Re: DOO In Sydney?

[Rod Gayford <rjaygee@smartchat.net.au>]

Was there a guard on the train at Waterfall that was backing into the platform
with the driver operating the train from the rear when it collided with a
stationary train standing at the platform with spectacular affect?

Cheers
RJG

C. Dewick wrote:

> In <37ef14ee.0@pink.one.net.au> "John" <johnst@aics.net.au> writes:
>
> >> Not the guards as far as I can tell.  In my experience they ignore any
> >> problems reported to them by travelling passengers in my experience.
> >>
> >> I'm not fan of DOO but it is technically possible.  However, I'm also
> >> not a fan of having a guard if the only "service" that most guards
> >> seem to deliver to passengers is to close the doors.
>
> >Unfortunately, you have come across some dud Guards but be assured there are
> >many Guards who are very good and very professional at what they do. David
> >Johnson is an example of this.
>
> Well, speaking of dud guards (as a driver with CityRail I get to deal with
> more of them than the average passenger does), the guard I had on my train
> on Friday night could be losing his job this week.
>
> I was at the end of my shift around 8.40 pm on Friday night, and the last
> thing I had to do was stable 12 run (my 8 car S set) in the yard here at
> Waterfall. Only problem was, when I drove my train into the shunting neck
> and changed ends, there was no guard. I phoned up the office, and the DM
> checked around and found out that the guard who was supposed to still be on
> the train with me to stable it had in fact given me a right-away bell at the
> platform then got off the train!
>
> He'd jumped on the next train heading back to the city to go home!
>
> That train was pulled up somewhere (not sure where - I'm yet to see the wire
> on it) and my guard was told that he has to go back to Waterfall to stable
> his train and complete his rostered duties. What has really sunk him is that
> he apparently told either Operations Control or his Guards Supervisor at
> TCAC to "Get F@#%ed, I'm going home!".
>
> So I happily waited and waited sitting on my train in the neck until a guard
> came down (not the same one mind you - I think he'll lose his job on Tuesday
> for what he's done) off another train that had to wait at Waterfall before
> going back into the city, and she (yes, a woman guard, who was very friendly
> and talkative, and more than willing to take time out of her rest time at
> Waterfall to help me out) stabled the train with me.
>
> In the end I waited nearly an hour without a guard before I could stable my
> train. Remember that it's the guard's duty to close windows, and to apply
> handbrakes (which the driver checks), etc., but it's convention that the
> driver puts handbrakes on half the train and the guard does the other half,
> simply because it's convenient to do it that way.
>
> I am *not* pleased with the way new guards and drivers are being shoved
> through the schools with minimal training, *especially* in simple things
> like doing their damned job properly like they are supposed to do. grrrrr.
>
> Many of the new staff are excellent, and I have high regard for these
> people, but a larger-than-I-consider-to-be-acceptable number of new staff
> (particularly guards) are totally hopeless and cannot (or will not) do the
> job properly. This is going to bring all of us who do our job with a solid,
> professional approach to be tarnished by the slackness of others. And
> personally, that stinks, since it makes the job more stressful, etc....
>
> Regards,
>
> Craig.
>
> PS. last week, my old regular driver from Enfield (who I visited yesterday)
> was called a scab by a private bus driver on the day of the snap 24-hour
> station staff strike! That's god damn lower than low - and a *private* bus
> driver of all people! It was *not* the train crewing staff that were on
> strike. Some people have no clue...
> --
>             Craig Ian Dewick            |       Stand clear - jaws closing
>  Send email to craigd@lios.apana.org.au |  Visit my Australian rail transport
>    Professional Train Driver, Cityrail  |      and rail modelling web site:
>        and HO scale rail modeller       |   http://lios.apana.org.au/~craigd