Crew changes

As for freight, you'd think forgetting to stop would happen more often. But I can assure you (from experience) that drivers are very switched on to the earliest opportunity that they can get off a train and have a break (or go home), so to sail past your booked stopping point would require you to be away with the fairies on most occasions :)

Most obvious was the last couple of Glasgow - Whifflet services returning as ECS from Langloan Jn instead of going on to Whifflet and so avoid all the messing around at Mossend or Sunnyside that entailed.

Bill

But as said in the other posts in passenger service this shouldn't be missed, I can see on my diagram what staff should be on board between X, Y & Z. I'll go look for them before departing or keep an eye out at stations if it's they are boarding en route. ECS are the ones to watch.
And as Splodge says, Learning the moves that depots have to relieve another staff members for an early finish is advantageousm, but it is a mine field. Delays kick in and everyone is out of position.. more Taxis and trains blocking lines.

Hap in post 139168 said:

But as said in the other posts in passenger service this shouldn't be missed, I can see on my diagram what staff should be on board between X, Y & Z. I'll go look for them before departing or keep an eye out at stations if it's they are boarding en route. ECS are the ones to watch.
And as Splodge says, Learning the moves that depots have to relieve another staff members for an early finish is advantageousm, but it is a mine field. Delays kick in and everyone is out of position.. more Taxis and trains blocking lines.

Interesting - our diagrams only show traincrew travelling pass on a service if it's ECS - it's never shown on passenger services. On one occasion, I'd just been given two on the buzzer when a driver who was meant to be travelling pass came down the footbridge steps at full tilt. I only knew that someone was meant to pass because it's a regular thing on that job and he's shown to detach a portion later in the journey - I'd seen him and spoken to him in the messroom, then assumed that he'd gone out to the train before me when he'd actually gone to the wrong platform! Where we go ECS from our home station at least, the platform staff check that all are present and correct. There's one particular fiddle where a driver booked to travel pass for 2½ hours to bring a later service back can have an extra hour in bed and travel up on the service that forms his back working, but it can cause some consternation if it's not arranged through the proper channels as the platform staff will be looking for him. Then again, on another occasion, I looked at my job card and saw that one of the drivers shown as travelling pass on the ECS that I was to drive was...me!

There's an example of an old diagram. (Trimmed down not to disclose any other info). Shows us everyone that's on each train and between what points, obviously doesn't show you your own turn number. one of those D's is your driver and the others are travelling pass, sometimes the Guards are down to ASSIST , some are PASS, that's detailed on their own diagrams on the other side with the simplifier on it.

Hap in post 139179 said:

There's an example of an old diagram. (Trimmed down not to disclose any other info). Shows us everyone that's on each train and between what points, obviously doesn't show you your own turn number. one of those D's is your driver and the others are travelling pass, sometimes the Guards are down to ASSIST , some are PASS, that's detailed on their own diagrams on the other side with the simplifier on it.

Ta, always interesting to see how other companies do it! The majority of our ECS is DOO so the guard is generally shown to pass (we have very little booked ECS work without a guard travelling pass though).

Have I ever told the story here of how the train I was on lost a guard and had to kidnap another one when they found out?

clive in post 139268 said:

Have I ever told the story here of how the train I was on lost a guard and had to kidnap another one when they found out?

Did you stop, or is there some kind of mailbag-esque hook system for them?

In terms of setting routes... Unless you're being dispatched and use of TRTS, where our station staff have to check all booked crew is there, most of the time routes are set already. I.e Stirling, Perth, Dundee. By the time it's realised that there's no crew at the train at these stations the signaller is quick on the phone to station staff or train crew supervisor and sometimes route pulled after it's clear that there is no driver in the cab. I've phoned the box myself to confirm that there's no driver. last thing signaller needs is to pull the route and the driver has just shown up and not been advised and see's the reversion.