TheSignalEngineer

There's a thread about it here. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/60056-photos-of-steam-hauled-nuclear-flasks/&do=findComment&comment=755669

Yes, and there's a Blue/Grey Mk1 coach further back by the signal box.

There was a mod done to the Welwyn release handle after a signalman demonstrated a way to foil it with the poker from the fire.

And if you enlarge the picture the bridge over the main lines into the coking plant is visible, along with the gantry signal in front of it. The signal with the route indicator is of the type used on Saltley and Trent resignalling in 1969.

Looks like Avenue Coking Plant near Chesterlield. Just beaten to it.

Wouldn't be good for track circuits either if the train stand still too long in the rain shortly after unloading.

That picture is back to front. See the wagon numbers.

I find that looking back at some of my old pictures the stuff in the background is much more interesting than the subject, like an old SR brake van on the West Highland or a maroon Stanier coach with blue Warship at Plymouth.

“Good condition other than as shown in photograph”

It would probably be on the landing outside the door. Gives a good impression of the one at Hebden Bridge.

Most frightening trip I had was on an 8F, tender first with 40 wagons of spoil from a clay dig. As we went under the Coventry Road at Bordesley Junction the driver yelled across the cab enquiring what the signals were showing at St Andrews. The fireman said they were Off to which the driver replied (edited) that's good because the brakes are hard on and we're not slowing down.

You should try a Class 31 with 8 coaches up through Fenny Compton. We were down to about 20mph before we started going downhill. Mind you, some old DMUs were even worse. One day we managed to average 8mph for the last quarter mile to the top of Lickey in a Derby Suburban set. I've done similar to Old Hill with a 3-car scratch set but that did have an engine isolated.

Did the same thing once when I accidentally dropped a track circuit at Leamington. That time it was a 'Rat' with about 15 loaded 'Dogfish' approaching the Up Main Home which was on a steep rising gradient. Train stopped quite easily but it took about 10 minutes to get it moving again. Driver's language could be heard above the noise of the Ford foundry.

A well know expression that wouldn't get past the RMweb filth-checker derives from that.

When the old works was open the Signal Shop was down there. That would probably be where the frame pictures in Richard Foster's book would be taken. It's a pity that photos in my days there were not as cheap as now. It cost the equivalent of a pint of bitter for one colour slide in those days.

Having worked a lot on the South Staffs lines in the BCB era the speeds of trains were pretty even. There were still a lot of 4 wheel wagons about and a lot of trains running as Class 7 and 8. Maximum permitted speeds for many formations were 35mph and 45mph. Uphill speeds were generally 30-35mph and downhill 45mph depending on the stock and braking power. Then of course if you were caught on the Block the average speed for the journey would be about 15-20mph if you were lucky.

I was there in 1967/8 for about 7 months split between the Training School, next to the Electric Depot, and in the Signal Shop. During that time I went over the Eagle Bridge at least once a day when I was in work. In The Melts a few locos were being cut up, but one side of it had been given over to semaphore signals. At that time the LMR were still using LMS bolted-through-the-post fittings with every hole drilled and red leaded. We actually spread it as a paste on the onside of the saddles that went onto the post. I remember the whole place being locked up when the loco from Hixon came in. The cab was cut off by contractors behind closed doors at night. In the Signal Shop I spent a lot of time making up Ground frames for the Saltley/Derby/Trent resignalling, but my best job was to work on the new 35 lever frame for Colwyn Bay. There was also a lot of fettling of old stuff for obsolete equipment, such as a regular job doing levers for the overhead box at Chester. I think there were only a couple of spares in existence so the depot locking fitter would bring two in about once a fortnight and we would recondition them for him to pick up the following week. On the loco side at that time new deliveries were parked by the Signal Shop during acceptance trials. I saw the last 11 Class 20s and the first 19 Class 50s during that time. The works was doing the Class 74 EDs at the time as well. There were a few relics around at the time like a stationary boiler between us and the paint shop, which was reputed to come from an original Royal Scot, and a pair of bogies from the SR Triplets which were used as transport trollies when bogies were removed to receive attention in the old Tender Shop.

Semaphore signal posts were being assembled in The Melts at that time, the Signal Shop where other stuff was done was at the corner of Richard Moon St and Goddard St. My bench was about where Morrisons car wash is now.

I think the bit where I worked for a short while is now a roundabout and Morrisons supermarket.

Only once in the real world did I declared a layout impossible to signal given the rules as they stood at the time. It got changed. Mind you, there were a few where I said "Yes, I can signal it, but can you operate your proposed timetable through it?"

Right and wrong I think Andy. Stourbridge Junction South definitely closed on 30th December 1973, as did Lye. The interlocking alterations at Stourbridge Junction Middle for the north end were commissioned on 31st July 1978. This photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/ingythewingy/6388733267/ gives the date for closure of the North box as 29th July 1978.

Prior to resignalling for electrification, ABR 5 was quite common at boxes on the LNW lines. Most had sidings where trip workings shunted. Freights would commonly be accepted "under the Warning" when a shunt was in progress. By 1967 most of the LNW lines were MAS, and the box instructions had to be re-written at the fringe boxes so there were few boxes left that were pure Absolute Block. As local freight traffic declined box closures were taking place at a rapid rate, especially during 1969-73 under the 'Surplus Capacity' schemes resulting from grants under the 1968 Transport Act. Each time the instructions at boxes either side were reviewed and often revised. I can't remember off-hand whether ABR 5 was specifically allowed or specifically excluded from box instructions in those days, perhaps Mike could tell us? The Stourbridge Junction to Dudley section was part of the GWR, and probably one of the last bits of the Birmingham Division where ABR 5 was regularly used, particularly after Stourbridge Engine Shed box was closed. Traffic would sometimes get clogged up at Stourbridge Junction, so it was necessary to get rid of a train towards Dudley. Stourbridge Junction North was closed in the late 1970s in December 1973, and the signalling there was replaced by colour lights controlled from the Middle box.

Great answer as usual from SM. By the end of the 1960s there was very little semaphore signalling on the ex-LNW lines of the Birmingham Division. From memory I would say it was limited to the South Staffs lines from Dudley to Wednesbury, Rushall to Lichfield TV junction and Bloxwich to Cannock, the Cannock Mineral Railway from Cannock to Rugeley, the Princes End Branch from Wednesbury to Tipton Curve Junction, Erdington to Lichfield City, Milverton to Gibbet Hill and Coundon Road to Griff Junction (Nuneaton). All had carried regular passenger services although the Princes End Branch lost its two stations in 1916 as a wartime economy measure. Only the Erdington to Lichfield line had a passenger service by then, but the rest were still used for dated passenger trains and excursions (even an instance in the 1960s of Spamcan 79 via Princes End, cue for Chris), or as diversionary routes for engineering work. Consequently all had historically been worked under Absolute Block Regulations. At most boxes the first home signal was quite close to the first set of points, so few had a 440 yard acceptance point which was free from possible obstruction. Generally if this was to be achieved an Outer Home was provided. In reality most of the Block sections were so short there wasn't room for this. Distants under Starters were far more common. Placing the Home signal on BCB at the clearance point of the crossover would have been quite prototypical. Regarding ABR 5, I can't remember any particular instances of it being authorised, in fact I think there was an exercise around that time to get rid of any remaining instances which may have lurked in box instructions.

I remember doing some very strange moves on the DC Lines whilst assisting with making a TV documentary about Automatic Train Control in 1990. Fortunately they cut the bit of my finger moving the permissible speed indicator needle as we passed the single yellow from the transmitted version.

The S&T usually quoted distance to centre of post, but that only makes about 1mm difference on the layout. The joint at the points would have been 5'5" from the toe at that time, then the signal would be a minimum of 6' from there. Sorry Geoff, that's me dropping into tech speak. The clearance point would be the distance along the track coming back from the turnout where a vehicle the wheels of a vehicle could be without a move going through the crossover sideswiping it. It's calculated by determining the Fouling Point, which is defined as where the outside edges of the rails are 6' apart, then going 16' along the track. This is to allow for vehicles with a long overhang. In practice the insulated joint was positioned by marking the rail opposite the toe of the points then using the first rail joint (or first convenient place to cut a joint in CWR) further than 16' back. In cases of difficulty an accurate measurement of the Fouling Point was taken then the clearance point was accurately calculated depending on the angle of the turnout. On the BCB layout if the signal were the points side of the viaduct I would expect it to be a minimum of 16' from the toe of the points if it will fit there. The method of mounting the signal could vary depending on the space available. Some were on a concrete base but others, particularly in the 6' were on some pieces of sleeper reject cut to fit the situation. Eric