as it has been over a month since I last posted I thought I better make an update. I am still progressing through my hours and have managed to rack up 187 hours now. Not bad and less than 40 until I reach the minimum needed to take my drivers final. This has left me understandably nervous as it has dawned on me that this will now be a matter of weeks instead of months!
I have also since completed a week of Advanced Route Learning (ARL). This is a week where you return to the school for a day before learning the route fully between Woking and Clapham Junction. Now I always knew that route learning would be the hardest part of the course for me and even said as much at the interview stage where they asked me that very question. This was no different. Although I drive the route everyday almost, I realised just how much I didn't actually know. When you are based at Fratton or Bournemouth or a similar depot, you almost always travel through the area on the fast. You rarely stop at the stations in between or go on the slow lines, so all of a sudden you are having to learn new speed limits, cross over speeds, station names (and their order) and other exciting things. Now as I usually pass through on the fast lines the speed limits are essentially 100 then 90 then 85 then 80 then 75. Fairly simple. But on the slow lines they are all over the place. Whilst travelling up and down on the trains you are looking out for all these markers and more and you are also compiling a map of the area (which I left at home the day I had to hand it in). The end result is a written exam on 100 questions where you are shown various photos and you have to answer questions about where you are and what the speeds are other such things. As I said one of the hardest parts of the course for me so far and I only managed 90% in the test which I was a bit disheartened about. Still a pass, but not my usual high standard. Still hey ho, after that went back to DI for a few more hours and now I am at today.
just a bit of my hand drawn map showing Surbiton station and the sort of things that we had to learn!
Today was the first day of my traction course. Some of my trainee colleagues have been at the school for the last two weeks learning all about 455's but as I am at a single traction depot I join them for the next 9 days to learn about Desiro trains. I then leave them and go back to my DI whereas some of those colleagues stay for another week of 458 training!
Today was day one as I said, and we got straight into it looking at formations and where different things are located on the train and what switches are where. After just a day the traction is starting to look a little daunting so will have to really concentrate and revise this one!
Tomorrow we are at Clapham Yard where we are going to look at a static train and have a look round and see the things that we learnt today and how they work and how to fix or isolate them when they go wrong.
So hopefully the rain holds off!!
