district drivers always complain bout circles !!!

[Deleted]

The amout of years ive been on circles i get the usual banter of us anoying circle line drivers holding up you poor green lines,well here it is!!!! its you lot hee hee.Theres only 7 circles each side and for every 1 circle theres 3 districts so whos holding up who hee hee,no but seriously,we are all here to co-operate with each other and sniping is not the answer,lets just get on in harmony and wave as we past each other

[Phil]

Hi circledriver.

It's not as simple as you think. Even once you've got all the District/Met drivers waving, you've still got the challenge of getting on with the AETs (citysig, harsig, aetearlscourt). ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Deleted]

Welcome, Circledriver! You are absolutely right of course, we're all doing the same job and we should all be one happy family!
I know you lot get held up quite a bit as well, as the ERD driver I usually share my staff cab with tells me you are regularly held on the Cromwell curve for quite a while, either for Districts running through onto the inner, or Districts running up towards Edgware Road!

By the way, I hope you're one of the drivers who gives me a 'pop' on the whistle when I wave... As I always have my light on, it's amazing the amount of Circle drivers who just completely blank me when I wave!

[citysig]

rbruce1314 said:

the challenge of getting on with the AETs (citysig, harsig, aetearlscourt). ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Ahem! Excuse me but you have just deeply offended me (and no doubt my colleague). AET I'll have you know we are professional signalmen and spend everyday working for a living ;D ;D

As I more or less said in the other thread, whilst it is good to have circledriver here to help balance opinions, I doubt he will be one of the ones who causes the grief. He has after all taken time to sign up and be sociable ;D

[Phil]

citysig said:

Ahem! Excuse me but you have just deeply offended me (and no doubt my colleague). AET I'll have you know we are professional signalmen and spend everyday working for a living

(Whoops!)

[Deleted]

anyways we not called aet's no more we called t/o's might of looked strange if i put toearlscourt as my name

and don't believe signalmen work for a living its just a myth ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

aet = automatic equipment technician
t/o = technical officer

[Deleted]

and you have to agree most drivers at edgware road are a bit miserable though don't blame them i suppose going around and around for nearly 8 hours

[crewman]

remember now, there should be no rivalry between Circle and District lines. Both lines plus ELL and H+C all decended from the Met.
So its like your all Mets children ha ha

[Deleted]

I don't think the District is descended from the Met - they were once rival companies!

[crewman]

The District started as the District and Metropolitan as a separate company from the District so they could raise extra funds to complete the circle, but for a short time with the same Directors as the Met, until they became rivals. Thats when they dropped the Metropolitan name and just became the District.

[citysig]

aetearlscourt said:

and don't believe signalmen work for a living its just a myth ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Ooh if this wasn't a public forum with young members watching... ;D ;D

crewman said:

So its like your all Mets children ha ha

I won't make the remark that some of them do act like children, and some of them would fall into the illegitimate category - whoops I just did ;D

[Chris M]

aetearlscourt said:

anyways we not called aet's no more we called t/o's might of looked strange if i put toearlscourt as my name

I keep reading your name as "At Earl's Court" so it wouldn't make much difference

t/o = technical officer

As distinct from t/o = train operator...

[Deleted]

Distric drivers complain about piccs as well, mind you they have good reason sometimes
as i approached acton on the west earlier this afternoon, there was a district sitting outside waiting for platform clearance ( there was a picc in acton west local ) after about 5 mins ( i was being held outside acton for the same reason , picc in the westbound fast plat ) eventually we both entered acton,.
district departs and after about 2 mins or so , i follow and what do i see ? a district waiting on the bank for me to pass him and proceed into ealing common ;D ;D ;D ;D

indeed, there must be a few hacked off green line drivers who encounter this sort of thing on a regular basis, i blame the signalpersons at earls court, they are working to rule at the moment so i am led to beleive, so maybe this is their idea of how to p*** off a district line driver !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Deleted]

seniorpiccdriver said:

i blame the signalpersons at earls court, they are working to rule at the moment so i am led to beleive, so maybe this is their idea of how to p*** off a district line driver !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Completely agree, except to say that those ECT siggies must have been working to rule for a bloody long time, because they're almost always holding the District up to let their own trains go! (As I understand it, those signallers are paid by the Picc, so I can't say I blame them too much!)

[Colin]

Indeed the Earls Court signalmen are 'employed' by the Picc, then there's Citysig & Harsig over at Baker Street (is the Met your 'employer'?) and C5 at Edgware Road (Circle / H&C).

Still at least we know where we rank in the scheme of things ;D ;D

[citysig]

colin said:

then there's Citysig & Harsig over at Baker Street (is the Met your 'employer'?)

We wish. Alas, a couple of years ago, we became H&C staff. A reall sensible managerial decision. One of those managers who never leaves the desk. I'm not bitter ;D

[Deleted]

Well, sometimes we get our own back - a driver recently insisted that his train 12X would stable in Ealing Common Depot directly from Ealing Common W/B platform, not via EBY as he had reached the limit of his hours. Not helping the smooth running of the blue line.

[Deleted]

As a District driver, whilst it is of course good fun, to moan about Circles dawdling slowly along in front ...and having got rid of it at Aldgate a H & C will replace it at Aldgate East. In fairness, i think we accept that not all Circle's are like that ...and a few of our own green boys and girls are as bad. I've stomped up to the DMT to demand to know who was on the (green) train in front before now ! Plus I always wave at Circles when i pass even, if they have their light out ...most give a nice "toot" back.

However, as pointed out by the learned Pic driver, the amount Districts get delayed around Acton Town & Hanger Lane junct really gets my blood boiling ! Not unusual to have lost 15 into Ealing and another 15 on the way back !

Not to be outdone though .... the Network Rail signalman on the Richmond branch always give priority to Silverlink trains too

[c5]

colin said:

Indeed the Earls Court signalmen are 'employed' by the Picc, then there's Citysig & Harsig over at Baker Street (is the Met your 'employer'?) and C5 at Edgware Road (Circle / H&C).

Still at least we know where we rank in the scheme of things ;D ;D

I am paid by the Metropolitan Line (like all reserve operators), but am only qualified for C&H cabins best keep it that way too as i get nosebleeds if i go north of Finchley Road

[Colin]

Had a strange one tonight - second half, ECT-UPM-EBY then empty to Ealing Common depot. Nothing strange in that, but, I had no train in front from Earls Court to Upminster - Greens all the way - now that is strange! I had an unconscious drunk evicted at Upton Park and still got to Upminster on time . Train in front left 5 mins before me from Upminster - and I never saw him again. Greens all the way back to Earls Court, arriving bang on time. Now i'm getting suspicious! ;D
I'm in platform 3, and there's a Richmond in platform 4, with driver looking rather annoyed - He's now 5 mins late and still staring at a red. He get's on the phone 3 times and even has a go at the duty manager (his office is on the platform). After a further 5 mins he get's a green - that's him 10 late and me now 5 late. Next into platform 4 is an Olympia train. A further 2 mins pass, by which time the repeater in the distance has cleared - so why is my signal still red? I get on the blower and the signalman says 'programe machine has been playing up, we've been in first come first served for the last few trains. You'll be out next'. I say 'ok thanks' whilst thinking 'yeah right'. Sure enough the Olympia starts moving - so what happened to first come first served? Eventually I get a green - now 12 mins late. Not bad considering I arrived on time .
I get the chance to make up a little time though as I have a clear road, and Stamford Brook is closed this week as part of it's refurb. I even overtook a Picc going into Acton Town which was being held at a red with an empty platform in front of him
So I get to Ealing and have the train sorted in no time, Signal clears bang on time - only for me to sit at WM1 (Hanger Lane) for 10 mins.

And Signal Operators wonder why us drivers get the hump. I can't think why we do either ;D ;D

[q8]

colin said:

Had a strange one tonight - second half, ECT-UPM-EBY then empty to Ealing Common depot. Nothing strange in that, but, I had no train in front from Earls Court to Upminster - Greens all the way - now that is strange! I had an unconscious drunk evicted at Upton Park and still got to Upminster on time . Train in front left 5 mins before me from Upminster - and I never saw him again. Greens all the way back to Earls Court, arriving bang on time. Now i'm getting suspicious! ;D
I'm in platform 3, and there's a Richmond in platform 4, with driver looking rather annoyed - He's now 5 mins late and still staring at a red. He get's on the phone 3 times and even has a go at the duty manager (his office is on the platform). After a further 5 mins he get's a green - that's him 10 late and me now 5 late. Next into platform 4 is an Olympia train. A further 2 mins pass, by which time the repeater in the distance has cleared - so why is my signal still red? I get on the blower and the signalman says 'programe machine has been playing up, we've been in first come first served for the last few trains. You'll be out next'. I say 'ok thanks' whilst thinking 'yeah right'. Sure enough the Olympia starts moving - so what happened to first come first served? Eventually I get a green - now 12 mins late. Not bad considering I arrived on time .
I get the chance to make up a little time though as I have a clear road, and Stamford Brook is closed this week as part of it's refurb. I even overtook a Picc going into Acton Town which was being held at a red with an empty platform in front of him
So I get to Ealing and have the train sorted in no time, Signal clears bang on time - only for me to sit at WM1 (Hanger Lane) for 10 mins.

And Signal Operators wonder why us drivers get the hump. I can't think why we do either ;D ;D

Is it THAT unusual to see green on the DR nowadays then? You only saw reds outide the peak if you got to a timing point or junction in my time.

[Colin]

I picked up going East at 1655, hardly off-peak. At this time of day, well, it's the first time in a year and a half i've had a run like that, all the way to Upminster.

Trouble is in your time the signals and trains were designed to compliment each other. These days, because of compromised overlaps, the overlap sections are longer - so some signals take longer to clear. The classic examples eastbound are the homes at West Ham, Becontree and Elm Park. Those three areas are a pain in the proverbial rear when you have a train in front.

[Deleted]

since monday just gone the signalmen/ladys at ECT have to be there now for the full shift nearly 8 hours opposed to the 3 and a bit they were doing before we have been getting poxy jobs all week because there not happy but then again revenge is sweeter ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[citysig]

I will not elaborate publicly (and would hope you won't either) but, as the saying goes, you reap what you sow. Only problem is, everyone in the grade is getting splattered by the manure they had to use.