on a fairly regular basis, which means I'm often standing pretty much alone at the far end of any given platform (most commonly Westbury or Chippenham, since I live half way between in Melksham, which of course has no useful train service to speak of whatsoever at the moment) - so it's not like I'm lost in a crowd of faces. Are drivers concentrating so hard at that moment that they don't have a chance to look along the platform? Do the darkened windows restrict visibility? Do they avoid eye contact out of habit as they assume it'll be more watch-tapping? Or is someone smiling at them so scary and unusual that they assume it must be an axe-murderer on the loose?
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zebedee
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« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2008, 10:21:58 »

Not sure about platforms but I have stood on the railway bridge at Newton Abbot with my children a few times to wave at the passing trains and usually get a big wave back from the driver....
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devon_metro
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« Reply #8 on: January 30, 2008, 16:32:19 »

That's a great answer, thanks for taking the trouble to write that hstdriver - I must admit, I'd often wondered why the stopping position tends to vary so much. Welcome aboard!

I always make a point of smiling and nodding a to the driver by way of thanks and appreciation when a train pulls in, in much the same way as I always thank a bus driver when I step off a bus - and yet not once in 20 years have I ever received as much as an acknowledgement back. I'm fortunate in my business enabling me to travel First Class on HSTs (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) on a fairly regular basis, which means I'm often standing pretty much alone at the far end of any given platform (most commonly Westbury or Chippenham, since I live half way between in Melksham, which of course has no useful train service to speak of whatsoever at the moment) - so it's not like I'm lost in a crowd of faces. Are drivers concentrating so hard at that moment that they don't have a chance to look along the platform? Do the darkened windows restrict visibility? Do they avoid eye contact out of habit as they assume it'll be more watch-tapping? Or is someone smiling at them so scary and unusual that they assume it must be an axe-murderer on the loose?

The driver probably is actullay concentrating on the brake guage and speed/signal/platform staff when stopping at a station, or perhaps the drivers you see are just plain grumpy  Wink

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Btline
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« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2008, 18:34:29 »

At Worcester, the Central Train/London Midland platform staff often "wave" to the FGW (First Great Western) drivers/guards.  Roll Eyes

They rarely get any reply.  Wink

It's funny to watch!  Grin
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smithy
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« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2008, 19:01:08 »

At Worcester, the Central Train/London Midland platform staff often "wave" to the FGW (First Great Western) drivers/guards.  Roll Eyes

They rarely get any reply.  Wink

It's funny to watch!  Grin

i am ex wessex staff and to be honest i find a lot of hst crews to be very rude,they struggle to bring themselves to talk to the dmu staff in the mess room at btm (us and them attitude springs to mind) so not waving at ct/lm staff does not surprise me
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devon_metro
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« Reply #11 on: January 30, 2008, 19:03:23 »

Think it might be a good idea not to start WW3!
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Jim
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« Reply #12 on: January 30, 2008, 19:09:35 »

At Worcester, the Central Train/London Midland platform staff often "wave" to the FGW (First Great Western) drivers/guards.  Roll Eyes

They rarely get any reply.  Wink

It's funny to watch!  Grin

i am ex wessex staff and to be honest i find a lot of hst crews to be very rude,they struggle to bring themselves to talk to the dmu staff in the mess room at btm (us and them attitude springs to mind) so not waving at ct/lm staff does not surprise me

Look mate, you try going to Brighton mess room - apparently the London/Brighton depot split is awful!
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Cheers
Jim Smiley
AG's most famous quote "It'll be better next week"
Ollie
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« Reply #13 on: January 30, 2008, 20:26:21 »

Erm, approach to a platform, think it's more important to focus on stopping than wave at someone.
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Btline
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« Reply #14 on: January 30, 2008, 20:51:59 »

Some Central drivers wave to them- it's just the FGW (First Great Western) ones that don't (don't get me wrong, I don't blame FGW drivers not wishing to wave at Central staff!). That's why it's funny.
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