Good God, never had any of that when I joined the footplate grade as a cleaner in 1975 at Straford MPD, East London. Made Driver 2years later. Richard, you remind of a Driver who got me through the 1972 edition of Rules 6hr oral exam. He used to run the MIC (mutual improvement class) at Stratford shed on a purely voluntary basis for us Secondmen to become Drivers. We gave up our off duty time to learn. In those days, the maximum age to join the Footplate grade was 30., I just scraped in at 28 after 5 years in the RAF.

I’m never going to be a train driver, but that was really interesting. Looking forward to the next videos.

Excellent! Takes me back to sitting in a classroom in the 90s! I passed my rules test with 99.9%, the only question I got wrong was the speed through a train wash which I said 5mph and of course it's 3mph! Thanks for doing this, I look forward to seeing what has changed!

Hi Richard, just as yourself I wanted to be a train driver from the age of 4. However life has taken me a completely different direction from that so railway and transport is just one of the many subjects I take a keen interest on. I'm glad that you're doing this series for any aspiring train drivers out there. I'm pretty sure we will all have much to learn from your years of experience. I'll definitely be watching religiously, time permitting. Cheers! PS: As a portuguese man I definitely agree on Costa Nova/Portugal being the best destinations in the world :)

These are so helpful, I’m 18 now so hoping I can get into a railway company soon :)

Hello Richard, it's Andy from Redhill. Fantastic video. See you soon mate 😊

Been looking forward to this series!!!

So looking forward to next week's video, very informative and thanks to the Happy Passenger Company for welcoming me onboard 😉

Really looking forward to this, great idea!👍

Hello Richard, Nice Video - very interesting, looking forward to the next one, 😸🚂

Up here in the North West, some of our lines are being electrified with overhead. As my wife and I regularly travel over a railway bridge, where I saw a track maintenance car, with a static blue light on it. Never seen that on the railway before. So I googled, it now states "Railroad blue lights signal to railroad operators that workers are on, under or between railroad rolling equipment." before it mentioned something about, being qualified for the electrics. Richard, perhaps you could or someone else in here might be able to clarify. Cheers, great info as always.

You are finally back!

I already work on the railway but haven't taken the jump to driving yet. This should be an interesting series. Thanks!

Thanks for that Richard. Okay, I've watched the rules now, let me know when it's time for the practical :)

Your video is perfect timing I am going to apply for a passenger drivers role your videos are always informative

Can’t wait for the next episode

Wow just realized how much the railways have changed my late dad was a driver/guard on the Cardiff valleys back in the 70s so much change over the years

Just passed my rules exam 🎉 keep up the content

Thank you for doing this series I'm sure it will help me alot as I have just applied for a train driver job and my application status is saying under consideration so fingers crossed 🤞 you definitely have a sub from me 😊

Part 1... of many. Expert forward planning by Dad Rail!

Just had my mentor interview! I'm sure this series will help me keep on top of rules 😅

nice video!

I don't think i'll ever become an actual driver, but as a keen simmer, it'll be interesting to learn the rules properly. In the gaming world, you can pretty much do what you like and don't really get taught the rules, but it'll be good to know how it's "supposed" to be done.

I started on the footplate with BR in 1980 and was a driver early '80s into the '90s before moving into supervisory then management. Drove freight and passenger, preferred freight, nobody standing waiting to ask why you arrived two minutes late!

Yep, random D&A can happen when you least expect it.... Most annoyingly when you have just got back from a PNB and are unable to provide until you have managed to drink a litre of water and wait a few minutes (thankfully they were understanding in this case!) I did say that if they had come to me 2 minutes earlier it would have been no problem! (I'm in S&T and a PTS and COSS holder although I am normally office based) For me certain over the counter medicines have come back with a 48h after last dose restriction, (which isn't a big deal being office based) where you can't do certain safety critical work for 48h after the last dose you have taken. Mainly stuff that can make you drowsy... falling asleep at your desk in the office is not a safety hazard, falling asleep while working lineside could be a hazard

Started off as a shunter i am now a shunter driver, soon i will be a mainline driver. Just like you i wanted to drive trains since i was very little.

Look forward to the series. I’m currently looking for a trainee driver position and I have some experience in the interview stages (Passed at National level). Can you recommend sites to visit, it seems very quiet on the TOC’s web sites. Keep up the great work.

Hi Richard! I’m Michael my brother’s called Richard too! 😃

I've been in the railway for 5 years now and I just got a position of Depot driver/shunter. I would be interested in a video about your experience doing that role!

Hi Richard, yep just like i wanted to be train driver from a very young age, but i very short sighted in my right eye (nerve did not form properly before birth, rare to happen in one eye, very rare in both) so it's only ever going to be a dream. However i enjoy my job in the motor industry, Im an MOT tester/tech, our drink drive level is the same as the legal limit, but DVSA have the power to give random tests, and yes if you test positive and it's above the limit we are struck off from testing straight away, and we can also be liable to prosecution and can loose our driving licence. i also played safe and told my VE (vehicle examiner) that i'm on antidepressants i can of ramdom drug test, so it's logged. I'm fine to carry on in my role and drive as the one im taking don't cause any effects like falling asleep or dizzyness

The ammount of books my dad carried around in his drivers bag, for BR traction, plus The Bible (rule book) and appendices, plus Wtt , i think you will need a longer video . Lol. I remember dad would sit for hrs reading, more so, when he went from steam to diesel. 😀👍😎

Perhaps make a playlist with all the videos in this series?

Thanks for the video. Good luck with your career path. Once you're in the educational role, do you have to maintain a certain amount of hours driving to keep yours skills refreshed? Thanks

Great videos - thank you! I do have a question though! When you go from class 66 to another loco do you need additional training or is the training basically related to driving itself and that's it?

Hi Richard and to think how many are getting away with it on the roads I'm a railway enthusiast since about 4years old and remember the golden days of steam locomotives I'm 68 now and still miss the golden days

Great video and buzzing for more🎉. Not sure if it's off-topic, but can I ask. Whiles route learning do conductor sit in the cab with the driver or do they have to learn from the passenger cabin or back cab. I'm only asking as im starting as a trainee conductor in June 😀

The last thing you want on a high speed train is a high on speed driver

I've got an interview tomorrow for Northern Rail as a Maintenance Depot Driver in Heaton.. do you have any advice you can give me?

I remember my first medical, made the mistake of having a wee when I arrived at the station before walking to the actual medical. When I got to the medical, I couldn’t go, so I must of drank at least 2-3 litres of water before finally being able to go. Then the flood gates opened had to go twice on the way back to the station. 😂 With the alcohol testing, I know it’s happened in the passed where someone has had an issue in the yard, and they’ve alcohol tested everyone present, and caught others out. Not worth the risk of even thinking about drinking (or drug) working.

Haha, poor timing. My rules exam is in 20mins!

Hi Richard, I'm not much of a drinker, but I wanted to clarify something. I'm assuming you mean substances can remain in your bloodstream for months, but how much time between your last drink and your next shift to have 0 alcohol in your bloodstream? I assume train drivers can still drink but must ensure a timeframe to become sober again. What do you think that timeframe would be?

I'm a Bus driver, starting train driver training in may, and In the last 4 monthsi have had 6 random drug test!

When r we getting more rules

Dad ,your looking like a freight train driver now,so more salads in the cab and more walking to sites !

Isn’t the classroom learning the best part of training 🤪🤪😂😂

29 milligrams of alcohol per 100ml of blood 13 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath 39 milligrams of alcohol per 100ml of urine

I'd fail at the beginning - I'm colour blind 😉 I'm hopeless in Train Simulator, is it yellow or is red? Forget about green, I'm no better 🤣🤣