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Rugby as it was ... briefly

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Rugby as it was ... briefly 19/11/2015 at 17:52 #77909
john_s
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Those of you interested in the signalling history of the Rugby area might find the following of interest.

I've just uploaded to my website a copy of a document describing the commissioning of Rugby PSB in September 1964. Particularly interesting is the description of how, during commissioning, the WCML through Rugby was temporarily reduced to a plain double track railway, with trains signalled by handsignalmen and Absolute Block working by telephone.

link here: http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways/rugby/rugby.htm

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Rugby as it was ... briefly 21/11/2015 at 08:06 #77979
flabberdacks
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This is fascinating, thank you.

Interesting that the document is consistently worded in a 'we know this will be hard, but do your best' tone.

Also noon being referred to as '12.00nn'

Question - do the supplied timetables follow the SimSig Timetable Info format of, for example, 6/39 being a through train and 6.39 being a stopping train?

Last edited: 21/11/2015 at 08:47 by flabberdacks
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Rugby as it was ... briefly 21/11/2015 at 17:38 #77990
RainbowNines
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What a fascinating insight into how much planning went in. Thank you very much for sharing sir.
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Rugby as it was ... briefly 21/11/2015 at 19:10 #77992
john_s
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Glad you liked the documents!

flabberdacks asked: Question - do the supplied timetables follow the SimSig Timetable Info format of, for example, 6/39 being a through train and 6.39 being a stopping train?

I'm aware of the format you mention, but I'm pretty certain that here, 6.39 is am and 6/39 is pm.

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Rugby as it was ... briefly 23/11/2015 at 11:18 #78072
kbarber
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Fascinating stuff.

Ticket working during signal alterations was used right into the 1980s (and perhaps the '90s); not sure how they do it now. In those cases, though, there wasn't the need for 25(a)(iii) working (that's the old regulation number for 'telephone block' during failure of block bells and/or indicators by the way). Instead, the weekly notice indicated which signal at the start of the affected area would be maintained at danger and which signal marked the end of it. There was a handsignalman at the start of the area, who would give each driver a ticket when instructed by the signalman. The ticket would be the driver's authority to proceed (cautiously IIRC) to the end of the affected area and would specifically authorise them to ignore any aspect displayed by the intervening signals. The signal number plate at the end of the affected area would be illuminated during the hours of darkness and that signal was to be obeyed. After passing that signal, the driver was instructed to destroy the ticket. The guard was not required to be advised at all.

The style of writing changed somewhat - I do like the older style, less staccato than modern bullet points - but the 'do the best you can' tone survived for a long time when dealing with major changeovers, or at least it did until they moved over to total blockades.

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Rugby as it was ... briefly 25/11/2015 at 13:50 #78128
Chrisrail
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And Even Earlier
[attachment=3502]Rugby-text.pdf[/attachment]

[attachment=3503]RugbySignallingPlan1939.pdf[/attachment]

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Rugby as it was ... briefly 26/11/2015 at 10:07 #78148
kbarber
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" said:
And Even Earlier
[attachment=3502]Rugby-text.pdf[/attachment]

[attachment=3503]RugbySignallingPlan1939.pdf[/attachment]

Now that really is interesting, thanks for that.

First couple of things I notice, I'm sure there's more:

Clifton Road Intermediate Block Home - IBH in rear of the controlling box, which would require the line to be track circuited throughout from Hillmorton Sidings. Later practice, of course, would most often have the IB controlled from the box in rear so the line only needs track circuiting to the terminating point of the overlap. I wonder if IB in rear was an LMS speciality; I don't think I've seen it anywhere else.

Look at the Leicester Lines at No. 5 box. Straight in & out to terminate in 3 & 4 bays. No other direct access to those bays. In the up direction, access to the Up Through via a (clearly goods rated, given the catch points and facing slip into a siding road) connection to the Up Goods and then a crossover. In the down direction the only access is from the Down Goods by a crossover that goes right across the layout at the north end without any other connections. There is a slip connection to the Down Leicester off the trailing crossover from the Up Platform to the middle siding that's there, also a slip connection from the Bay 3 line to that same crossover, but those are for shunting only. No other connection from the Leicester lines. Oh, the joys of pre-grouping company rivalries!

Splitting distants are interesting (No. 3 box up homes with splitting distants for No. 1 and No. 5 box down homes with splitting distants for No. 7). But even more interesting are the No. 7 box down homes. Unless my eyes deceive me, each line has two signal heads (replicating traditional semaphore junction signals) but each head then has a (or 2) junction indicators!! By the looks of it, the head tells you which way you'll go at the first set of points ahead, with the feather indicating your subsequent route! No. 7 Up Birmingham Inner Homes are similar, with the interesting twist that a position 1 (as we'd now call it) feather on the right hand head reads to the Up Goods - the leftmost available route! Oh boy!!!

Wonderful stuff. No wonder old-style signalling was so fascinating.

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