Re: Guards to Drive During Olympics?

["Rod" <comtrain@mpx.com.au>]

David Johnson <trainman@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
381F3D22.35AC228@ozemail.com.au">news:381F3D22.35AC228@ozemail.com.au...
> Perhaps I, as one who will be doing this, can respond...
>
> Guards will not be driving during the Olympics.
> Guards who wish to drive during the Olympics are undergoing a minimum 14
week
> training (over 3 months) to become fully qualified Train Drivers.

There is no way a Guard will be fully trained in 14 weeks!
NSW is not a lot different to Victoria. When we had Guards they were mainly
failed "Firemen"
who were re-employed as Guards, shunters, Signalmen or Station Staff. Some
even ended up on the Gangs. My Friends North of the border assure me it was
the same there!
The lazy ones who would not study, perhaps after growing up a little might
be able to cope.
But the incompetent would still be, just that...unless the standards were
lowered.
Many hundreds of Victorian Guards and other staff have been offered seats on
our Locomotives. Very few finished the normal training schemes, that is 3
years, amd most of those, with a few noteable exceptions, were unable to
continue in the grade.
I have no doubt that people like Craig, will make a go of it, and provided
they are very carefull and extremely lucky, they will gather enough
experience to make excellent Enginemen. Three years as a second person,
learning from hard experience, and watching your Drivers is the only safe
way to learn to Drive. We went out on our own, as safe Enginemen already.
You guys will be a danger to yourselves as well as others, untill you learn
respect for the power of the machine you will be asked to control.
Cheers
Rod



> After the Olympics, these new Drivers will remain drivers.
> If an ex-Guard is not deemed fit after 14 weeks, futher training will take
place
> until their Trainer Driver feels that they are competent.
> Trains do not have steering wheels.
> Some of the best drivers are ex-Guards.
>
> Any questions?
>
>
> --
> David Johnson
> trainman@ozemail.com.au
> http://www.ozemail.com.au/~trainman/
>
>