FACING POINT QUESTION

[lennie]

I think I can guesse the answer.  To remove a Loco from its train & send to shed for service, to get there it has to cross a Facing Point which in itself is on the up main.

Because of design/ space restrictions I cant make it a Trailing.

Ok so its my railway, but its not good practice is it. 

[coronach]

Facing points on passenger lines must be fitted with a facing point lock, which results in additional equipment. Mechanical points would be fitted with a bolt lock, usually worked from a separate lever in the signal box. Therefore facing points need two levers rather than just one lever, with additional interlocking between them and point rodding and connections. For this reason, they were avoided wherever possible.

The Midland Railway was particularly reluctant and avoided facing points except at diverging junctions and stations.

Edited October 25, 2018 by coronach

[Dunsignalling]

If it's a terminus, and your track layout permits, you might be able to access the shed via a trailing point off the down main and a diamond to cross the up, then provide shunt signals to reach it that way.

 

Point becomes facing for light engines going to shed but no passenger movements go over it in the facing direction so no FPL required.

 

John

Edited October 25, 2018 by Dunsignalling

[melmerby]

The Midland Railway was particularly reluctant and avoided facing points except at diverging junctions and stations.

So did the GWR with some convoluted trackwork to avoid them.

e.g. at branch staions on a single line with passing place most sidings came off the trailing line even if it was only a few feet from the main point blades.

See here at Axbridge:

https://maps.nls.uk/view/106019531

Also Seend especially the RH connection:

https://maps.nls.uk/view/106028572

 

Keith

Edited October 25, 2018 by melmerby

[Siberian Snooper]

Mortenhampstead had a diamond in the main platform road to allow access to the goods yard from a turnout in the loop, which was just after the turnout for the loop from the main. I think there was a similar arrangement at Shepton Mallet for the cattle dock. Sorry no links to the NLS website.

 

Edit for predictive text.

Edited October 26, 2018 by Siberian Snooper

[beast66606]

Facing points on passenger lines must be fitted with a facing point lock, which results in additional equipment. Mechanical points would be fitted with a bolt lock, usually worked from a separate lever in the signal box. Therefore facing points need two levers rather than just one lever, with additional interlocking between them and point rodding and connections. For this reason, they were avoided wherever possible.

The Midland Railway was particularly reluctant and avoided facing points except at diverging junctions and stations.

 

The Midland had economical FPL which was worked from the same lever as the point itself - so one lever.

 

To back to the OP and the fundamental question.

 

lennie - Through station or terminus ?

[ejstubbs]

Ok so its my railway, but its not good practice is it. 

 

Facing points on passenger-carrying routes introduce a risk: points moving under passenger train.  The risk can be mitigated by putting additional controls in place, which in the csase of facing points would be an FPL.  If the mitigating controls are unreasonably expensive, or unfeasible due to other constraints, then the facing point would be ruled out.  On the other hand, other constraints - such a space, as indeed seems to be the case in your situation - may mean that a facing point is the only option, so the mitigating control has to be put in place.

 

This post by Stationmaster Mike is a fairly succinct summary of the situation over time on the real railway.  The rest of that thread is worth reading through to get more background on the subject.

[melmerby]

Mortenhampstead had a diamond in the main platform road to allow access to the goods yard from a turnout in the loop, which was just after the turnout for the loop from the main. I think there was a similar arrangement at Shepton Mallet for the cattle dock. Sorry no links to the NLS website.

 

Edit for predictive text.

Moretonhampstead:

 

https://maps.nls.uk/view/106004264

 

Keith

[Joseph_Pestell]

I think I can guesse the answer.  To remove a Loco from its train & send to shed for service, to get there it has to cross a Facing Point which in itself is on the up main.

Because of design/ space restrictions I cant make it a Trailing.

Ok so its my railway, but its not good practice is it. 

 

Really difficult to answer this sort of question without a trackplan to refer to.

 

But since you refer to an "up main", I will assume that we have a double track. The best way to do this would be a trailing turnout on the down main across a trailing single slip on the up main (see Hawes Jct/Garsdale). That should usually fit in the space that you have and also allows the loco to come off shed and run round the train.

[Pacific231G]

So did the GWR with some convoluted trackwork to avoid them.

e.g. at branch staions on a single line with passing place most sidings came off the trailing line even if it was only a few feet from the main point blades.

See here at Axbridge:

https://maps.nls.uk/view/106019531

Also Seend especially the RH connection:

https://maps.nls.uk/view/106028572

 

Keith

Wasn't that also because sidings were worked by backing moves so a facing siding would have required several more shunting moves and more signals? The GWR examples here and at Moretonhampstead terminus (where at least one facing point is inevitable) suggest that the cost of an additional diamond crossing was outweighed by the additional costs in both capital and maintenance that a second FPL and extra signals would have involved.