luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Sept 17, 2013 22:46:20 GMT
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I don't drive trains, but work with trains (more their passengers, really). But this week, I have two interviews for jobs which examine why the guys who do drive trains sometimes can't drive them on time, and how we can help them so they can. Well firstly good luck and if you speak to drivers themselves, be prepared for some very unexpected but honest answers. I happen to drive trains for the most punctual TOC in the country/Europe Luckyseven, I watched a program about railways and apparently Drivers are "the Railways Elite" High five buddy!! lol yeah, top of the shop, brother No mystery about what makes trains late either, that'll be the signals ....I drive trains for about the least punctual TOC though in my defence we are trying to thread some of the most intensive traffic on the network through a Victorian freight tunnel under central London
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Last Edit: Sept 17, 2013 22:47:07 GMT by luckyseven
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Sept 17, 2013 23:08:46 GMT
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I drive trains, does that count? I hope so cause I drive trains too Well, if we can have train drivers, I build railways so these guys can drive on them!
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starionturbo
Part of things
Is planning mental turbo action MU HUH HUH!!!
Posts: 528
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Sept 17, 2013 23:23:57 GMT
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Well firstly good luck and if you speak to drivers themselves, be prepared for some very unexpected but honest answers. I happen to drive trains for the most punctual TOC in the country/Europe Luckyseven, I watched a program about railways and apparently Drivers are "the Railways Elite" High five buddy!! lol yeah, top of the shop, brother No mystery about what makes trains late either, that'll be the signals ....I drive trains for about the least punctual TOC though in my defence we are trying to thread some of the most intensive traffic on the network through a Victorian freight tunnel under central London Signals and passengers, the main reasons for late trains IMO. Obviously not helped by as you say, a 150 year old network not designed for the amount of traffic run on it. Georgeb, i used to build them too, but it gets cold and its tough work, Train cabs are comfy and warm/aircon
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Sept 18, 2013 17:37:01 GMT
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Own a small to medium sized breakers yard in ireland
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Fungus
Part of things
Posts: 960
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Sept 18, 2013 17:43:16 GMT
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I spend my summers and college holidays laminating and trimming carbon fibre, and on saturdays i work in a custom paint shop..
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Sept 18, 2013 19:30:42 GMT
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when I'm not at uni (I'm studying motorsport engineering) I work on race cars. I started in fun cups, went to porsches, then ginettas, and this summer I was working on caterhams, a seat supercopa, a ginetta g55 gt3 and a mk2 escort with a millington lump in it!
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iane
Part of things
Posts: 173
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Sept 18, 2013 19:43:11 GMT
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I'm a BMW mechanic for an independent BMW tuning company in Bucks. Not sure if I save money or spend more money working where I do!!!
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Sept 18, 2013 20:03:32 GMT
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Totally agree which is why I now build 'em in SE Asia. Toasty +30 every day and lots of chappies to do the actual work!
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ThePollitt
Posted a lot
Fix up, look... at that car on eBay!
Posts: 4,696
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Sept 18, 2013 20:20:15 GMT
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I sell these... ...though I did used to write about cars, too. Chris
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Last Edit: Sept 18, 2013 20:20:56 GMT by ThePollitt
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Sept 18, 2013 20:25:22 GMT
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Co-owner of a garage, and provide security and transport for the rich and famous.....
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'96 Volvo 850T5 x2, '97 Alfa 145 Cloverleaf '96 Alfa 155, '91 XR2i 2.0 Zetec (sold), '88 BMW 520i slug (sold), '81 Escort Mk3 Project, '68 Mk1 Escort Estate, Berlingo Parts Chaser.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,201
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Sept 18, 2013 23:02:34 GMT
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I am not massively involved in the trade, athough I do 2 1/2 jobs
1) Computer engineer maintaining servers (quite a few trips take place to London) 2) A taxi driver (hence why some of my cars do crazy mileages, and why some can become terminal. 3) A part time worker for a Triumph specialist in Coventry.
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Sept 19, 2013 2:38:11 GMT
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I hope so cause I drive trains too Well, if we can have train drivers, I build railways so these guys can drive on them! What is it you do? We may be in similar trades! I work for Balfour Beatty Rail as a fitter, repairing and maintaining the track maintenance vehicles, track based cranes, sometimes road/rail stuff too! This is the sort of thing I maintain / repair.
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Sept 19, 2013 5:37:34 GMT
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Arrghh, those dreaded things that mess up my signalling just before I launch service!!
Nah, I come from an Ops background and work for Halcrow now. Worked in for a few years Manchester, then opened Copenhagen Metro before moving to Asia. Now overseeing the build of a line extension and two fleet refurbishments in Malaysia and have just, this week, moved to Manila to look after some work here.
S'pose we should apologise for the mini-hijack. Sorry.
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Sept 19, 2013 7:08:59 GMT
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Back before health and safety was invented I drove trains too, unofficially of course because I was under 11. My dad worked for BR for 30 years, and when he worked at Craigentinny I got to to do many cool things.
One Hogmanay he was the only person in the depot so I helped him start up all the locos. At midnight we had a horn blowing extravaganza:-)
I also got to drive an HST full of passengers at 100mph just south of Berwick for a few minutes while my dad and the driver looked at something in the engine:-) Walking through beside a Valenta was awesome:-)
I've applied to drive trains...fingers crossed:-)
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Last Edit: Sept 19, 2013 8:17:51 GMT by bigalan: phone autocorrect nonsense
--------------------------- 89 Masterace Surf 03 Astra 03 V40 Sport 09 E90 M Sport
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Sept 19, 2013 11:35:46 GMT
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I run a small business selling retro motorsport memorabilia and also work for Javelin Trackdays helping to set up and run trackdays around the country. Other days I work at Blyton Park Driving Centre either marshalling or helping out on test days etc. I get to see and ride in some amazing cars. Plenty of retro cars come to test before events or just for fun. Nikki Lauda's Ferrari 312B was here not long ago as well as a Lola F5000 car, Lotus Cortinas, Jaguar E Types and Le Mans cars
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Sept 19, 2013 11:45:31 GMT
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Car designer, not to be mistaken for stylist eg 'felt tip fairy' as we call them, working freelance on loads of stuff, ford, Aston, Jag, Nissan even worked on aircraft stuff. Currently working in Germany on face lift Focus because it needs it!!
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Sept 20, 2013 18:45:47 GMT
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This is awesome: but back on topic and a bit tenous, I spent a short time calibrating tyre inflators, strangely theraputic with the right music on the MP3 player.
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Sept 20, 2013 21:13:23 GMT
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To atone for the railway hijack, I used to sell cars in the late 70s early 80s so got the chance to drive virtually everything made around then.
From an ex-Sir Matt Busby Mercedes to AC Cobras to early Datsun 100a's, Grandad 3.0L Mk 1 (always a favorite) and just about everything in between. The list goes on. The company car for the night was whatever had a bit of tax and fuel (rent and titty), so the neighbours of the girlfriend of the day had the curtains twitching with three or four different cars each week parked ourside her house!
I do admit once that I'd taken a Skoda home that was taxed but still took the trade plates, so people didn't think it was mine.
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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Sept 20, 2013 21:25:52 GMT
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lol, also to atone for the railway hijack (though I'm still happy to have been cool at least once in my life), before I was sentenced to life imprisonment on the trains I drove armoured vehicles for a deservedly now deceased securities firm and wore a daft helmet and everything. It sucked, pretty much. Although it was funny on the occasion when someone decided to get themselves into a road traffic accident with a three-ton armoured vehicle; seeing their car just kinda... go away. 'twas a MkIV Escort and it looked like it had been dropped from a crane. Broke the side repeater on our van, mind
Before that I was a long-distance and London courier on motorbikes, until I broke my legs one too many times. Fair to say I've pretty much only ever driven for a living in some way, if the grounds' staying still under my feet I get a bit baffled by it
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Sept 20, 2013 21:36:41 GMT
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i rent and drive these!http://www.marlen-truck.de/uploads/pics/volvofh2013_01.jpg
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