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Hammersmith control (LU)

You are here: Home > Forum > Miscellaneous > The real thing (signalling) > Hammersmith control (LU)

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Hammersmith control (LU) 15/05/2021 at 17:56 #139498
HeadController
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Just wondering how the set up is at Hammersmith both controllers are located there can anyone tell me who sits where is the District/Metropolitan on the left or right and where do the signallers sit in relation to their control.
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Hammersmith control (LU) 15/05/2021 at 19:41 #139499
bri2808
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I'd love to help, but 3 years on after being offered a role there I am still awaiting a start date lol
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Hammersmith control (LU) 16/05/2021 at 06:39 #139508
metcontrol
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Currently (due to Covid restrictions etc.) the District controllers sit at 1 side of the (warehouse) control room, with the controllers for the Met/H&C/Circle over the other side.
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Hammersmith control (LU) 16/05/2021 at 08:02 #139509
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Perhaps another job will come up and you will get that first. All down to covid I suspect.
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Hammersmith control (LU) 16/05/2021 at 08:04 #139510
HeadController
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I love the name warehouse and from the photos I have seen that's what it looks like. I understand the distancing because of covid but is that left for the District and right for the Met and how different is that from what should be the normal.
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Hammersmith control (LU) 16/05/2021 at 08:40 #139511
metcontrol
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bri2808 in post 139499 said:
I'd love to help, but 3 years on after being offered a role there I am still awaiting a start date lol
It's not like we don't have the vacancies trust me. In fact in certain areas we are running with severe staffing shortages. There generally is always a long lead time between getting offered to train and starting the training, and unfortunately yes Covid has lengthened that delay.

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Hammersmith control (LU) 16/05/2021 at 08:44 #139512
metcontrol
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HeadController in post 139510 said:
I love the name warehouse and from the photos I have seen that's what it looks like. I understand the distancing because of covid but is that left for the District and right for the Met and how different is that from what should be the normal.
Not sure which photos you have seen (though there are "regular" shots quite often used in various articles). There is a long continuous desk along one side of the room (rather than the circular laid out areas). The controllers "normally" occupy that area.

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Hammersmith control (LU) 16/05/2021 at 17:56 #139526
HeadController
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Here is the best photo that I could find.


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Hammersmith control (LU) 17/05/2021 at 07:36 #139553
metcontrol
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Yes that is the place and the layout pre-covid. Room layout in terms of desk furniture is the same but some other things have been added/taken away to allow for social distancing etc.
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Hammersmith control (LU) 20/05/2021 at 07:31 #139626
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I seem to remember that on the right of that photo there was going to be a very large display board and that changes were made. I suppose it would have looked like a cinema had they done so.
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Hammersmith control (LU) 20/05/2021 at 08:02 #139629
metcontrol
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The "video wall" got scrapped for a number of reasons.
The desk layout was changed, meaning some would not be facing the screens.
The resolution/font etc. caused all sorts of issues. The font had to be large enough to be visible to those at the opposite side of the room. The resolution had to be such that those sat close would still need a clear image rather than just pixels.
Then the final nail in the coffin, with the screens in place, the lighting gantries which were able to be lowered for maintenance, would not be able to be lowered as the screens would be in the way. Ironically, the gantries had loads of mechanics installed so they could be lowered/adjusted etc. but have never been lowered.

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Hammersmith control (LU) 20/05/2021 at 16:45 #139636
GeoffM
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metcontrol in post 139629 said:
The "video wall" got scrapped for a number of reasons.
The desk layout was changed, meaning some would not be facing the screens.
The resolution/font etc. caused all sorts of issues. The font had to be large enough to be visible to those at the opposite side of the room. The resolution had to be such that those sat close would still need a clear image rather than just pixels.
Then the final nail in the coffin, with the screens in place, the lighting gantries which were able to be lowered for maintenance, would not be able to be lowered as the screens would be in the way. Ironically, the gantries had loads of mechanics installed so they could be lowered/adjusted etc. but have never been lowered.
Video walls have never been entirely successful in the UK for some reason. So many signalling centres were supposed to get them but never did (Upminster, Edinburgh, to name but two), and those that got them had troubles (eg Barco displays at Rugby SCC which were later replaced with messy looking widescreens placed in front). I suppose it's been mitigated by use of CCF and its equivalents.

Oslo's video wall, on the other hand, works great even though two completely different systems were in use - EBICOS and VICOS. The former is DOS-like graphics on a black background; the latter is vector graphics on a grey background. They also have flexible areas of control so overnight a signaller can take control of a wider area from one desk. Whoever controls New York's Penn Station and surrounds has a nice view too, though I've only ever seen that one on YouTube videos (other video sites are available). Finally, one I've seen in person near Sydney is quite impressive too. So it can be done quite well.

SimSig Boss
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Hammersmith control (LU) 21/05/2021 at 07:37 #139645
metcontrol
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One of the biggest problems with Hammersmith is that it was originally planned and half-built as a Bombardier project for their signalling system, and was to have all kinds of "modern" "state-of-the-art" features. That project then ceased to exist and the building was finished off in the quickest and cheapest manner (an original plan for a balcony with glass fronted offices leading off of it was scrapped in favour of a simple staircase leading from the main corridors.
Then when Thales came in, they had their own ideas and layouts of desks etc. and much as the original remit was to continue with some of the previous aspects like the video wall, I do get the feeling that it was never going to be under them. Almost like they "tried" but scrapped the idea in favour of the myriad of screens we all have above and around our desks. That's my opinion from what I've seen, and I could be wrong.

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