Points, rodding, signals, cables, ground frames and boxes ???

Cheers, thinking about it the distants on the approach to Helmshore were both out of sight of the box, one was hidden around a bend half a mile away and the other was on the other side of two occupational bridges.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Wilson
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Not sure what they meant by that. Before W.W.I perhaps?

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

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Reply to
Roger T.

This is a safety consideration and from my days in the S&T its less than

12 coach lengths, hence many stations with two signal boxes. The safety bit is that mechanical compensator's are only good for a set distance, don't know the exact figure off the top of my head.

The mechanical effort was more to do with how many ends of points needed to be moved by one lever and how straight the rod run is. Also the technique of the signalman. I remember a signalman at Havant box, quiet a small chap, and we had been called out by a different signalman to complain that it was difficult to pull a pair of points. This chap went over a quietly operated the lever and said it was OK, a large chap in our team tried and found it difficult, he tried one big push.

As above it is the sum of the complete run as direction changes are generally short to route under tracks.

Probably not much as pre WW1 there were many different manufacturers of signalling equipment with different lever arrangements and a lot of them are still around today.

In a semaphore operated layout you have the home and starter signals relatively close to the signal box with the distants sometimes a mile or more away dependant on line speed.

Historical really but strictly no. FPLs are normally required for point ends that loaded passenger trains will travel over in the facing direction. More important would be mechanical train detectors.

Chris

Reply to
Chris

I'm now at home and dug out my copy of Mechanical Railway Signalling by H. Raynar Wilson, written at the turn of the (19th/20th) century.

He says that in 1885, travelling rollers started being used on the G&SWR to support point rodding and that allowed the maximum distance to a facing point to be increased from 150 to 180 yards from the box, and then subsequently to 200 yards.

He also goes on to comment

"Having regard to the improved state to which point and signal connections have been brought, the author considers that the maximum distance of facing points from the signal box might safely be increased to 250 yards providing the signalman has a good view of the line at the facing points, and that not only both the switches but the plunger be detected and that point rod rollers are not further apart than 7ft."

So it looks as though there was a continual improvement in the distance from the box in the late nineteenth century and that would have carried on to give the longer distances that John Shelley refers to.

My references are earlier than John's and are reprints of two books

"Mechanical Railway Signalling" by H. Raynar Wilson (1904) in two parts ISBN 1 899890 20 3 and ISBN 1 899890 21 1

"Railway Signal Engineering" by Lewis (1932) ISBN 1 899890 04 1

..all published by Peter Kay, Orchard House, Orchard Gardens, Teignmouth, Devon. TQ14 8DP. I have picked my copies up at the specialist railway book dealers at exhibitions.

Both are well worth having if you are interested in British and Commonwealth signalling (we also signalled the Empire) and are crammed full of excellent illustrations of all manner of equipment.

Jim.

Reply to
Jim Guthrie

I'd forgotten about those reprints, even though they are on a shelf of my railway "library".

Many stations on single track lines were originally provided with two signal boxes if the ends of the crossing loop were too far apart to be operated from one box. As the operating distance "improved" one of the boxes was decommissioned enabling a signalman's wages to be saved, the LNER had a programme of this in the 1930's.

A site that we should have mentioned, although I couldn't find the distances mentioned, is

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lots of useful signalling related info on it.

Reply to
John Shelley

350 yards,

Cranks were used to change direction of movement - e.g. to turn under the track and then turn back paralell again, they could be set to increase or decrease the throw.

Different horses for different courses.

Technically no limit - a cabin was *normally* provided when a block post was required and had to be manned.

I have operated signals 1100 yards from the box, there are plenty of signals further away from their cabins - locally to me Helsby had a signal worked by

2 levers, 1 to take up the slack and 1 to work the signal, there was one on the Northampton line (been gone for a long time) that was worked by 3 levers. Signals this far out were *normally* distant signals.

No but might still be provided !

Can't help.

Reply to
David Skipsey

Absolutely fascinating and very useful, thank you.

Reply to
Chris Wilson

...

Absolutely, in fact it was my first port of call before posting here, struck out this time though.

Reply to
Chris Wilson

David,

Thanks very much for your time in replying to my query, very useful.

Reply to
Chris Wilson

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