Railway Signalling books

[Ron Ron Ron]

Does anyone have any recommendations, or reviews of books covering this subject?

Most titles deal with the prototype railway, but there are a few attempts covering signals for model railways.

Long out of print recommendations not required.

 

Here are a few currently available titles....

 

Two Centuries of Railway Signalling ( 2nd edition - January 2009) by Geoffrey Kichenside & Alan Williams

Aspects of Modelling - Signalling (November 2010) by Nigel Digby

Railway Signalling and Track Plans (April 2007) by Bob Essery

ABC Modern Signalling Handbook (4th edition - July/August 2010) by Stanley Hall

British Railway Signalling Development in Colour - for the Modeller and Historian (January 2009) by Robert Hendry

any more?

Thanks in anticipation

Ron

[TheSignalEngineer]

The Institution of Railway Signal Engineers ( www.irse.org ) Proceedings give a very good history of signalling development and are good from the historical context if a bit dry for the novice. The full set from 1913 to 2001, and an index of papers, is available at IRSE Proceedings. (Free downloads)

 

They also do a lot of other publications but these are quite specialist and pricey in many cases.

[Kris]

Try Model railway signalling by C Freezer, not a particularly modern book but not bad on semaphore signalling. Gives info on the building and remote operation of signals. It's been a while since I looked at my copy and I can't remember how accurate the diagrams in the book are.

[Boris]

If you want a bit of general or even in depth signalling info, this place is worth a visit.

 

They also reccommend various books on the subject, including links to amazon.co.uk for purchasing.

[Nickey Line]

MickNich of this Parish has a book on modelling signals, in the Mainline series.

[Ron Ron Ron]

If you want a bit of general or even in depth signalling info, this place is worth a visit.

 

They also reccommend various books on the subject, including links to amazon.co.uk for purchasing.

Many thanks Boris.

I'm already familiar with the Signal Box site and others such as the Railway Technical Web Pages, Railway Signs and Signals of Great Britain etc.

 

Many of the books listed on the Signal Box site are long out of print or have since been revised.

Ideally what I'm looking for are recommendations or reviews in the hope I'll select the best titles.

Recently published books may be more useful, especially for details of current practise, in addition to historical context and the evolution of signal and layout practise.

[The Stationmaster]

Many thanks Boris.

I'm already familiar with the Signal Box site and others such as the Railway Technical Web Pages, Railway Signs and Signals of Great Britain etc.

 

Many of the books listed on the Signal Box site are long out of print or have since been revised.

Ideally what I'm looking for are recommendations or reviews in the hope I'll select the best titles.

Recently published books may be more useful, especially for details of current practise, in addition to historical context and the evolution of signal and layout practise.

 

I'll be back with you later on this one Ron - need to check an ISBN and rescue my daughter from somewhere in the Oxfordshire countryside whenever she can find a 'bus out of Oxford r/a collapse of the railway's signalling system at Didcot. But in the meanwhile although long out of print I still rate the original Kitchenside & Williams as one of the best 'primers' on the subject plus giving enough info to take you forward. What era do you wish to cover?

 

 

[Ron Ron Ron]

I'll be back with you later on this one Ron....

.....I still rate the original Kitchenside & Williams as one of the best 'primers' on the subject plus giving enough info to take you forward.

Thanks Mike.

By "original Kitchenside & Williams", are you referring to the title I listed in the OP, now in its 2nd edition ?

What era do you wish to cover?

I'd like to read up on the subject right from the early days, primarily to get a flavour and understanding of how custom and practice evolved and to try and understand what underpinned the later methodology and practices in the later BR years.

My real interest is in present day operation and how I can apply it to my own model layout.

In addition to reading all the really helpful answers to various questions about this subject, I'd like to gain a wider understanding of the subject.

 

 

 

 

[Arthur]

 Out of print for over twenty years and now re-published, this is the seminal book on LMS Signalling practice.  

 

http://www.ianallanp...gnal-boxes.html

 

Originally published by OPC, it was aimed at both historians and modellers.

 

Arthur   

[beast66606]

As well as some of the books above ..

 

Red for Danger is not a bad primer - if you take it with a pinch of salt, gives an overview of "lock and block" and some of the reasons why it was so necessary.

 

Studying the prototype from photos and plans also helps gain an understanding of more local custom and practice.

 

I've not seen the Freezer book for a long time - but I always remember the comment "on single lines, distant signals are frequently fixed in the off position" so be wary, that may be the only error, but there may be more.

[Edwin_m]

The original Kitchenside and Williams referred to by Stationmaster took the traditional route of describing absolute block signalling first and then moving on to multiple aspect signalling. That is probably a good way of understanding the history of things as you wish to. I don't know if the Two Centuries book is the same book but I strongly suspect it is.

 

My suspicion is partly because I think a book aimed at observers of the current railway scene would start with multiple aspect signalling, which is based on the same fundamental concepts but in many ways is much simpler as well as being by far the most common system in the UK today. Absolute Block would be dealt with later on. Not being familiar with any of the current books I can't say if any of them takes this approach.

[The Stationmaster]

.

By "original Kitchenside & Williams", are you referring to the title I listed in the OP, now in its 2nd edition ?

No, I mean 'British Railway Signalling' which is a smaller format (125mm x 190mm approx) first published 1963 and then with at least 3 subsequent editions - .eg. 4th edition 1978 ISBN 0 7110 0898 1). An excellent iittle book in my view and the various editions kept it reasonably updated although even the later ones would be now be showing their age in some areas. But it is well written and concise - defntely worth seeking out on Amazon or in secondhand bookshops.

Like Beast I would also recommend 'Red For Danger' by LTC Rolt but definitely to be accompanied with the salt cellar - it is immensely readable and a good primer but as soon as you read one of the original accident reports you realise that Tom Rolt was definitely into a spot of artistic licence if it helped the drama. But it is good for helping to understand why some things developed as they did so is very useful in that respect and the sections are very helpfully organised. Definitely one which helps to meet the remit you have set out immediately below.

I'd like to read up on the subject right from the early days, primarily to get a flavour and understanding of how custom and practice evolved and to try and understand what underpinned the later methodology and practices in the later BR years.

My real interest is in present day operation and how I can apply it to my own model layout.

In addition to reading all the really helpful answers to various questions about this subject, I'd like to gain a wider understanding of the subject.

 

if you happen to haunt secondhand bookshops dealing in railway material one to definitely look out for (might cost a few bob tho') is 'The First Principles of Railway Signalling' by C.B. Byles published by The Railway Gazette in 1910 - excellent book even tho' it was written mainly from a signal engineering perspective.

You then hit something of a split with some books being very much about the equipment - such as the LMS one already linked above - but containing other information (although not always well presented or explained) and varying in quality - OPC did the LMS signals by Warburton first, it is basically good quality drawings and photos well presented by an expert signal modeller, second - I think - in the field from OPC was George Pryor's book on the Southern, good illustration and explantion but definitely 'southern'; then Adrian Vaughan did one on the GW - well illustrated with photos and some (usually undimensioned) drawings plus text plus some operating explanation although it is largely directly copied from official sources so it is very much 'how; without too much of 'why' and is now getting rather dated; next ca,e LNER Constituent Signalling which is very heavily equipment picture oriented and notoriously poorly captioned in some areas; finally came a book on LNWR signalling, a true tour de force by Foster on the subject but it is mainly about the equipment although there are some items on methods of working etc.

The more recent Kichenside & Williams book which you had in your original list is, I think, not as good on explanation as their original (nor is it meant to be) but is reasonable on history and technical development so i understand - I have not studied it in any detail.

Stan Hall's 'Modern Signalling Handbook' from Ian Allan reads a little bit drily for my taste but it is good - written by an expert in the subject and with a level of explanation well suited for someone who has worked though the basics and the history (see below). It is probably getting a bit dated in some respects as the pace of modern development is quite rapid (and I'm only up to the 3rd edition in any case so that is nearly 10 years old).

Robert Hendry's book has a good selection of pictures but some of the captions are downright odd - I bought it for the pictures!

To be blunt I don't particularly go on Bob Essery's book, it's something of a mixed feast with one or two explanations which strike me as well off the beam and several captioning errors. Perhaps it's fairest to say that the way he has explained some things is not the way I would do it (or have done it when training Signalmen).

I have yet to have a decent look at Nigel Digby's book so can't objectively comment although from a quick look he seems to have disposed of some explanations in a couple of paragraphs whereas in my draft (currently undergoing a sort of peer review and in need of updating as I wrote the first 100,000 words over 10 years ago) they occupy a whole chapter! Difference of approach perhaps, much depends on how far you take the history ad all the various ways of doing something?

One piece of advice on getting your head round signalling - although it is possibly a bit old fashioned - once you're past the early days develop make sure you develop a good understanding of the Absolute Block system and its relationship to running signals. If in doubt on any of it - ask, there's no such thing as a stupid question. Once you've got that basic principle tucked away in your head the rest comes a lot easier.

What else? Well it might be useful to get hold of a copy of the BR Block Regulations because once you've got your brain around the basics they can help build up some areas but they are - obviously - very much 'how to use it' as opposed to 'why it is done like this'. In the latter area you'll also get some help from the the 'Railway Signs & Signals' site which is run by a professional signal engineer (and a good one at that) who also has a very strong interest in several areas of signalling development and history.

Anything else - well come and ask those of us who know a bit about it on here. If you want to find out more about the provenance of any of us no doubt we might be prepared to let a few things slip into the public arena - I spent something over 30 years involved in railway operating on the 'big' railway including being involved in writing Rules and Signalling Regulations as well as applying them and in later years planning track layouts and issuing detailed signalling specifications - which led to me finishing up working for a signal engineering company for a few years after I left the 'big' railway. I still have occasional involvement in similar matters in the 'independent' sector. And I really must finish that book - which would give you most of what you've asked for in a single volume.

It's a great subject full of history and interest - enjoy it.

[TheSignalEngineer]

Like Beast I would also recommend 'Red For Danger' by LTC Rolt but definitely to be accompanied with the salt cellar - it is immensely readable and a good primer but as soon as you read one of the original accident reports you realise that Tom Rolt was definitely into a spot of artistic licence if it helped the drama. But it is good for helping to understand why some things developed as they did so is very useful in that respect and the sections are very helpfully organised. Definitely one which helps to meet the remit you have set out immediately below.

 

If you want to check out some of the original reports when reading Red for Danger or similar books try this site Accident Reports

[Nickey Line]

MickNich of this Parish has a book on modelling signals, in the Mainline series.

 

Available from here

[Ron Ron Ron]

Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far, especially Mike for going out of his way to provide some very useful information and opinions.

The book reviews are just what I was looking for.

 

I've already ordered a copy of Stan Hall's book. more to come.

ABC Modern Signalling Handbook (4th edition - July/August 2010) by Stanley Hall

Keep it coming folks !

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