Southern Region Colour Light Signaling Help

[AireValley1962]

So, I'm designing a small layout and am trying to place the signals. The era, if it helps, is between 1967 and 1972ish. Stock to be run is BR liveried two car EMU's, Class 73's and Class 33's, with a mix of super early BR blue and BR late green paint schemes.

 

Diagrams below.

 

Where should they go?

 

I would assume that a starter for each platform line would be in order, as well as that the signals for coming into the station are beyond my scenic break. Thus, I only need to figure out where two, at most three, signal heads for departing trains need to be placed. Would anyone be pleased to assist me? Thanks in advance.

 

 

[RailWest]

Is this terminus at the end of a single or double-track line? The arrow-heads on your 'Main Lines' suggest the former.

 

If so, then:-

1. Trains can not depart from the upper platform line as they would be going wrong-direction on the incoming main line

2. In order to enter the Yard trains would have to arrive in the lower platform line, shunt out to the outgoing main line, then pull into the Yard.

3. Where will the engines run-round their trains?

 

Or are you assuming that there will be more of the layout off-scene, about which you have not yet told us?

[AireValley1962]

52 minutes ago, RailWest said:

Is this terminus at the end of a single or double-track line? The arrow-heads on your 'Main Lines' suggest the former.

 

Single track line, but doubling well before arriving at the station, see point 2 below.

 

52 minutes ago, RailWest said:

 

If so, then:-

1. Trains can not depart from the upper platform line as they would be going wrong-direction on the incoming main line

 

Well, there are crossovers 'further up the line' I.e. in the fiddle yard, to allow running round the train and to allow 'wrong line' departure, but eventually the line singles.

 

52 minutes ago, RailWest said:

2. In order to enter the Yard trains would have to arrive in the lower platform line, shunt out to the outgoing main line, then pull into the Yard.

 

Yes, so, that's where the idea of a run round loop comes in. 

 

52 minutes ago, RailWest said:

3. Where will the engines run-round their trains?

 

See above.

 

52 minutes ago, RailWest said:

Or are you assuming that there will be more of the layout off-scene, about which you have not yet told us?

 

Precisely. I have attached a larger sketch of the idea behind the part which I want to model.

 

Thanks for the questions!

[AireValley1962]

Larger scheme of area.

 

[ikcdab]

That makes much more sense! I would have thought that the single main line would have stayed just like that. All passenger trains would have used the left hand line, both arriving and departing. The right hand line would be considered to be a goods loop only. That so, yes two platform starters. The right hand one would have a gpl to lead into the yard. A gpl at the point in the goods yard.

Also a home signal with theatre indicator for incoming passenger trains, But this might be off your scene if you wish.

[Nearholmer]

Mega-unlikely that it would be colour-lights at all.

 

A secondary-line terminus outside of inner-London, on BR(S) at your dates would still be glorious semaphore. I know’ ‘cos I was there, to quote Max Boyce.

 

Bear in mind that the Southern Region hasn’t quite yet got rid of semaphores at such places, half a century after your date-Line.

 

The nearest equivalent that I can think of to your station might be Swanage (although never electrified), so a look at pre-preservation pictures of that, or Addiscombe closer to London, or Bognor, or Littlehampton ....... I could go on, but they were all semaphore. I can’t think of a single secondary terminus that was colour light ..... maybe some in northern Kent?? [Yes, Sheerness went CL under the KC scheme in 1959]

 

But, it’s your Railway, so Rule 1 applies.

 

Geep7’s ‘West Sands’ thread has explored this territory, literally and figuratively, in fair depth.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2020 by Nearholmer

[bécasse]

Nearholmer is right. There were only two small SR termini with colour light signalling in that era, Sheerness (as he mentions, from 1959) and Bromley North (from 1962), the former had a single track access, the latter double. Both were resignalled as part of major schemes connected with the Kent electrification projects, but both only received colour light signals instead of retaining semaphores because of special circumstances which meant that the installation of colour lights enabled other economies to be made.

 

Even the Isle of Wight electrification of 1967 saw a minimal number of colour light signals installed, none of them at either of the termini. Indeed the Sandown-controlled up starter from the down platform at Shanklin, used when Shanklin box was switched out (as it normally was except on peak Saturdays) was a motor-worked semaphore.