Driver Training

 No, before you all think I have gone over to the dark side, worrying about going home in a clean shirt, hear me out.

I've signed up for diesel driver training.

What fascinates me about most in life is technical stuff, as you probably know if you have looked at my profile at the bottom of this page. The railway is full of technical stuff.

I also like meeting people and chatting to passengers, so being out and about on the railway is important - I couldn't shut myself away in a signal box (though signalling is full of technical stuff too).

I want to be involved with the railway and be useful - I get a few calls to fill vacancies, or help out if someone has to cancel a turn, though of course this is only for firing turns. Being local and in charge of my own calendar helps here (children, pets, house rebuilds, children and grandchildren aside), and then of course there is the inevitable aging process we all go through - what if in a few years I'm not fit enough to throw a shovel around?

So, what if I could drive as well as fire? I do drive, as you know, sometimes drivers and firemen swap sides and you get a trip or sometimes two. As a passed cleaner though, I'm a while away from being considered for passed fireman training for driving steam engines full time.

To get some driving experience sooner I sign up for Second Man turns whenever we have a failure or steam ban, or sometimes just for fun - and to date I have 6 1/2 hours on diesel locos. Some while back I asked if I could be put on the waiting list for diesel driver training, and I've just been accepted onto this year's intake.

This shows the process for training and assessment. I'm automatically qualified as a Second Man by virtue of the fact that I am a Passed Cleaner in the steam department, so I can roster as such on diesel loco turns, and now I am registered as a trainee driver on DMU and Station Pilots as well.

So, I've now got a diesel driver training schedule, common for all diesel traction, and a DMU traction training schedule. There are various tests to complete, notably the DMU Traction Theory Assessment but I won't have to do the Route Knowledge test or the Footplate Rules test as I've already passed those.

My main focus over the next few months, firing aside, will be DMU driver training but I've also signed up as a trainee pilot driver, on the Class 08s and 11. In practice this probably only means that I will get a very occasional trainee turn at a gala or on a lunch turn - maybe once or twice a year. We shall see.

As I said, the main focus will be DMU traction training, so I have to swot up the DMU traction handbook over the next couple of weeks and try to answer the questions in the DMU theory test, to get the information in my head - I have my first driver training session on the 7th August, with an inspector. On that day my first job will be to prove myself on an empty coaching stock move, since you have to have that signed off to prove familiarity with the controls before you can drive a passenger train.

Hopefully if I can get these knobs and switches in my head (and the stern warnings about being kind to the transmission) I'll be allowed to drive a passenger train. What fun!