Short Questions & Answers

Q1.

What resources are available on-line for planning a rail journey?

A.

Our sister web site called Rail Travel has a guide to ticket types, rail rovers, maps, how to buy your ticket, contact details for the train operators and details of other website and phone lines available.

An on-line timetable is available on the Railtrack website or you can phone National Railway Enquires on 0845 7 48 49 50 for timetable and fare information.

You can now buy tickets on-line from TheTrainLine, operated by Virgin Trains.

Q2.

How many companies now run National Railway passenger services in the UK?

A.

There are 25 train operating companies, 27 including Eurostar and Heathrow Express. They are all listed on the Rail Travel website.

Q3.

How many people are needed to get a group discount?

A.

Ten or more people can get a discount if they travel together. The discount varies depending on what tickets are brought.

Q4.

Is there a list of all the available tickets?

A.

Yes, the Ticket Type page on the Rail Travel website details the terms and conditions of each of the tickets available.

The Unofficial GB Railway Enthusiast Website also has a list of all APTIS ticket stock.

Q5.

Is there a complete TOPS listing of rolling stock?

A.

Yes, Robert Volland has a downloadable list of all the locomotives, units, coaches and most of the wagons passed to run on Railtrack lines at the Unofficial GB Railway Enthusiast Website.

Q6.

Which direction does the "up" and "down" lines run in?

A.

Each line has an up and a down direction. The commonest arrangement is for the up direction be towards London, but obviously this can't apply to cross-country routes. Normally the company building the line made "up" the direction towards its headquarters or, in the case of branch lines, towards the main line.

Q7.

Why do some ticket have asterisks printed after the station name?

A.

These are printed to prevent people from altering the station name. For example altering London to London Road (near Guildford) or altering Reading to Reading West.

Q8.

I've heard stories of people touching the third rail and being OK. They can't be that unsafe can they?

A.

You should never touch the third rail or an overhead lines. Contact with the live rail or overhead line will result in severe burns or death.

It is theoretically possible to stand on the third rail as long as no part of your body provides a earth by touching the ground or another object. However, do not try this out yourself - it is very dangerous! Anything in contact in contact with the third rail is also dangerous, for example a puddle. You always assume that the third rail and overhead lines are live at all times.

Live rails are very dangerous. A few years ago a set of regulations called the Electricity at Work Regulations came into force. They state, amongst many other things, that all live conductors must be insulated at all times. Exceptions to these regulations have to be issued individually by the Health and Safety Executive. The last time I checked up there were only three exceptions to these regulations, one of them for live rails on the railways. The fact that there are so few exceptions indicates how dangerous live conductors are.

It is not possible to install a new live rail system in the UK, unless it is insulated. It is however permissible to extend an existing system, for example lines to Chester and Weymouth. An example of this is in Newcastle. This used to have lines electrified with third rails which were removed in the 1960s. It was not possible to equip the Metro with a third rail system when that was introduced in the 1980s. The live rails had been removed and could not be put back.

Overhead wires are generally at 25kv so you will be electrocuted if you stand closer than whatever the flashover distance is. This is why rolling stock has an orange line painted on, it is not safe to move higher than this line while under OLE.

To make it clear: never, ever touch any third or fourth rail or overhead lines at any time.

Q9.

Are there any rules to stop people taking photos at stations?

A.

This has become an increasing problem recently. While there is no rule banning photography, many companies have used the existing Health and Safety rules to stop people photographing trains.

A railway station is private property. Whatever you do on private property has to be done with the consent of the property owner, in this case the TOC which leases the station from Railtrack. It is up to the individual station managers (and staff) to enforce the rule. South West Trains, Connex and Railtrack in particular have been known to cause problems.

If at all possible you should take the time to write to the company involved to get a pass, I've never heard of them refusing. Otherwise it might be worth visiting managers office and signing the visitors book if you are planning to stay a while. Especially if you plan to use a tripod.

If you don't get a pass the best way to avoid trouble is follow these rules:

• Don't set a tripod up too close to the platform edge.
• Never block passageways.
• Never set up where you could block the movement of people.
• Don't stand too near the platform edge, especially if fast trains pass.

There are however a few situation where photos should not be taken:

• LT Underground and Railtrack "below ground" stations, where flash can potentially blind a driver, and the mere sight of a camera puts them on edge in case a flash goes off.
• Stations close to MoD property, as film can be taken under the Official Secrets Acts.

If you follow the above advice you should keep out of trouble, remember that most staff will not cause a problem, just a minority.

Q10.

How can I buy a copy of the National Routeing Guide and the Fare Manuals?

A.

The fares manuals are still £12.50 per volume (as at May 2001), the Rail Links Manual is £4.00 (not available separately) and the Routeing Guide is £12.50.

The National Fare Manuals comes in 7 volumes (London, South, East, West, Midlands, North West and Scotland). Orders are now handled by:

Teamwork Direct
Chessingham Park
Dunnington
YORK
YO19 5YA

Or fax them on 01904 481103. Teamwork Direct's phone number is 01904 486600.

Delivery is free of charge within mainland UK: additional charges apply for offshore deliveries. Deliveries can only be made to an address at which a signature can be obtained, between 0900 and 1630, Monday to Friday.

Q11.

Where can I find the National Conditions of Carriage and the Passenger Charter?

A.

There is an on-line version of the National Conditions of Carriage, or a copy can be picked up from any staffed station.

Each train operating company publishes its own Passenger Charter which should be available from any staffed station.

Q12.

Are ticket machines breaking the law by not accepting notes which are legal tender?

A.

The Bank of England web-site states:

"The concept of legal tender is often misunderstood. Contrary to popular opinion, legal tender is not a means of payment that must be accepted by the parties to a transaction, but rather a legally defined means of payment that should not be refused by a creditor in satisfaction of a debt."

Which means that before the sale of goods or services the provider could specific what coins can be used to pay for the goods or services. Once however you are in debt the provider cannot refuse any legal tender. Seeing as you pay for the railway ticket before it is printed, they can specify which coins and notes you can use.

Q13.

What does a + symbol on a ticket mean?

A.

Ticket which include travel on the London Underground have the + symbol printed on the ticket. If this symbol doesn't appear the Underground barriers and staff will not accept the ticket.

Q14.

Can you buy several tickets to cover your journey from a booking office where these cost less than the through fare, or do you have to get off the train and re-book?

A.

From previous discussions on this newsgroup, it appears that things have changed (for the better!) under privatisation. We now have 'impartial retailing'. This means that a TOC *has* to sell you any tickets that you request (within reason?), that they're able to sell.

From the Fares Manual (MID69 p.A2) :-

"Combinations of Tickets
The National Conditions of Carriage allow customers to use two or more tickets for their journey provided that:

(a) they cover the entire journey; and

(b) one of the following applies;

1. they are zonal tickets;

2. the train on which the customer travels calls at the station(s) where they change from one ticket to the other; or

3. one of the tickets is a Season Ticket and the other is not, and any train operated by the same Train Company calls at the station(s) where the customer changes from one train to another.

If a customer makes a journey using two or more tickets when these conditions are not met, they will be treated as having joined the train without a valid ticket for that part of the journey not covered by the ticket(s) they hold.

As far as ticket retailing is concerned, staff are reminded that this and other fares manuals shows fares for almost all through journeys. Unless specified by a customer, these should always be sold in preference to a combination of tickets."

-- end of quote from fares manual --

AFAIK this rule does not apply to RailRovers You can use (say) a single to enter a Railrover area, on a non-stop train.

Q15.

Why are foreign locomotives being used by EWS?

A.

These are not foreign locos, but Class 90 locomotives painted in European liveries. In September 1992 Crewe ETD turned out three class 90/1 locomotives in the liveries. Belgian Railways 90128, German Federal Railways 90129 and French Railways 90130. This was done so the locomotives could take part in a promotional video for the Freightconnection 92 show at Birmingham NEC.

Q16.

What equipment does a guard carry around in his bag?

A.

• Weekly and Periodical Notices;
• Red and green flags;
• Bardic handlamp (A rotor containing white/red/green coloured lens, with a spare bulb);
• Spare carriage and 21 key;
• 3 pointed draper screw driver (for the bog locks);
• 'Out of order' and 'defective door' labels and suchlike stuff;
• Fares Manuals;
• Routeing Guide;
• Great Britain Passenger Railway timetable - if they can get hold of one!
• Working timetables and amendments;
• Detonators if working loco-hauled stock - not required on units because they are available in every cab;
• Traction manuals;
• Possibly Rule Book, AC electrified lines book, sectional appendices - although most don't bother with these;
• High Visibility Vest;
• Guide to announcing - but the announcements are so pompous nobody bothers;
• Padlock and key;
• Pocket timetables, marketing leaflets and complaint forms (useful for deflecting irate passengers);
• Notebook and pens;
• Yellow tape;
• Various report forms;
• Train Log Book;
• SPORTIS - ticket issuing machine.

And of course the most important items :-)

• Flask or tea bags, sugar, milk and brew can;
• Sandwiches;
• Reading material;
• Cup and Spoon.

Note that this varies from TOC to TOC and from Guard to Guard; some carry everything, some risk carrying nothing but most carry a selection.

Q17.

What are the different coloured lenses on the torch used for?

A.

Depends to a degree on who's using them and in what circumstances.

• White is used to repeat the 'tip';
• Red is always stop, such as to stop an oncoming train, unless it is from a guard to a driver and moved vertically up and down, in which case it is "create brake pressure";
• Green (steady) is "ready to start", but waved is a proceed indication of one sort of another but slowly - white being for normal speed (except on an engineering site where all proceed signals are given using green to minimise confusion);
• Yellow isn't used by traincrews, it is however used as a restricted proceed indication by (hand) signallers;

White can be almost anything we want, depending on how it's used. A steady indication is different to a horizontal or vertical wave, and violently waving any colour means stop.

Q18.

What is the procedure for platform staff seeing a train off?

A.

The procedure varies depends on what stock is involved, as explained below. In most cases a white coloured baton is used so that a driver of a train with failed bells wouldn't take their hand-signal by mistake. When it gets dark a white handlamp is used instead of the baton. If the bells had failed the guard would the driver the Right Away by using a green flag. However in practice platform staff often give the 'tip' using hands, radios, station timetables and any other object available to hand!

In every case the 'tip' can only be given only the signal has a proceed aspect or the indicator on the platform displays 'OFF'. The platform staff may also use a whistle to hurry along passengers, warn passenger or to alert the guard or driver, but it is not part of the dispatch procedure.

Slam door stock

Once the platform staff have checked the doors are all closed, the baton will be waved to the guard. The guard will then give the Right Away to the driver using the bell code (ding ding).

Central door lock fitted stock

Once the doors are shut the platform staff will give the signal to the guard using the baton, he will then lock the doors. Once all the orange lights have gone out the platform staff will wave the baton again to the guard who will give the Right Away to the driver.

Electric door stock

The baton is used by platform staff to give the 'tip' to the guard once the doors are clear. Once the doors are closed and all the orange hazard lights are out the platform staff will wave the baton again to the guard, who will give the Right Away to the driver.

Driver Only Operation (DOO) areas

In DOO areas the platform wave the baton to signal the driver to close the doors. A green flag is then used to give the Right Away, providing they have checked there isn't a guard on board already.

Some stations have buttons that the platform staff use to light up a CD indicator at the end of the platform to get the driver to Close Doors and then a RA indicator for Right Away. Where this is fitted it is used instead of hand-signals.

Q19.

Which stations are fitted with automatic ticket barriers?

A.

Balham, Barking, Basildon, Basingstoke, Bedford, Bracknell, Bromley South, Camden Road, Chatham, Clapham Junction, Crawley, Dalston Junction, East Croydon, Eastbourne, Epsom, Euston (Silverlink platforms), Fenchurch Street, Grays, Guildford, Haywards Heath, High Wycombe, Horsham, Hove, Kingston, Kings Cross Thameslink, Limehouse, Liverpool Street, Luton, Marylebone, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Putney, Redhill, Reading, Richmond, Sevenoaks, Slough, St Albans, Surbiton, Sutton, Three Bridges, Tonbridge, Twickenham, Walton-on-Thames, Watford Junction, West Croydon, West Hampstead, Woking, Weybridge, Willesden Junction, Wimbledon and Winchester.

Operated by LUL:
Barbican, Farringdon, Highbury and Islington, Kentish Town, Moorgate and Seven Sisters.

If you know of any more please yet me know.

Q20.

I saw a couple blunt end first at Kings Cross. How does GNER 'turn' these locos?

A.

There are turntables at Bounds Green, Neville Hill, and Craigentinny depots. There's an electrified triangle at the country end of the King Edward Bridge at Newcastle too.

Q21.

What does a driver have to do to "prepare the unit"?

A.

On an average unit like a 455, starting from the end you will drive from:

1. Check for any red flags on buffer beam, etc.
2. Walk down side A of unit checking that all equipment box doors are secure, all suspension equipment is correct and nothing is amiss.
3. Entering the rear driving cab, put all external lights on. Check detonators, flags, fire bottles, emergency equipment cabinet (if fitted), that all MCBs are correctly set, put cab heating on (if required). Place key in master switch and open up desk. Run brake application test, check that DSD is operational. Check that flags for aws, tis, dra and ebs have not been activated (fitter to reset). Set destination blinds. Test CSR cab - shore radio. Test PA.
4. Exit cab by door you entered, walk to rear of unit. Check all lights are correct. Check coupling equipment, ensure dutch oven plate is fully closed. Check lifeguards are in place.
5. Enter rear cab by other door. Set lights as required. Secure cab and exit.
6. Walk down side B of unit checking all equipment box doors are secure, all suspension equipment is correct and nothing is amiss.
7. Entering the front driving cab, put all external lights on. Check detonators, flags, fire bottles, emergency equipment cabinet (if fitted), that all MCBs are correctly set, put cab heating on (if required). Place key in master switch and open up desk. Run brake application test, check that DSD is operational. Check that flags for aws, tis, dra and ebs have not been activated (fitter to reset). Set destination blinds. Test CSR cab - shore radio. Test PA.
8. Exit cab by door you entered, walk to front of unit. Check all lights are correct. Check coupling equipment, ensure dutch oven plate is fully closed. Check lifeguards are in place.
9. Enter front cab by other door. Set lights as required. Insert BR1 key and release doors on both sides of the train. Walk down inside of unit checking that (a) all fire bottles are present and correct, (b) all PES devices are correct, (c) the general state of the interior is passable and (d) opening passenger doors as you proceed through train.
10. On reaching environment cabinets in each coach, check that MCBs for heating, lighting, PHV and emergency lights are OK. On reaching motor coach check all MCBs are correct, that the WSP fault light is extinguished and that all fuses are correct in the 'B' cabinet (on class 319, check fault light is extinguished and flag panel is correct).
11. Finally, on arrival at rear cab, place BR1 key in door control switch. Press doors close and check that all doors actually close and interlock light is obtained (any faulty doors can be checked while returning to the front cab, units with door faults do not leave their berthing point but must be fixed on the spot by a fitter). Insert key in master switch, open up desk, release brake to step 1 and await permission to leave from the yard shunter.

I think that's about it. You have 15 minutes per unit average time to carry out these checks, 10 minutes for a 2 car set.

Q22.

What does a driver learn when "learning the road"?

A.

• Geographical layout of route - Junctions, stations, tunnels, signalboxes, loops, sidings, ground frames, etc.
• Names of running lines and direction of travel.
• Knowledge of signalling systems (TCB, AB, etc.).
• Location and operation of level crossings.
• Location of OLE areas.
• Location of third rail areas.
• Knowledge of authorised walking routes.
• Location of limited clearance areas and SPTs.
• Locations where permissive working is allowed.
• Knowledge of NRN zones.
• Local instructions applicable to the route (Sectional Appendix).
• Emergency procedures and contact numbers.
• Any signals on the route that have been passed at danger on more than one occasion.
• Poor railhead areas.
• Loco and unit route restrictions - e.g. "Can a 158 go into platform 12 at Manchester Piccadilly"?
• Gradients: rising or falling and in which direction.
• Loading gauges - less relevant to passenger trains but still pertinent to "wide gauge" stock like the 165/166 "Turbos".
• It is sometimes easier to remember which indications you CAN'T take on a signal with many route indications.
• Signal box phone numbers (BT ones for when the NRN does not work, wonderful things, mobiles :) )
• Lengths of platforms, e.g. "Which platforms at London Bridge can I take a 12 car into"?
• It is often easier to remember signal locations at first by reference points - "It's after the second overbridge", etc.
• I will get caned for this, but I always used to ask for braking points for stations when route learning...then after I had got used to it I would work out my own version of where I should start braking.
• PNB points, nearest chip shops, etc. It is important - we have all had to go to work with no grub on occasions :-)

Q23.

What are the telephone numbers for the TOC ticket sale centres?

A.

These are covered in the Rail Travel web site.

Q24.

Which TOCs have loyalty cards?

A.

• GNER - Excel Club
• Great Western - Merlin Club
• Thames Trains - VentureCard
• Virgin Trains - ?

Q25.

Why don't platform staff hold connections any more?

A.

Now that the railways operated by private companies, few trains are held, since these would mean that the train operator would have to pay a fine to Railtrack for a late running service.

The only people who are authorised to hold a service are the train operator's 'control'.

Q26.

Is there a list of the three letter station codes?

A.

Yes it can be found at DieselFest.

Q27.

Why is the delay at a full barrier level-crossing a lot longer than a AHB crossing?

A.

An automatic crossing is designed so the barriers are down 15 or so seconds before the fastest train arrives. Because they are not (normally) linked to the signals, the train's speed is not reduced.

For a manual crossing, the barriers must be down and the crossing clear button pressed by the signalman before the signals can clear. Hence to allow the train to proceed at line speed the barriers must be closed in time for the signal 2 or 3 back to be cleared to green. Typically I would say this means the barriers start to lower 90-120 seconds before the train arrives.

Q28.

What is the difference between uk.railway and uk.railways?

A.

Both were created via forged newsgroup messages, back in the days before the uk.* hierarchy was as strictly organised as it is now. I think uk.rs was a poor forgery, not as good as that for uk.r. The latter was good enough to get the site created pretty widely, and it hence became part of the canonical uk.* hierarchy when the current system with Control was set up. uk.railway is now an official uk.* newsgroup.

Uk.railways still exists on a few sites, but only badly run ones that create every group which comes along and which don't bother to process checkgroups control messages to keep their sites in order. It is not, as far as I know, carried by any of the UK backbone sites, so anything posted to it probably won't spread very far and certainly not very reliably.

Q29.

Does anyone know of any train driving simulators for Window 95?

A.

You may want to check out Ashley Greenup's new sim, which uses an actual video clip synchronised with the train's location. There's two routes available currently, King's X - Doncaster and Paddington - Bristol. They cost £40 each.

Problems? Well, the timetable editor can crash sometimes...and the video clip is obviously "fixed" to the same route and same video every time you have a "run" (i.e. no night-time or anything), and it can't display running on different lines or platforms, but it's graphically the best available at the moment.

Check out www.traingames.com for details.

I happen to agree with Hoppy, who maintains that the only way to really go is with real-time graphics rendering, but this requires vast amounts of money...and the only way it could be done for such a small market would be to charge £10,000 a throw :o)

Q30.

Does anybody have a table of maximum weights allowed for each RA number.

A.

Q31.

How do I contact the Rail Users Consultative Committees

A.

The contact details for the others can be found in the Rail Travel site.

Q32.

Why do the drivers operate the doors on Class 165 and 166 units, even when conductors are on board?

A.

This practice is used by Thames Trains and First Great Western (with the units they have hired from Thames Trains).

Q33.

How do those information displays on the Class 170 units work?

A.

They work in two modes, what I call simple and scrolling. In both cases the PIS is operated by the driver, not the conductor. The PIS is linked to the Train data recorder and takes the driver's ID number and the train's WTT number from the PIS, both of which are inputted by the driver.

In the simple mode the driver enters a two-digit figure corresponding to the train's destination. This will simply put up the ultimate destination on front, rear and saloon screens.

In scrolling mode the driver inputs a three-digit code which corresponds to the train's destination and its specific stopping pattern. In order for this to work the PIS has to have been pre-loaded with the relevant data by the retail people (and I can just see this happening promptly and accurately on the eve of every timetable change!) and it has to be GPS fitted. The front and rear displays will then show the ultimate destination while the saloon displays show the destination and a scrolling list of calling points. As the GPS detects the train approaching a station where it is booked to stop the display shows 'Arriving at XXX'. Once the train leaves the station the scrolling display returns, but with the previous station deleted. I believe that if the unit is not GPS fitted the scrolling list can still be displayed, but will not update or show when the train is arriving at a station, although I haven't seen it working in this situation.

In both modes the driver can enter a two digit code en-route to advise give passengers pre-set messages about signal delays, terminating short, diversions etc…

Q34.

What happens to loco hauled trains when they reach a terminus?

A.

Jack Howard writes:

'In steam days, it was normal to have a set of points at the inner end of the platform - the loco would stop short, uncouple, draw forward, the points changed, and thus the loco could "escape" and either run round the train or run light to the depot while a shunter came for the coaches. Space for an "escape line" between the two passenger lines is why some terminals have a three-track width between the platform faces. IIRC Liverpool Lime Street is an example of a station built to this plan.

Other stations would have a couple of locos working as "station pilots", who's job was to take empty coaches back to the carriage depot for cleaning / preparation for their next trip, once the coaches were away the locomotive would run light to it's own depot. This was a more complex arrangement (and needed more locos), but it meant the station could have more platforms in the same space. Glasgow Central was designed this way.

At some small terminals, it wasn't unknown for the locomotive to propel the train backwards out of the platform to a loop just outside the station, and then run-round. I've seen this done at Gourock. This would require a trained staff member acting as "shunter" riding in the leading coach, keeping a look-out, giving hand / flag signals to the driver at the back, and ready to apply the brake via the passenger emergency chains if necessary. (That may not be accurate - doubtless someone more knowledgeable will correct me!). '

Brighton and Penzance still have station pilots.

Patrick Hearn writes:

'Also (before my time) Paddington station had 'arrival' and 'departure' platforms. Trains would arrive in one side of the station and a pilot would remove the coaches to depot. The loco would then go back to shed for coaling, watering and turning. The pilot would then return the stock to the other side of the station, and the train loco would back onto it to form the return service. '