RMweb Gold Steve Hewitt Posted February 20, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 20, 2011 Whilst I've been putting some video clips on YouTube so I could use them in RMWeb postings, I came across the following LMS 1930's film, in three parts. Although the language is quaint and stilted, they are well worth a view if you're into semaphores and block working. Certainly answer the question about LNWR signals bouncing! That's what I call a soldering iron! Apologies if you've seen them before. Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AberdeenBill Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Fantastic find... Was it typical for the distant to be put back to caution (arm horizontal) so quickly, when the train was presumably still out of sight of the signaalman? Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Thanks Steve, they're new to me. Very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the stomach churning suspense in part 3. We used to live on Balmoral Road near the Stanley grounds. Left for the new world in 1967. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted April 7, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2015 This film (3 parts) features the train 'Lakes Express' (Euston to Windemere). Please could it be tagged as such? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifleman Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Fantastic find... Was it typical for the distant to be put back to caution (arm horizontal) so quickly, when the train was presumably still out of sight of the signaalman? Bill Maybe he had a track circuit indicator, or a treadle? Or maybe the line was straight enough that he could see it? However he did it, he'd have to be certain that he didn't drop the board back until the whole of the train was past it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junctionmad Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 I was looking at a video of Exeter West Box in the 1960s. It seems all or nearly all levers had an electric pushbutton to release. What was the purpose of that Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 The plunger would operate the electric lock on the lever. The lever would be provided with such a lock for a number of reasons, eg a track-circuit thru' a Facing Point Lock, a track-circuit in advance of a signal, a signal released by 'Line Clear' from the next box etc etc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junctionmad Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I was looking at a video of Exeter West Box in the 1960s. It seems all or nearly all levers had an electric pushbutton to release. What was the purpose of that This is what confuses me. If the lever is locked he can't move it. It it's not locked , he can move it without further ado. Why press a button each time? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted May 1, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 1, 2015 This is what confuses me. If the lever is locked he can't move it. It it's not locked , he can move it without further ado. Why press a button each time? The plunger simply operates the electric lock on the lever - that is separate from the mechanical locking. Normally the Signalman wouldn't try to move a lever which is mechanically locked (some were daft enough to try it - I'm not really sure why but it did happen) but on a Western frame the plunger has to be operated to lift the electric lock. On some frames - e.g the Westinghouse A3 used by the Southern - the electric lock is actuated by the movement of the catch handle so there is no need for a separate plunger. I think the main reason the Western did it their way was to allow easier fault tracing as it was immediately obvious on pressing the plunger that an electric lock wasn't lifting (which reminds me of a happy evening trying to trace a fault on one so that the techs would at least know what the problem was before they arrived - I didn't find it, a spindle bearing on the relay had failed and of course I couldn't get that far beyond seeing that the relay wouldn't 'pick' for some reason) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
meil Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 signals normaly require the plunger pressing to reverse but points can require it either way or both. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junctionmad Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 The plunger simply operates the electric lock on the lever - that is separate from the mechanical locking. Normally the Signalman wouldn't try to move a lever which is mechanically locked (some were daft enough to try it - I'm not really sure why but it did happen) but on a Western frame the plunger has to be operated to lift the electric lock. On some frames - e.g the Westinghouse A3 used by the Southern - the electric lock is actuated by the movement of the catch handle so there is no need for a separate plunger. I think the main reason the Western did it their way was to allow easier fault tracing as it was immediately obvious on pressing the plunger that an electric lock wasn't lifting (which reminds me of a happy evening trying to trace a fault on one so that the techs would at least know what the problem was before they arrived - I didn't find it, a spindle bearing on the relay had failed and of course I couldn't get that far beyond seeing that the relay wouldn't 'pick' for some reason) Thanks , so the signalman in question , needed to release both the plunger and the catch , I can see why it's a one handed operation. Looking at the film , it must have been power operated, given how easy in general it was. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Another factor to consider is that in some cases (such as levers being locked by track-circuits) for most of the time the TC might be unoccupied. If therefore there was no 'switch' (whether a shelf plunger, catch-handle switch or foot plunger) in the circuit then the relay would be powered up for much of the time, which would soon drain the batteries! That's why AIUI such 'switches' were often referred to as 'economiser' contacts, as they saved on the leccy :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted May 1, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 1, 2015 In the proper parts of the world, the enconomisers are mounted about the gravity locks at the rear of the frame. The catch handle rod has an operating bar on it, that lifts the 'coathanger' arm of the economiser to make the lock pick. Therefore one easy movement operates the whole sherbang. Andy G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardswain Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Whilst I've been putting some video clips on YouTube so I could use them in RMWeb postings, I came across the following LMS 1930's film, in three parts. Apologies if you've seen them before. Steve. No need to apologise at all. In fact if one searches "London, Midland and Scottish" in you tube several of their films pop up, much to the enjoyment of me and my 3 year old son. Didn't the LMS make a host of these? Are they available anywhere (apart from Youtube)? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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