Thanks for the welcome back, John. I've been lurking in the background for a while, but felt it was time to start posting again.
Continuing with the topic(s)..
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Originally Posted by aussisteve
When temperatures exceed 38C, train speeds must be reduce due to potentially buckled rails.
Continuous weld rail might be economic, but can become spaghetti in extreme heat.
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Yes this is a yearly event here too nowadays as the summers seem to get hotter. Even by 28°C we often get a blanket speed restriction imposed across the network.
As usual, the cheepskate media circus likes to laugh at us and make out that it's an outrage, but as Scotty used to say, "Ye canna change the laws of physics".
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Originally Posted by and he also wrote
Though, I don't think that I would impose the Japanese acknowledgement system. Each and every signal, speed board and station stop must be saluted by the driver in acknowledgement.
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Does seem to be a bit severe, doesn't it? They've done research about it here in the UK, and psychologists believe that this method does reinforce short term memory and help maintain focus.
Consequently we've developed a watered-down version called "Risk Trigerered Commentary" (RTC) which is where we're encouraged to say things out loud to ourselves in situations which we perceive to be more dangerous than usual. Also it compensates for the effect of fatigue which always takes you off guard at times when you should be sharp. Some drivers detest RTC, but since I've always talked to myself it's no big deal.
It's a technique which is strongly encouraged by management, but not forced on us, and every driver applies it differently. My bugbear seem to be depots - I've had 2 near misses in them in 20 years and I still have dreams about it occasionally. So I always say to myself, "Work DOD to DOD". This is slang to remind myself that a position light/shunt signal only takes you as far as the next one or an obstruction (which might seem bleeding obvious to most people). The problem is that when you're winding through a complex depot where all the signals for that route are USUALLY pulled off together, you often can't see the next one until it's too late because of other trains or infrastructure. So although 99% of the time you could plod steadily through with no disruption, you must come almost to a stand each time until you can see what's there. My RTC reminds me to do that.
Also, when there's serious disruption on the main line and I'm running slowly on single yellows for miles I ask myself out loud after each one ..."where is the red". This is because there's always the risk that as the signal sections get longer and longer, you let the speed gradually build up and then get caught out by a short section with a red at the end. (You would have asked yourself this subconsciously anyway if you'd been running normally, but the repeating yellow aspects can destroy the natural rhythm).
Of course all of this is obvious and simple stuff, but you pass hundreds of thousands of signals in your career, and you only need to get just one wrong for the consequences to be terrible. It goes with the job of course, but unlike workers in many other occupations, we can't afford to have an "off day".
Hope this makes sense,
BW