On Sat, 16 Jul 2011 18:10:06 +0100, Clive
wrote:

In message , Charles Ellson
writes
.. except the guard's bell. When the guard was still located within
the passenger compartment you would often see one digit on that button
at the same time as or before the door close button was being pressed
by another digit (not to be confused with the use of two buttons to
open the doors). If the doors failed to close properly then the driver
did not get the bell.
Whilst it is true that Guards used to keep their fingers on both the
door close and the bell button together so that it would ring as soon as
all the doors were closed, door bounce was not unknown and a train could
set off with a door partially open.

Indeed. It always seemed strange that LU were allowed to get away with
a single bell as a start signal with AFAIAA no confirmation response
from the driver long after a safer practice had been established on
BR. As well as the circumstances you describe, a single bell allows
for the signal to be given just as a danger is observed which on BR
would still have to be followed by the second press before the driver
moved off. IMU there was no LU equivalent to a BR stop/one-bell signal
(and if a door bounced open or the detection circuit failed it would
not have been possible) leaving only the emergency brake valve
available for use.

Every pair of double doors had one
which was spring loaded to allow anyone to extract their hand in
emergency, but if that door is the one in the direction of travel then
the person with their arm in the door stood no chance. I can remember
sitting on a train because the train in front of me had had just such an
accident, and the gentleman involved didn't stand a chance, he was
splattered over the headwall. We waited about an hour and a half for
the police to attend and then for the headwall etc. to be cleaned up and
we were instructed to tell the passengers that there had been an
incident, no more.