TheSignalEngineer
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Posts posted by TheSignalEngineer
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Going back to the multiple moved logged by RTT, I think that it could be down to the reporting points in TRUST and other systems. When it comes to old signalling like the area at the junction that would be station limits it's not possible to get them everywhere and they have to be related to a timing point in the timetable. Doing a double shunt at the Junction could trick the computer into thinking that a set has gone back to the platform although it has only gone part way during during reversing the order.
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On 09/04/2024 at 20:11, Wickham Green too said:
Erm ..... how shallow was the water pipe ..... or how deep were they tamping ???!!??
One of those visible here?
On 23/03/2024 at 17:26, peanuts said:Doing the rounds on faceache
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On 16/04/2024 at 21:49, Dungrange said:
However, looking at these two sequences, the only difference is the second line. Effectively lines 2 and 3 appear as the same entry in Realtime Trains (an arrival and departure), and presumably Realtime Trains can only display one platform where we effectively have two trains using the same head code. It therefore looks like Realtime Trains is displaying the departing platform. I'd therefore agree that this is probably the most likely operational reason.
The WTT for the area only shows the move out from the station to the junction, but in the Excel version available on the internet the way the times have been input for all trains in and out of Fort William brings up an error as both entries for Fort William Junction show the same time. Realtime Trains used to go into a glitch in such situations. We used to have one on the Dinting Triangle when some trains that went Broadbottom -Dinting - Hadfield - Glossop - Dinting - Broadbottom or vice versa were shown as one path from Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Piccadilly.
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6 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:
The formation is interesting too 4 x 2 car units, 156493 + 156493 + 156477 + 156477 - with the running numbers duplicated
I think someone got their fingers in the wrong places doing some keyboard work. There's also an instance earlier in the day of 477+493 departing Fort William for Mallaig whilst 477 was shown at Corrour on a Mallaig - Glasgow working at the same time.
As there don't seem to be any conflicting moves at the station I did wonder if it was running a taxi service to the staff car park.
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12 hours ago, david.hill64 said:
The top voted post suggested that Brighton beach should be off limits as people might walk into the sea and drown.........
I would have thought that there was a bigger risk of injury from stumbling on the uneven stony surface. Perhaps it should be concreted over or removed completely.
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22 hours ago, PhilH said:
This. Good job Greta Thunberg doesn't know about it.
Send 'er over. I'll teach her how to fire up the forge and make a set of shoes for 'oss. She'll need plenty when there aren't any motor cars left.
Perhaps the East Lancs should get the Horse Tram out of Castlecroft Museum to work the Ramsbottom Shuttle. Doesn't need CDL, it hasn't got a door.
No good for the West Highland though. I don't think NR do path timing for a large horse at 4mph. That would take about 10 hours to Mallaig not including a lunch stop at Glenfinnan.
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26 minutes ago, Matt37268 said:
If you’ve ever read ‘Railway Adventure’ you’ll find how Mr Rolt makes a comment on about how much a 2 or 3 minute delay in somewhere like Manchester or Birmingham could have a knock on delay at Twywn when trying to arrange a connection with the Talylln.
More recently the same points been made regarding the NYMR with their services to Whitby, if something cocks up there apparently the ripples can be felt back as far as Leeds and Manchester.I remember in discussions about a bypass scheme in the north where the standing joke was that when modelling the area introducing an incident on the existing road layout would have a ripple effect round the world as a large proportion of the aircrew based at Manchester used it to get to work.
Any Road Up, time for a break. This thread has done more laps than the Super D currently sitting on my roundy, it's making my head go dizzy.
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5 hours ago, adb968008 said:
Can you explain to me this…
1015 to Mallaig… theres nothing else off the Mallaig line since the 0815 to Mallaig.https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C10932/2024-04-09/detailed
It passes 1Y61 at Glenfinnan
It passes (today only) the LSL working at Arisaig.
Arrives 1230 Nothing happens at Mallaig until 1338 from Glasgow.
departs 1410
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C10935/2024-04-09/detailedpasses nothing, until arriving at 1603 at ftw, with a Mallaig departure at 1609.
A 0930 from ftw wouldnt affect anything and allow an extra hour…A 1340 departure from Mallaig would add 30 minutes, or a 1310 departure, and pass at Arisaig would allow an hour, still leaving 40 mins to run round and water at Mallaig… something preserved lines and railtours can do in 15-20 mins.
Surely an extra hour each way is enough to avoid rewriting the entire UK timetable as suggested ?
We had a long discussion about this something like 56 pages ago. I think there is a train graph posted about page 9 if you want to come up with a reasoned explanation of how the line works.
The reason why the first Jacobite doesn't use the available path an hour or so earlier is because the first Down arrival at Fort William is the Highland Sleeper which is booked in at 1000 hence the 1015 Down Jacobite. If the train departed at 0930 it would have to wait at Glenfinnan for an Up train to pass, strangely enough the train which crosses that Up train in the summer timetable is the 1015 Down Jacobite. The latest a steam train could depart Fort William is 0900. It would then pass the 1010 from Mallaig at Arisaig.
Here's my doodle of a line occupation chart based on last summer's WTT for the Mallaig line. Don't forget that many of the trains involved cross at other stations to the south and are also portions of Oban services to Crianlarich.
The coloured blocks represent the period when a token is in use. Blue are Scotrail, Red are Jacobite. The yellow ones are the STP paths used by LS on 9th April. One clashes with the second Down Jacobite path (orange part) so is not normally available.
For an example of other complications the 1815 train from Mallaig arriving Fort William at 1937 connects with the Up Sleeper departing at 1950. As the Sleeper is parked up at the station from 1800 the second Up Jacobite path arriving at 1908 has to get off to depot before the 1815 from Mallaig can pass Fort William Junction.
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On 08/04/2024 at 10:48, phil-b259 said:
But train paths at 25mph on the WHL are not available without totally decimating the Scotrail regular timetable!So even if WCR put forward that as their justification for not installing CDL they still wouldn’t be able to rub the Jacobite as NR would not be able to provide any suitable train paths.
The present agreement is for trains of 6 or 7 coaches at line speed which is Max 45mph.
As I said earlier 25 mph isn't an option without rewriting the whole timetable for the west of Scotland north of the Clyde. Taken to the ultimate extreme that could have a knock on effect on the morning peak at Euston.
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17 minutes ago, APOLLO said:
Be careful what you wish for.
Brit15
Ryanair?
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Walsall DCE used a 2P 4-4-0. I think the usual ones were 40692 then 40696. You needed a go anywhere loco for a saloon but with a good turn of speed getting to site and between stops. You would get put into all kinds of unkempt sidings during stops so big locos weren't much use.
In the 1980s we liked to get a Class 25 for our tours.
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Early in the thread someone mentioned Spring Road in Birmingham. This picture of the Up platform building shows when it was approaching its worst.
(Picture from https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/springroad.htm)
I started commuting from there two years later when the original building had been rep[laced by an Abacus shelter. The gas lights had gone but I remember that before the new electric lighting was commissioned the platforms were lit by temporary electric lighting which consisted of bulbs hanging from a festoon cable supported on wooden posts planted in cable drums full of ballast.
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10 hours ago, ruggedpeak said:
So if the NR contract is up later in the year are WCRC are trying to stall fitting CDL until they know if the contract is renewed?
Not a clever game to try.
The Track Access Agreement is with Network Rail as 'Owner of the Network'
Who has to agree to Network Rail making the agreement?
Well the document is about 100 pages long but you don't need to get deep into it to find out who pulls Network Rail's strings.
Words copied directly from page three of the current Jacobite agreement between NR and WCRC:-
"Background:
(A) Network Rail is the owner of the Network; and
(B) Network Rail has been directed by ORR to grant to the Train Operator permission to use certain track comprised in the Network on the terms and conditions of this contract."
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On 04/04/2024 at 21:01, black and decker boy said:
having been in Mallorca recently, there was no sign of any upgrades in progress to their scanners so chances are, you’ll still be limited to 100ml bottles etc when flying home.
Flew home from Faro after a New Year holiday. Security took me about 30 seconds to get through. They either have amazing scanners or don't give a toss.
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13 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:
Yes but ride quality cannot be ignored. From that point of view the Sprinter fleet are a far more sensible proposition than a Pacer when it comes to 2nd gen unit.
And they make a terrible squealing noise on tight curves due to grinding off the flanges and rail head. Weren't they banned from the Esk Valley and other lines for that?
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On 30/03/2024 at 13:31, jjb1970 said:
The big problem for WCRC and potential spineless ministers willing to apply pressure on their behalf is the legal decision. That leaves a trail visible from space should they get a waiver of some sort and someone dies in a door related incident as the decision was pretty blunt and didn't pull any punches. That gives the regulator a much stronger position and means ministers will have an adviser saying 'are you sure this is wise?', it might even be called courageous. So while it is not impossible that they could turn this into a popular cause celebre and hope for political interference I think it'll be difficult. Hopefully the politicians will leave it with the professionals.
I scored some victories in local campaigns in the past. At some meetings with council officials, utilities, politicians etc, the killer question was "in the event of an accident which one of you holds the Go To Jail Card?" Certainly concentrated their minds on the problem in hand.
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On 24/03/2024 at 16:41, The Stationmaster said:
The Leamington bracket picture above was of course erected by the LMR and appears to be the later BR standard style of bracket structure for such situations - the design seems to have been deveopled from a tructure designed by the Southern Region judging by where the earliest examples seem to have appeared.
The middle photo shows Leamington South's Up Main Home (right hand doll) and Up Platform Line Home Signals and was altered during the LMR era . The signals in that spot had a fascinating, and in some respects unusual, history. The earlier bracket signal on that site had every appearance - from the spacing of the dolls - to be a splitting (junction) signal but it wasn't - the higher doll, on the right - was the Up Main Line Inner Home while the doll on the left, with arms at a lower elevation, was the Up Platform Line Home Signal; the signal also had centre pivot arms instead of normall full length arms.. Both dolls carried a lower arm distant signal for Leamington South Jcn.
The replacement tubular steel structure had both dolls above the platform of the bracket structure and was photographed (see Warwickshire railways site) in that form but with the arms altered to Upper Quadrant by the LMR. I don't know when the original Up Main Home Signal - bracketed from the platform canopy was removed thereby causing the arm applying to become the Up Main the Home Signal. SE's photo shows the structure in what was, I believe, its final state with the arm applying to the Up Platform Line altered to provide better sighting from trains standing under the canopy and for platform staff.
The semaphore was altered when the layout changes at the North box were made, I think it would be 1966. It was like that in March 1967. I haven't got an exact date for my photo but the one before was Western Invader and the one after Western Fusilier. My guess based on that would be late 1976.
Leamington platform end bracket and the Up Starter were replaced by colour lights either late 1977 or early 1978 as spot renewals. At the time I was doing a resignal by stealth of as many bits of the Banbury line as possible under the cover of track remodelling. box rationalisation, DM's minor works and S&T minor renewals. In nine years we managed to renew all of the main line running signals and provide track circuits for most sections on nine route miles, reducing ten boxes to five, increasing MGR train loads and improving headway times in the process.
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Diodes for stopping backfeed through relay coils? If they are not there throwing the control switch will try to energise both sides of the Seep simultaneously depending on the internal arrangements in the relay.
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21 hours ago, kevsmiththai said:
6K73 Sellafield to Crewe CLS can't get out tomorrow
Neither can 6Z44 Sellafield to Kingmoor
Both appear to have run this morning so they must have at least one line fit to pass traffic.
I assume there are still rules for passing an important train through a possession.
Many years ago I did the 'man with the red flag' act, walking through my possession at Acton Wells a safe distance ahead of an 08 checking the points were correct and secured to get the Guinness out of Park Royal.
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21 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:
Secret project just in time for the elections, to convince northerners that levelling up is for real after all?
If it were in our line the MP would be out with his shovel this morning fully dressed in orange waterproofs to do a 'Levelling Up' photo shoot.
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2 minutes ago, lmsforever said:
Winats Pass is a hell of a climb
I'm past doing it on an ordinary bike now but have done it a few times in the past even on an MTB. It's even tough (or slow) on an ebike. One day we were doing our old Kinder Round loop. over The Snake to Ladybower, Bamford, Castleton, Chinley, Hayfield and back to Glossop. Stopped at Hope for lunch and a westerly gale sprung up. Climbing up through the cutting above Castleton it was raining and the wind stopped me completely even with a motor. We raced back to Hope station and got the train to New Mills. Mam Nick from the Edale side is another killer.
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On 21/03/2024 at 10:18, Reorte said:
although that assumes they're in decent condition and not rotting apart by now.
Last weekend I was travelling in one elsewhere (at low speed) that certainly had body panel rot. Not quite bad enough to examine the condition of the framework though.
On 21/03/2024 at 10:18, Reorte said:In any case what's the line speed on the Mallaig extension?
I think it is 45mph maximum. We discussed that with a lot of explanation as to how a lower speed isn't practicable and would require rewriting the timetable for just about every line in western Scotland north of the Clyde. You'll find it from about page 8 or 9 of the thread onwards.
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3 hours ago, The Lurker said:
ION new next door neighbours (on the other side) are having an extension. we got the planning permission notice on Wednesday and two letters from different firms of solicitors offering us their Party Wall Agreement services. One says that the costs are "usually" paid by the person having the extension. But I do need to be pro-active or should I expect the next door neighbours and their architect/builder to be already doing this? Neighbours are so new that "good morning" is all I have said to them, on the one occasion I have actually seen them!
Tread carefully. Two doors down from our daughter the new occupants decided to build a basement. The next door conservatory decided it was too heavy and started to move. Has turned into a very acrimonious situation. I wonder why the bothered buying the house as knowing the ground conditions there I think they could end up with an underground swimming pool.
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1 hour ago, Olive_Green1923 said:
There was actually a Bill in 1894 to extend the Padstow line to Newquay and Truro via a junction just south of Padstow. I’ve always thought the logical place would likely have been here, with the line going near St Issey and then via St Columb. The Bill was killed though thanks to a rival GWR Bill. Food for thought, though, for those who like to ponder the “what if’s” and whether the NCR could have been extended all the way to Truro to rival the GWR.
Somewhere in the dim and distant I did produce a scenario for a similar joint line to be built by the West Cornwall Railway and Bodmin & Wadebridge from Padstow through Wadebridge onto the Ruthernbridge Branch, Indian Queens for China Clay traffic and Newquay branch, then on to Truro (Newham) and a new deep water port at Falmouth.
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WCRC - the ongoing battle with ORR.
in UK Prototype Discussions (not questions!)
Posted
In the mid 1960s we had an S&T office on platform 1 at New Street which on old plans was shown as the Footwarmer store.