Aultbea - Signalling

[Portchullin Tatty]

Can I have some assistance please?

 

A friend, Peter Bond, is underway on a fictitious terminus based on a projected line to Aultbea, in the northwest highlands.  His trackplan is below, along with a couple of pictures of where things stand building wise.  He is asking as to the correct signalling and on the trackplan, I have put down my thoughts.

 

The logic of the quite large terminus is inspired by Oban; namely an original arrangement being enlarged by adding an additional phase of platforms to one side.  In his plan, platform 1 and 3 are the main arrival/departure platform with platform 2 being parcels and specials.  It is intended that the run round loop to platform 1 is the main goods arrival but goods trains could also be received direct into the goods yard above the station/on the harbour branch. 

 

The engine shed area is accessed by way of the run round loop or the main station, but would need to be signalled.   This generates the first question.  If I put a further signal on the bridge, splitting the route to the main line out or the shed, the second arms of all the starting signals could be avoided.  This is desirable as Peter is keen to model the starting signals as per Oban and visible in this picture by Ben Brookshank (and show here under a creative commons licence).

 

The next question is the main line descends on a steep gradient; basically think Ilfracoombe.  It strikes me that this ought to be protected by an outer home and thus an advanced starter?

 

Finally, might the harbour branch be independently signalled from the goods yard.  Such that a engine can work at the harbour and a further one in the yard.  This would need a signal at the start of the goods yard loop?

 

Other comments of course welcome!

[Portchullin Tatty]

Apologies for the photos not being in the text, I am having a lot of issues loading photos on RMweb at the moment (which is why my workbench etc has not been updated for sometime - see www/highlandmiscellany.com if you want updates on this).

 

Hopefully, which photo was to go where is fairly obvious!

[The Stationmaster]

I would be more inclined to expect the Home Signals to be at the toe of the pointwork on the station side of the underbridge - as would indeed appear to have been the case at Oban (see link below).

 

As far as shed access is concerned I would expect a separate splitting signal at the toe of the point in the running line (shed end of the underbridge) which gives access to the shed line.

In the incoming direction this point would be protected on the running line by an ordinary straight post, single arm, stop signal.  And there might also probably be an Outer Home Signal provide for acceptance purposes but it would be 440yds in rear of the signal protecting the connection from the loco shed where it trails in.

 

You can have as many engines as you like in teh goods yard - it's sidings.  The harnbour branch might be worked under teh control of a Shunter but i doubt it would have any fixed signals.

 

This link might also be useful  -

 

http://www.oban-line.info/obs1/obs1.html

[Portchullin Tatty]

Thanks for the advice.

 

This is what I think you were saying?  Although it may be that in practise the splitting signal for the shed will be placed on the gantry.

 

The gantry will be on the bridge, which is a tad uncomfortable construction-wise - it will need a dollop of thought!

[The Stationmaster]

Thanks for the advice.

 

This is what I think you were saying?  Although it may be that in practise the splitting signal for the shed will be placed on the gantry.

 

The gantry will be on the bridge, which is a tad uncomfortable construction-wise - it will need a dollop of thought!

That's it!

[Portchullin Tatty]

And a slightly revised version, this time substituting a load of the arms with a route indicator.  I appreciate it may be possible to push even more of these onto the route indicator but I am concerned that I would not be able to make more than three boards operable in 4mm!

 

Still OK?

 

[The Stationmaster]

That's still ok but something has appeared which very definitely isn't! I do believe I spy a Limit Of Shunt board which very definitely should not be there, at all.  I also see a subsidiary on the Starting Signal on the gantry and I wonder what that is doing there if you happen to have an Advanced Starter out of sight round the corner - but maybe you don't?

 

So - 

No Limit of Shunt board

 

Yes you can have a Shunt Ahead subsidiary if that is the Section Signal but you can't have it if that isn't the Section Signal (although they did do some funny things in Scotland)

[Portchullin Tatty]

Whilst things are going at a snails pace (mindful that the last post was in 2014!) but there is some progress being made with Aultbea.

 

So whilst I appreciate it is not really signalling, I though a few update photographs might be worth while:

 

 

If you wish to see a few more photographs, you can follow this link to my external blog 

 

 

 

 

Mark