Padding overkill

[whole diary]

[eightf48544]

Brake test shouldn't be a problem timewise if the compressors up to mark.

Although HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) aren't electropneumatic the air disipates from both power cars whose brakes are linked electrically so only has to run half a train.

Perhaps we should bring back the GW^» (Great Western - used as an abbreviation for the area / lines under the Great Western franchise, as opposed to FGW which includes "First", the company operating them too. For tickets - about) 4 cone ejector that could raise 25" of vacuum in a few seconds. Of course it caused problems when you had feeble 21" other region's engine take over the train and the shunter forgot to pull the strings.

There is nothing new in runnnig a railway it's just that we seem to have forgotten how. In fact with modern technology it should be easier yet it took a week to introduce a new coach into the Pendelino to get all the computers talking to each other. Now that's bad design.

Resignalling now seems to be a major obsticle. Apparently Marylebone IECC^▸ (Integrated Electronic Control Centre) although modular can't take any more signals because the modular boxes are full and you can't add any more individual signal modules.  Now that's bad design/planning as well.

Another quote from Gerry Fiennes pre war Doncaster division was bottom of the punctuality table. They appointed a new Divisonal manager whose main occupation seemed to be standing in the buffet doorway on Doncaster station with a pint in his hand. Gradually Doncaster rose up the tables. When asked how he did it "personal supervision was the answer"

Of course it couldn't happen today but "personal supervision" by senior managers is still the only way to run a railway you can't do it from an office. That's why the Station Master at Paddington always saw off the Cornish Riviera.

As Tom Peter's said in "In Search of Excellance" MBWA "Management by Walking About."

[Btline]

Yes, apparently in the old days, the station master would always be present at the departure of  London express (on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)).

Woe betide anyone who delays the London express!

What do we get at the mo?!

[stebbo]

I remember seeing in some book a copy of an old GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) telegram back in the 1930s from the General Manager to a station master down in Cornwall (somewhere around Liskeard, I think) in terms of "Please explain the delay to the Limited (ie Cornish Riviera) at your station yesterday". Could crash an entire e-mail system if you followed up all the delays these days.

[Shazz]

I remember seeing in some book a copy of an old GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) telegram back in the 1930s from the General Manager to a station master down in Cornwall (somewhere around Liskeard, I think) in terms of "Please explain the delay to the Limited (ie Cornish Riviera) at your station yesterday". Could crash an entire e-mail system if you followed up all the delays these days.

Nice analogie, but shame it won't happen

[eightf48544]

Unfortunately it seems that the the railways along with BAA and BA^» (British Airways - about) and other 24/7 real time enterprises have forgotten is tha can't manage them from an office.

You have to have the NCOs out on the ground to make the minute by minute decisions.


Unfortunately all these organisations have read the latest management gurus which says you have to have a lean mean organisation and sacked all the NCOs and given managers greater and greater areas of responsibility and more and more staff. Whcih makes it physically impossible for them to carry out there roles. 2 of us had our work cut out as shift ASMs^▸ (Assistant Station Master) at Sutton plus looking after the staions on the St. Helier branch plus Waddon and Carshalton Beeches. Being a 5 way junction if anything went wrong at Sutton you had any number of trains round your neck in minutes which had to be sorted out. You don't have time to phone control you just get on with it. Of course we could phone the signalman and tell him what train we wanted when.

It may work in advertising or marketing but it sure don't work in a 24/7 transport environment.

It's intersting that the Army still relies on large numbers of NCOs to keep the squaddies and Ruperts under control. BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) used to be run by the Inspectors, station, motive power, signalling track etc.

That's the layer that's gone so you get things like padding the timetables as in this thread because there is no-one on the ground with authority to keep everything running smoothly.
 

[Mookiemoo]

Try this for Padding overkill?

1721 last night left six minutes late from PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)

Got stuck outside oxford waiting for a plat form

Ended up at Morton for nearly fifteen minutes whilst they tried to fix a door problem (which they didnt and only solved the problem by locking them and turfing H,G,F,E into A,B,C,D - which did not go down well)

But still got into WOS^» (Worcester Shrub Hill - next trains) only three minutes late.

[Conner]

Were you on the train Mookie.
I would be pretty peeved if I had payed FC^▸ (First Class, or Fat Controller, or Football Club, depending on context) and they moved me to SC.

[Mookiemoo]

Were you on the train Mookie.
I would be pretty peeved if I had payed FC^▸ (First Class, or Fat Controller, or Football Club, depending on context) and they moved me to SC.

Yup

I ended up with a table in D - although it proved to me how impractical the idea of SC is - my laptop covered over half the table and I experimented - it wont open properly in the airline seats

[Jim]

Were you on the train Mookie.
I would be pretty peeved if I had payed FC^▸ (First Class, or Fat Controller, or Football Club, depending on context) and they moved me to SC.

Yup

I ended up with a table in D -

Well - that was quite a result really!

[Mookiemoo]

Were you on the train Mookie.
I would be pretty peeved if I had payed FC^▸ (First Class, or Fat Controller, or Football Club, depending on context) and they moved me to SC.

Yup

I ended up with a table in D -

Well - that was quite a result really!

Not really - by Morton the train is fairly empty

I was in F near the buffet so I was ahead of the rugby scrum

And they did rehome FC before evicting E so we got the choice of what was available

[Btline]

Try this for Padding overkill?

1721 last night left six minutes late from PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)

Got stuck outside oxford waiting for a plat form

Ended up at Morton for nearly fifteen minutes whilst they tried to fix a door problem (which they didnt and only solved the problem by locking them and turfing H,G,F,E into A,B,C,D - which did not go down well)

But still got into WOS^» (Worcester Shrub Hill - next trains) only three minutes late.

THw worst part of this is, how much of a delay this did train cause elsewhere?

It is as if FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have given up trying to run a tight schedule!

[John R]

Why did they need to evict 4 coaches? Sounds like an obscure SDO^▸ (Selective Door Opening) fault that would not have been a problem pre December.

[devon_metro]

*in response to Btline

What do you realistically expect them to do???

Its not as if Notwork Derail is jumping at the chance to improve the line!!

If FGW^▸ (First Great Western) had no slack then there would be less money to waste on under utilised services on the Cotswolds Line. Use the damn service and show that people appreciate it or i'm sure FGW will just stuff the line!

[Mookiemoo]

What do you realistically expect them to do???

Its not as if Notwork Derail is jumping at the chance to improve the line!!

If FGW^▸ (First Great Western) had no slack then there would be less money to waste on under utilised services on the Cotswolds Line. Use the damn service and show that people appreciate it or i'm sure FGW will just stuff the line!

Some of us do use the line - every day! Short of spending my entire day sitting on a train I can't do more!

The peaks are well utilised - off peak is a different issue.  If they ran a proper peak commuter express they even could get more usage.

All this padding puts commuters off! If it takes too damn long they just won't use it!

Most people think I am deranged or a masochist!

Run peak express services with a decent connection at oxf for a stopper. Run shuttles but only during the day or against peak flow,

0545/0634/0734 - are busy hst
1721/1751/1821 - are bust hst

The rest are not - make trains at roughly these times be semi fast express and put more shuttle stoppers elsewhere

[swlines]

What do you realistically expect them to do???

Its not as if Notwork Derail is jumping at the chance to improve the line!!

If FGW^▸ (First Great Western) had no slack then there would be less money to waste on under utilised services on the Cotswolds Line. Use the damn service and show that people appreciate it or i'm sure FGW will just stuff the line!

Some of us do use the line - every day! Short of spending my entire day sitting on a train I can't do more!

The peaks are well utilised - off peak is a different issue.  If they ran a proper peak commuter express they even could get more usage.

All this padding puts commuters off! If it takes too damn long they just won't use it!

Most people think I am deranged or a masochist!

Run peak express services with a decent connection at oxf for a stopper. Run shuttles but only during the day or against peak flow,

0545/0634/0734 - are busy hst
1721/1751/1821 - are bust hst

The rest are not - make trains at roughly these times be semi fast express and put more shuttle stoppers elsewhere

I'll go for deranged!   

They should really prioritise peak flow services...