Foxfield Railway - Accident Report

My last one was virtually all done on the simulator. Testing competence by watching you apply the rules, rather than just talking about them.

 

That's not really the point. Network Rail's rule book has a specific module about the operation of snow ploughs and the safety considerations and operational requirements will (I expect) be covered in the Operational Manual or some similar document. I doubt the Strathspey have this.

I can't ever remember doing a written rule exam - and after I got passed for firing in 2002 I never got asked any rules questions again. I'm not even sure having to carry the rule book is a requirement for safety critical volunteers. It certainly wasn't when I was a volunteer/member of staff and not enforced when I did my last turns in 2009. The Strathspey could do with looking at what's happened at Foxfield and making sure that it's not possible for similar action to be taken against them.

 

My apologies. I was trying to stick up for the decisions made (even though I left because of the actions of the higher ups).

 

Picking up from Tim's (Sleepermonste) about PWay, the Embsay put their team through NVQs that assessed their team against nationally recognised competencies, these programmes are not delivered or designed by numpties they industry based and delivered by such companies as Trackwork and Vital. Currently they can be fully or co-funded through Train to Gain and volunteers are still eligible - but you will have to be quick the current scheme ends on the 31st July 2011.

 

At what point are we responsible for our own actions?

 

Any railway rule book should say that your first responsibility is safety, both of yourself and of others. The point being made, is that management are supposed to make sure that you are sufficiently trained to exercise that responsibility in whatever capacity you are employed, and document that they have done so.

 

And just to prove the point I was making........! I was at another heritage railway this weekend where they were shunting with a diesel loco. At the conclusion of the shunt manoevre, the shunter ran to the slowly disappearing diesel loco and - you guessed it! He JUMPED onto the front step!!!!! The plain facts are that this is a VERY common practice and it's going to take some fairly firm actions from railway managers to stamp it out, if indeed it is possible to do so.

 

Quite; I can't honestly say I've never done it, both from the platform and the ground, and I suspect the same goes for the vast majority of active operational volunteers on here.

 

Guy makes a natural , snap, but essentially poor decision, boards moving train and slips... hurts himself, and because its a preserved railway where most people are grown ups enjoying themselves and are there because they want to be that should be the end of it. The guy is no doubt very sorry for himself and the potential embarrassment that this incident has caused and all his colleagues sympathise. There is very little chance he is going to sue the shirt of Foxfield for having slippy brakevan steps and there being no records that he has been correctly assessed and trained not to jump on moving trains... which is the sharp side of why we all need rulebooks stuffed down the back of our trousers these days

 

when i worked on a famous welsh narrow gauge railway, it was common practice for the fireman to jump off the engine while it was comming in the platform to swap tokens. this was usully done at around 5 MPH i saw with my own eyes this done regular.

 

How were the tokens swapped if the fireman jumped off? Did another jump on in his place?!

 

On the Festiniog (in the late 1970s/early 1980s when I was a fireman there), the fireman exited the moving footplate whilst the train was travelling at a reasonably low speed and exchanged staffs in a locked room within the station building.

For example, at Minffordd, there would be a Port-Minffordd staff machine and a Minffordd-Penrhyn staff machine so the fireman of a train ex-Port would place the Port-Min staff back in the appropriate machine and then extract a Min-Pen staff from the other.

These were miniature staffs and this activity was part of the fireman's duties.

This only was the case, though, for trains passing through the station without crossing another service as a signalman would then be on duty.

 

I've just found a very recent video on Youtube showing a toddler driving a standard gauge electric motorised trolley at a new heritage railway in the UK. Well, he was wearing in a hi-vis vest - so I suppose that's alright?

Richard

 

Wow Was he on his own.?

 

you should see this one. no hi vis at all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT66WAWtpb8

 

No - there's a woman on board too (his mum?) who jumps for the controls as it gets close to the road/rail crane at the end of the siding.

Forgot the link last time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc4-g9pPqAQ

Richard

 

This is a commercial penny in the slot ride on 7 1/4" track, with automatic cut outs and speed limiters, quite a few around.

 

Fantastic way to get kids interested in railways!

 

thats build for children, there seems to be cut-out's built within the track so the children are totally safe and under parental supervision.