Zzzzzzzz 28-02-2012 Zzzzzzzzzz still here... zzzz

Hi

As you might see from the post title, it has been hard work staying awake this week. The course has hit a section that is incredibly dry and incredibly boring but all is essential to driving.
I refer to of course the dreaded TW modules from the rule book.

In we have gone into the deep dark world of how to prepare trains for service and what restrictions are in place for certain faults and failures. A lot of the faults that trains can develop can be isolated but then this raises new questions such as how far can you go? do you need to tell the signaller immediately or the first opportunity? can you go linespeed or do you need a competent person to travel with you? and who can the competent person be as it can vary depending on what is faulty.

Then when you finally get the hang of that, they throw in a new thing. Some faults can be present when a train enters service from ANYWHERE OTHER THAN A MAINTENANCE DEPOT. Now this is important.
Take this section of the rule book about windows on the side of a train...


6.2 Entering service from a maintenance
depot
You must not allow a vehicle to enter service from a maintenance
depot if:
• the outer pane of a double-glazed window is broken
• a large single-glazed window is broken.


Now that seems fairly straight forward but what is a maintenance depot? Some people reading this will be quite intelligent and know that South West Trains has 3. Wimbledon Park, Northam (near Southampton) and Salisbury. However, what I didn't know is that they are only maintenance depots in certain circumstances.
Take the above situation. A train with a broken window cannot enter from a maintenance depot into service. Now the three depots are only maintenance depots for certain types of trains. Wimbledon Park looks after 455 and 458's. Northam looks after all the Desiro's (444 and 450) and Salisbury looks after the diesel fleet (158 and 159's).
Now Wimbledon Park often has Desiro's sat there during the day between the peaks for example but it wouldn't be a maintenance depot for them. That means a Desiro with a broken window CAN (and that is the important bit) leave Wimbledon Park with a broken window as described in red but a 455 or 458 CANNOT. Now what I have written may seem very dry, but this is why I am struggling. All faults a train can have have loads of different conditions.

Some rules require a competent person to accompany the driver to keep trains going. For example the Driver's Safety Device (or deadmans pedal as some may know it) which is a foot pedal the driver must keep depressed otherwise the trains brakes will come automatically, if it fails then the trains guard is competent in the rules to accompany the driver and make sure that he is in control of the train. HOWEVER, if the AWS (Automatic Warning System) is isolated then the guard is no longer competent to be with the driver as someone with drivers route knowledge would have to accompany him or her.

If your really interested then by going to this link... http://www.rgsonline.co.uk/Rule_Book/Forms/Live_Documents.aspx?RootFolder=/Rule_Book/Rule%20Book%20Modules/TW%20-%20Train%20Working&FolderCTID=0x01200060B274261602B94B84F5B3E1E95DE5C8

you can find the TW modules and you'll see what an uphill struggle I have this week to concentrate and stay awake!!

On a much lighter note if you are still with me, a countdown has appeared on the classroom (possibly by me) to try and cheer everyone up. It shows that from today there are now just 28 days left until we drive our first train (albeit in Clapham Yard at 5mph!!) something to look forward to. But that also means that there are 26 days to our final rules exam!!