LeeWL

It is perfectly acceptable for a driver to ask a signaller to explain a move if they are not sure. With drivers signing for so many routes and diversions etc there is always the chance that they will be required to do an unfamiliar shunt. There is certainly no problem with a driver asking for a bit of help.

If that CCTV crossing has Auto-Lower there is no requirement for the Signaller to observe the lowering sequence unless they are being lowered manually. The Signaller is only required to ensure the crossing is clear after the barriers have lowered. The Crossing Clear button is then pressed, the protecting signal can be cleared and the CCTV picture goes out, There is an emergency stop button for use if the Signaller does see a situation requiring the lowering sequence to be stopped.

Bescot still sees a fair bit of freight, as always a lot of it happens at night though! It certainly isn't as busy as in the past but there's still life in the place.

Great photos of the 86. I looked and sounded lovely through Rugeley. Certainly the first time an AC loco has worked over there under power. They were often hauled dead over there on diversions in the 70s and 80s. The loco was left on the train and a diesel dropped on, usually a 47 but 40s were not uncommon. I'm pretty sure the last time an AC loco worked into Walsall station under power was one night shift sometime around 2007 when we had a problem at Bescot North and sent a light Class 90 from Darlaston Junction to Walsall platform 3 and back out to Pleck and Bescot Junctions to get round it!

Talking of crossings, this from last week. Hixon was a bad one. Stafford train named in memory of 1968 Hixon rail crash | ITV News Central

I wondered this at the time. The hassle of taking the 506s to and from Longsight while Reddish was still standing seemed ridiculous to me. They also had to convert an AC electric to use as a transformer at Longsight to provide 1500v DC for the units... And the Woodhead closure was supposed to be about saving money...

Just thought I'd kick off a discussion about this little survivor. The UK's shortest branch line at less than a mile long. (It has been shortened a couple of times..) Heaven knows how it survived the wholescale closures in the 60's, especially of the ex WR routes in the West Midlands. For the past decade or so the branch has been worked by the little Parry People Mover units, prior to that it was Class 153s on the services and 121/122 cars before that. The branch is being relaid at the moment, the first time since god only knows when.... This is going to mean a couple of ballast trains working down the branch. I've no idea when a main line loco last went down there, it will certainly be an unusual sight!

Walsall PSB. 1965-2013

ESW and TBW can both be used on lines with Axle Counters or Track Circuits, as long as the line is signalled under Track Ciircuit Block Regulations. The big advantage of ESW is the speed it can be set up. Provided all the points on the line concerned have correct detection they do not need to be clipped and scotched on the ground. Points are locked up on the panel and reminders applied. This obviously means less people need to be out on the track. As long as there is an entrance signal that can be maintained at danger and a suitable, easily identifiable location for the end of ESW board to be placed then ESW can be introduced relatively quickly. Any points that do not have correct detection must still be secured of course. With TBW all the points must be secured, even if they are detecting correctly. This takes a lot of time and resources. I wouldn't be surprised if ESW replaces TBW at some stage.

Following on from the above. The Signalman in Walsall No3 box sometimes had to be rescued by the Station's boat.... This picture shows the boat and an unhappy looking Walsall Station Master!

Quite a classic photo that one. As that stage of the Walsall PSB scheme came into use on 4 April 1966 and this platform had lost it's passenger services in 1965 the gent with the paper will be waiting a while.... Presumably a posed muck about by the staff. Sad what happened to Walsall really. The whole area resignalled then the station's services were reduced to just an hourly train to Birmingham New Street from Platform 3. The grand old station buildings were demolished (The loss of the lovely wood panelled booking hall was particularly sad.) A bland shopping centre was built and the Station ticket office sited within it. The flooding was a occasional menace right until the 2000s when the drainage under Park Street Tunnel was finally improved.

I've had that a few times.. If there's a road learner running about I'll usually ask if they want a look over goods lines and any shunts explaining etc. A few years ago there was a loco running through Bescot a couple of times a day, when I asked them if they wanted a couple of runs along the goods loops the response was that they didn't need to know them.... Knowing those loops can mean the difference between a long wait with the job stopped or being able to work round a problem.

An uneventful shift at Bescot then this turned up looking stunning...

The EWS livery was just what the new company needed. Bright and bold. It suited every loco it was applied to, even the one offs, 33030 and 31466.

I always though the EWS livery was excellent. It suited every loco it was applied to, even the older machines. It looked superb on Class 47s. The fact that such a perfect logo wasn't created by an established design house makes it even more remarkable, it was exactly what the company needed. Such a bright, striking livery and motif for what appeared to be a fresh new ambitious operator. What followed was such a shame. EWS had it all and lost most of it...