Re: Gunnersbury signal

In message <p4qd04di3qcci32c0r54aqp2q2shrk0gbp@4ax.com>, Charles Ellson 
<charles@ellson.demon.co.uk> writes

>If you watch other people you can often find similar left/right up/down 
>north/south errors being made, usually there is a more immediate 
>"prompt" (such as the wrong action being physically prevented without 
>harm) that causes a quick correction. "Senior moments" are by no means 
>limited to older people. There could also be an element of repetition 
>involved in the form of the driver doing what would have been normal at 
>the station where he changed ends on a normal day.

This is a particularly unusual procedure and it's highly likely the 
driver has never done it before.  It's not a standard thing to do and I 
suspect won't be done again in a hurry.

The bottom line is though that the driver entered the wrong cab (which 
we've all done at some point!) but instead of checking the starter was 
clear, relied on the view of the platform repeater in the on-board CCTV. 
This is all in the RAIB report.

For myself, if I do any unusual move, I always ensure I can see exactly 
what's going on.  I would rather delay the service for a couple of 
minutes than have this happen - but then that's just me.  I do remember 
having to reverse West to East at Hyde Park Corner not long after I 
passed out.  It took me a good two minutes to find the signal (which is 
tucked away from the cab view on the tailwall in this case) and there 
was no way that train was going to move until I found it.
-- 
Steve Fitzgerald has now left the building.
You will find him in London's Docklands, E16, UK
(please use the reply to address for email)