The Stationmaster

I think certain of the Southall ones were altered to 3 aspect to create bi-directional loops. Hanwell Bridge Loops - which specified as part of the same scehme, also had them plus a little bit of later misunderstanding creeping in about how to use them. The loops offer best capacity for an Up train when used in a right hand running manner - this was a result of the geometry at the Southall end where the connection off the Up Relief wasn't put where I wanted it in order to hold a 120 SLU train. You get maximum Up direction length in the loop next to the Up Relief but that blocks the other loop ar the Southall end - seems some signalling folk ar Didcot don't understand that - and the Sectional Appendix has also got it wrong as in taht arrangement you v can loop an Up 120 SLU train

What might be useful as an explanation to those looking at that is al ocking chart showing what each lever locks or releases in relation to other levers - which in any case is part of the design process. Normally the locking chart is drawn up first and what some of know as the Dog Chart (which is what you have drawn) is worked out from the locking chart It might also help understanding if you were to explain the basic principles of interlocking as a list. You also need to explain the purpose of each signal arm on your sketch

Not exactlt. I was given the jpob of the courier on one from Cardiff one day - 'for the experience'. and I knew that we were indeed going to Margate. On the train were a considerable number of Welsh 'ladies' in various stages of advancing years. Many of them were Mystery Excursion (Mystex) regulars and they always wanted to know where we heading and there were loud laughs and shouts of relief as we went a particular way at various junctions along the way, The most - how shall I put it? - 'determined' of them to find out our destination made remarkable offers which were more than enough to bring blushes to the face of a young chap in his 20s (who thought he'd heard it all before) Margate was a quite common destination for Mystexe4s from South Wales and several of thwe ladies said they'd be delighted to have the opportunity to show me what was on offer in Margate! No doubt all a part of their fun day out - I srated near the station and had achat with the StationManager who I happened to know, much safe I thought.

Simple answer - lamp cases were often grubby and GWR red painted lam cases were often criticised for being difficult to see (by Signalmen)/. Lamps weren't normally lit during daylight hours unless there was a listed tunnel through which thetrain would be running. And, apart from the very small side light on some lamps (invisible at any sort of distance unless the lamp was burning with too big a flame) you had to be pretty near square to see the light in a properly trimmed lamp during darkness, So get out the dirtying box and get to work dealing with any ridiculously bright LED head and tail lamps and making the lamps cases look more like the real things were in evertday traffic. And obscure the LED glow at the same time. Regrttably for thsoe unfamiliar with the light coming from oil lit head and tail lamps the LEDs used on many models give a very misleading impression

I think it boils down to the existence or otherwise of shares and legal status. Being a company puts the Govt at arms length whereas full nationalisation involves direct control by a Govt department.

It stood at the east end of Platform 8 but applied to No 6 Bay (between Platforms 5 and 8). The big water tower (the source for hydraulic power for the station) in the background helps fix the spot. All totally unrecognisable today apart from Reading Bridge House in the left background which doesn't look much different from back then.

Definitely Machynlleth. If anybody asks me where I was when England beat Germany to win the World Cup the answer is easy - Machynlleth goods yard, right next to the shed yard.

There was one (that I know of) on the LMR in the late 1950s - a photo of it was published in one of the magazines (I think it was on the St Albans branch but I'm not certain on that)

Not entirely. The big problem, apart from misunderstanding the impact of inflation in statements by Govt and reports in the media, has been the drastic increase in scope. Putting a railway in tunnel when it was costed as being in a cutting, or even more so when it would be running along existing rail infrastructure base but is being put in tunnel makes a mockery of the initial budget. Over doing theh speed aspect won't have helped either although it may well have reduced the required size of the train fleet.

Here we come to the essential difference between the way we do things and the way they are done in mainland Europe (although there are some variations between countries. Thus the ERMS displ=ys mentioned by Jim are basically an electronic format, with a few add-ons of what an SNCF Driver (for example) has on the desk in front of him when he is driving. A document called a Livre Ligne which he turns over from page to page as he goes - even on an LGV at =186mph. Highly stanmdardised siting distances for teh equivalent of distant signals atre also common in many mainland European countries. use of the Livre Lighne, with standardised signal distances ilke that allow SNCf to carry out road learning. very quickly, When Lille Drivers had to learn the road to Bourg St Maurice for the Eurostar ski train they were allowed 3 (three) days to learn the road, several hundred miles of it because it's all written down and in front of them as they drive. So naturally when all teh inputs to design of ERTMS were put together it came out having to offer all of that and a bit more - very different from the past British approach.

Exactly so - in order to distinguish it from a handsignal. A fixed signal can of course also, if it is a Distant Signal, be Fixed at Caution (or if it is a stop signal Fixed at Danger). But the term 'fixed signal' very definitely means a signal fixed in one place, And it has had that meaning for a very long time - for example the term was used in my grandfather's 1913 NER Rule Book.

Not exactly although they are sometimes used like that. The whole point of having a fixed red is that it allows a running aspect (single yellow) to read to it. Thus for example you will find them on certain goods loops at Southall where i specifically requested them to be provided to allow a freight c9ming off the Main or Relief Lines not to be slowed right down waiting a subsidary (tw white lights) signal to be approach released. In some ;ocations they have also been used instead of STOP boards on Goods and yard reception Lines for teh same reason as you cannot have a main running aspect reading to a stop board. Those at southall were installed as part of the resignalling for the LHR branch and electrification scheme where I wanted to get freight trains off, or across, the running lines more quickly through what was going to be much denser levels of traffic. Incidentally the idea of a fixed stop signal is not new - there were semaphore examples on the LMR and the WR created one at west Drayton as part of Slough resignalling scheme in 1963..

I had a lot of problems in the mid 197s witha boss imporyted from the ER who took his time (on purpose I'm sure) getting acquainted with WR language no doubt specifically to infuriate various of the locals - me included(! We also used the term 'dummy' for Ground Position Light sgnals GPLSs- which of course served the same purpose as a semaphore ground disc. I gaven't got a clue where and how the name originated but it seems to have gone back a long way in everyday usage on the Western Yje GWR, and WR, used a white light at danger - instead of red - in some dummies and also in Backing Signals and in some cases in Siding Signals. But while the meaning of a. white light dummy corresponded in some respects with a yellow arm dummy they were used in a totally different way and their use was a direct consequence of the lack of conditional locking on GWR pre-tappet locking lever frames. However they were used with tappet frames no doubt in order to reduce the amount of locking and the number of lever movements.

Agree, it is even visible in a photo of Churston station on sale at Steam Museum in Swindin https://www.steampicturelibrary.com/stations-halts/devon-stations-churston-station/churston-station-1960-25485799.html

Don it lasted until Reading reignalling in 1965. The tubular steel post version in my photo was replacement for an earlier signal with a timber post but I can't remember when that had been replaced - probably mid 1950s? The 'barrier, made of channel rodding was a later addition and I can vaguely remember it not being there in the form you see in the photo so it was probably altered/added in the early 1960s.

Mine had a tight spot when testedt at the shop where i bought it - it loosened with a bit of running-in .

The only time I went on mystery excursions was if I knew where they were going (yes - inside information, easy when I worked in an office which arranged them). And equally I'm with you when it comes to buying slow moving or surplus items look to see what's being advertised or search them out.

Simple matter of numbers and timescale I think. firstly there will be a finite market for these, even if they are dressed up in various liveries teh ereal ones are carrying or have cariried. This wil also be influenced by price as no doubt some of the 'maybe' buyers won't fancy the price from either company. The next thing is who has got to where with their model? ECT have shown a variety of 3-D prints which indicates they have some fairy advanced CAD work ready - minor adjustments apart they are at the threshold of starting tooling, the real money step in the game. That, on the face of it, puts them around a year ahead of KR - who have yet to show anything beyond a video including one real engine in the class while their initial announcement seemed to indicate they weren't aware of the existence of any other surviving engines or indeed where & when they had worked in Britain. This in turn implied that their research was not even complete or that they only intended to make a model of one of the preserved examples. So KR are some way behind - probably around a year maybe a little less, maybe a little more. And looking at what is likely to be not only a market limited in size but also one where they will arrive later than the competition. This might also disrupt what appears to be their normal business model where they use advance payments to cover work on development etc. Yhis wont matter too much if they are using a factory which back-end loads payments but they will need the money at some stage before their model can see the light of day and production samples are available. They could of course put in additional effort in the hope of catching up with ECT )or even getting ahead of them but taht will be a mah jor uphill slog. if they can do that they will grab a possibly larger share of the market - but it won't make that market much bigger.

Now ack down a little. but there was a reason for the price rising as that reflected share trading quantities following the issue of some information by RNS (which was nothing to do with revenue etc.

Seems not to have been the case as in 1947, when the BTC took over the LPTB, various LPTB stocks were valued for future payment in the form of BTC stocks. One or two parts of the UndergrounD still existed as separate companies until the 1947 Act - e.g. the GW & Mr et Hammersmith & City Joint Committee.

It makes sense ina number of ways - and not just avoiding compensation on contracts althugh I bet that was a major thought!). Old Oak is going to be next to useless for doing full turnround attention on an y trains unless someone has added lots of additional facilities such as service lifts to the platforms, a catering base, train watering, and quick, but thorough cleaning. with 7 platforms Curzon St would be much better fitted to handle some of that instead of it being done at the London end and provided it has good service access to the platforms. And surely it will look good for levelling up if Birmingham hasa better station than London! OF course one point to remember is that while it might have 7 platforms will they all have track to them?

An excellent point. Modern route knowledge management on the mainline network is very different from the old days but I often wonder if all operators fully subscribe to the principles and (expensive) training and re-training involved. In fact various incidents which have appeared in RAIB Reports suggest to me that some operators could do a lot better when it comes to monitoring and managing route knowledge. And yes I think you are spot on with the matter of more intricate local knowledge rather than bashing on through at line speed etc. This area was always a weakness in the past and any good operating company should recognise that now with a need to provide suitable training/re-training and pay for it (sorry DafT but we are talking about safety). I've had several instances where it has been obvious - maybe only for a station stop - where a Driver has been 'feeling their way' rather than braking from line speed in the usual places where they should be braking if they really know the road in detail. I haven't a clue about what took place in respect of road knowledge in this incident and there's no point in hazarding a guess without much great knowledge of the incident, But I am left wondering how often a, say, Crewe Driver might have carried out locak shunt moves at every place between Crewe and Carlisle or Crewe and London. And the same goes for any other long distance Driver. The ECML is, as a good example, a relatively simple route to drive south of Doncaster because of fairly even signal spacing if you are running a through train. I don't know how good 'landmarks' (for braking points) might be for stations at which through ECML trains don't normally call - that's a very different issue from running through and braking according to signal aspects on evenly spaced signals. (Ken W might care to comment as he knew the route far, far, better than me),

An interesting point about the GCR is that it is permitted to operate movements at speeds up to 60mph. I presume that does not apply to trains carrying fare paying passengers. But if they are operating trains which don't stop ar all stations and which aren't provided with stewards (as the dining trains would be) maybe there is something which needs to sorted out?

No. If he was doing his job properly and there was not a competent qualified person in the other cab he must change ends before moving off in the opposite direction.

That sounds like very odd locking if a signal section is still occupied and points within it can be reset to conflict with the movement that is in that section. One thing where a train si going on its way in a very busy area where pre-releasing can havea. value in traffic movement but- very different when yo re shunting a light engine about If the Driver had not moved to the correct place priotr to reversing it was down to either him or any other person in charge of the movement. And if the Driver took, for whatever reason, a signal which did not apply to the line on which his loco was standing that is SPASD due to misreading (unless things have changed). and clearly someone in authority would seem to have adopted that view because he was taken off (as he indeed should have been). But once again this dangerously sloppy term 'behind the signal' appears. What on earth does it mean? if anyone had had given me that answer in a Rules & Regs exam theywould have been told that it was stupid and that as it was dangerous use of words they wouldn't be doing much until they returned properly prepared for examination. It fou look back in HMRI Reports , usually where someone on the ground had been killed, you will find use of that term very forcibly condemned