Signalman Amenities

[Deleted]

I'm already well aware of the fact that today's LU signalpersun enjoys the usage of several heating devices used to boil water for hot drinks, as well as reasonably well-located bathrooms and refrigerators to store food in (at least I think citysig does )

What other amenities are made available to signalpersons for their usage during the course of their duties? Are there any cots or lockers available, for example?

[zman]

Generally speaking, a signalman will have a heater, an air conditioner (optional), a chair and a locker. Most towers (but not all) have toilets and desks. Have never seen a cot as one isn't expected to nod off while on duty, but that's over here.

[boxboy]

Most Signal Cabins are supplied with a leather "Joey" chair that fully reclines with a food rest.

This chair features everything you require for one shift:

1. Kettle, cups, and a vast quantity of (Yorkshire) tea.

2. Enough food to get you through your long "hard" shift

3. Remote controls for the lighting, air conditioning and television

On top of that you are supplied with an apprentice, who will work the signals for you ;D




On a serious note though, each Signal Box and Control Centre varys.

Resident staff (ie those who only work in one Signal Box) and those who work in the SCC (I think!) are supplied with a locker. Reserve Staff, (ie those who roam around many different signal boxes) are supplied with a bag as they are never in one fixed location.

Kitchens generally have a fridge, kettle and microwave. Tetleys tea and Nescafe coffee is also supplied. Some cabins also have an oven and hob.

Toilets are also provided.

Everything else is bought out of Signal Operators own money, such a televisions and radios.

So basically its everything you'd expect to find in a bedsit.

[c5]

City Sig is very lucky he has a most of those things including a very nice chair ;D Though the tall chairs we have are handy if you are vertically challenged and cant reach the telephones

Those of us out in the Signal Cabins arent as lucky, we get heaters and "air-con", a fridge to put your dinner in and a microwave to cook it. The toilets are so small you couldnt swing a cat in them

Only resident signalmen have lockers to keep all their stuff in.
Usually there is a telly and radio (not provided by the company) when you're not on the frame.

As for tea making, we are far too busy to drink tea! But we do have a very cheap LUL kettle which does the job, thoh I wouldnt mind a flavia machine or the ones you drivers have

Its not anywhere near a luxurious as baker st as City Sig probably knows

C5

[citysig]

boxboy said:

Everything else is bought out of Signal Operators own money, such a televisions and radios.

c5 said:

City Sig is very lucky he has a most of those things including a very nice chair...

Those of us out in the Signal Cabins arent as lucky, we get heaters and "air-con", a fridge to put your dinner in and a microwave to cook it. The toilets are so small you couldnt swing a cat in them...

As for tea making, we are far too busy to drink tea! But we do have a very cheap LUL kettle which does the job, thoh I wouldnt mind a flavia machine or the ones you drivers have

Its not anywhere near a luxurious as baker st as City Sig probably knows

C5

If I had a tear, I would weep it for you ;D ;D

To be honest, on the whole I preferred my days in the cabins. You were your own boss more or less. Baker Street may appear comfortable, but as there are more of us, you don't always get to watch what you want on the TV / Video / DVD player ;D

At Baker Street we are only supplied with more or less the same as the cabins. I would love to say we have bone-china tea cups, silver cutlery and silk napkins, but..

We each have a locker, a chair to sit on, a kettle (same cheap one), tea (though poor quality and I supply my own - guess which brand ) and coffee.

We only have a fridge (no freezer, which is a pain when my diet includes frozen ready meals) and a microwave (which is a pain if said ready meal requires oven cooking.)

The TV and video are supplied by the company as our messroom occasionally doubles-up as a training room. Oh yes and we do have carpets throughout - though they are worn out, stained, threadbare in places carpet tiles.

In any case, any of the comfort you think we enjoy (and I would like to know where it is) has been worked for. The majority of us are ex-signalmen with several years on the outside world, "slumming it" in the cabins. The only way to enjoy our comforts is to work hard and one day they will all be yours. Yeh right

[banana]

I'm sure I saw that there was a charity-tuck shop at Aldgate citysig?

[Deleted]

boxboy said:

On top of that you are supplied with an apprentice, who will work the signals for you ;D

Some do if you are lucky, or ask them nicely! ;D

[Harsig]

metapprentice said:

boxboy said:

On top of that you are supplied with an apprentice, who will work the signals for you ;D

Some do if you are lucky, or ask them nicely! ;D

You might as well give up and go home if you are reduced to asking an apprentice to do something

[Tom]

Those of you who work cabins with an attached AET depot, feel for the poor AET left behind when the cabin closes (as I was at W Ruislip). Freezing cold apart from the AET depot, no one to talk to, don't even thnk of using the toilet unless you want to freeze yourself to it...

[Deleted]

whitechapel used to be like that but in the last year or so they have tried to modernised it with worktops,cookers e.t.c much better then when i was a aet at whitechapel

[Tom]

Why does everything seem to improve once you leave a place?

Actually, Seven Sisters got worse because they lost their phone line and had to sit in the same building as the SOM, but the less said about that the better...

[citysig]

tom said:

Those of you who work cabins with an attached AET depot, feel for the poor AET left behind when the cabin closes (as I was at W Ruislip). Freezing cold apart from the AET depot, no one to talk to, don't even thnk of using the toilet unless you want to freeze yourself to it...

I've had the reverse. When I first trained at Hammersmith there was an AET next door who used to keep us company. Then they refurbished his room with nice new worktops, a new fridge, cooker and microwave (the cabin didn't even have one of those) and then promptly closed the AET depot before any of them were used!

[banana]

All I want to know is: Is the tuck shop still at Aldgate Box?

[citysig]

I'm only very very young still, and by the time I laid my hands on Aldgate it was controlled from Farringdon. The Tuck Shop may still be there, but I doubt it will be doing much business. Tell us about it anyway... ;D

[Deleted]

Not LU, but interesting.

When I did my work experience during the last year or so of my school time, Horsham signalbox was a typical Southern Railway installation from the early 1930's. There were 4 solid oak lockers, which doubled up as seats. A two ring gas hob was alight ALL DAY, not to keep the cabin warm, but to provide enough fluid to get us through an 8 hour shift. The WC was typical 30's installation too. I quite enjoyed the whole experience; my knowledge of the system surprised them all I think. They even let me signal a few trains now and again, setting up routes, operating the remotely controlled level crossings etc.