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A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont.

You are here: Home > Forum > Miscellaneous > The real thing (signalling) > A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont.

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A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 09/11/2011 at 22:57 #22675
bill_gensheet
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From Scot-Rail group
Bill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuRkYtxHPcw

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 09/11/2011 at 23:15 #22676
Danny252
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Nothing quite like the "if only you'd switched out 10 seconds earlier, I wouldn't have needed to check the last train of the day" feeling...
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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 10/11/2011 at 05:59 #22677
pilotman
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AB lives on! What is the sequence Bill - there seem to be 2 lots of 5-5-7? 3-4-2 is?
Ray

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 10/11/2011 at 07:18 #22678
Andrew G
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" said:
AB lives on! What is the sequence Bill - there seem to be 2 lots of 5-5-7? 3-4-2 is?
Ray
Sounds like it is Craigo, the next box to the south switching out.

Craigo sends 5-5-7 to Carmont, Carmont pegs Line Clear and responds with single beat, Craigo sends single beat when signals off, Carmont responds with 5-5-7
Carmont then tests with Montrose North - 16 bells exchanged
Carmont then offers the sandite train 3-4-2 to Montrose North

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 10/11/2011 at 07:19 #22679
Late Turn
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Ray,

Without knowing the location at all (so apologies if I've got the names of the adjacent boxes wrong!) - it's the usual sequence for switching out (of an adjacent box - Laurencekirk?). 5-5-7 is received from next door (preceded by call attention of course), acknowledged by a single beat (and pegging up 'line clear'). When Laurencekirk has finished pulling off, he'll give a single beat back, and Carmont acknowledges wih 5-5-7. Laurencekirk then switches out of circuit, and Carmont calls attention to the box that's now next door (Craigo??) and sends 16 bells. Once that's acknowledged, he straightaway offers the waiting train (3-4-2 must be a local 'is line clear' signal of some sort?), pulls off and sends 'train entering section'. Job done!

Tom

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 10/11/2011 at 07:41 #22681
clive
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" said:
(3-4-2 must be a local 'is line clear' signal of some sort?)
It's the standard code for a Sandite train.

My web page of bell codes

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 10/11/2011 at 07:48 #22682
pilotman
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Thanks guys.
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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 10/11/2011 at 08:16 #22683
postman
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What a great clip to listen to. Would of been even nicer if the old block bells where ringing. Are there any Scottish boxs with their old block instruments left working, or they all been replaced with the BR plastic blocks ?
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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 10/11/2011 at 17:19 #22707
UKTrainMan
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Interesting video, thanks for sharing.

" said:
My web page of bell codes
Personally, I think that should read My excellent web page of bell codes :cheer:

Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for.
Last edited: 10/11/2011 at 17:19 by UKTrainMan
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The following user said thank you: headshot119
Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 10/11/2011 at 18:32 #22714
Andrew G
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" said:
What a great clip to listen to. Would of been even nicer if the old block bells where ringing. Are there any Scottish boxs with their old block instruments left working, or they all been replaced with the BR plastic blocks ?
Glasgow & South Western 3 Position blocks are still in use from Kilmarnock to Holywood. Here is the pair at Mauchline:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/llangollen_signalman/5707512042/in/set-72157626529845049

I think there are still some older style blocks in use in the Stirling area.

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 10/11/2011 at 22:39 #22730
postman
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Some of those blocks look like a 2 postion block? Very interesting pics thought. Its amazing that they still survive on the Network Rail. B)
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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 11/11/2011 at 09:34 #22747
Zoe
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For some reason though they didn't test the block instruments after sending 16.
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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 11/11/2011 at 10:42 #22753
kbarber
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" said:
Some of those blocks look like a 2 postion block? Very interesting pics thought. Its amazing that they still survive on the Network Rail. B)

I think that's because they're 1-wire 3-position instruments. If you look carefully you can see discs alongside the signal arm indicators, I think they're there to show the 3rd indication (either line blocked or TOL, don't recall which).

If they want to replace these they'll need to provide 2 extra wires all the way through every section, for every set, quite apart from all the changes that would be necessary to the various block controls to change from intermittent-current to constant-current operation. I suspect that's one reason for not bothering.

I suspect they'll keep these going for as long as the spares exist (& hope the occasional abolition will keep the stock of spares up until it's all finally taken over by one of the big new control centres).

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 11/11/2011 at 13:33 #22760
bill_gensheet
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The exact details of which box is switching out etc is given in the actual youtube page. Adding the link here has embedded the video directly, so you've lost the commentary.

Full link is

http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=zuRkYtxHPcw

and take out the extra spaces before watch

Bill

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 11/11/2011 at 16:27 #22770
Andrew G
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" said:
" said:
Some of those blocks look like a 2 postion block? Very interesting pics thought. Its amazing that they still survive on the Network Rail. B)

I think that's because they're 1-wire 3-position instruments. If you look carefully you can see discs alongside the signal arm indicators, I think they're there to show the 3rd indication (either line blocked or TOL, don't recall which).

If they want to replace these they'll need to provide 2 extra wires all the way through every section, for every set, quite apart from all the changes that would be necessary to the various block controls to change from intermittent-current to constant-current operation. I suspect that's one reason for not bothering.

I suspect they'll keep these going for as long as the spares exist (& hope the occasional abolition will keep the stock of spares up until it's all finally taken over by one of the big new control centres).
The discs next to the signal arms are for the Train On Line indication. Line Blocked is Semaphore Arm Horizontal with no disc.

In the past when these blocks have been replaced they have had to replace several block sections at the same time and you usually found that the switch from the G&SWR instruments to BR Standard Blocks was at a box which didn't switch out (e.g. Stevenston No 2 on the Largs line).

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 12/11/2011 at 13:53 #22792
Ron_J
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" said:
For some reason though they didn't test the block instruments after sending 16.
We've never done so in this part of the world.

Last edited: 12/11/2011 at 13:54 by Ron_J
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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 13/11/2011 at 13:32 #22849
Danny252
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" said:
" said:
For some reason though they didn't test the block instruments after sending 16.
We've never done so in this part of the world.

I remember hearing once that, on AB, the only time you'll bother to test is when one of the two boxes has an exam going on!

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 19/11/2011 at 19:29 #23307
Woodhead Signalman
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Just as a point of interest regarding the excellent list of bell codes, in AB boxes I have worked at we always used to use the code 1-2 if we wanted a neighbouring box to come onto the telephone, rather than 1-1. This may have been unofficial of course but it always made a lot of sense to me to have this code for the telephone.
Last edited: 19/11/2011 at 19:29 by Woodhead Signalman
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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 20/11/2011 at 12:41 #23333
Danny252
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Especially as 1-1 is virtually indistinguishable from a slow 2...
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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 20/11/2011 at 12:55 #23337
postman
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around 25 years ago when I was lucky enough to work a signalbox on nights, when we had proper trains running ie: parcels traffice and shunting, 1-2 was used by the signalman to come on the omnlibus phone. This happening after offering a freight train to advise the details of the train etc. Boy they where happy times too!!
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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 20/11/2011 at 13:16 #23348
Woodhead Signalman
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Yes Danny, that is exactly the reason we used 1-2 instead of 1-1 which could easily be mistaken for 2 beats TOL. And yeah postman I agree they were very happy times for me as well!!
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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 21/11/2011 at 11:29 #23399
kbarber
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I think I'm right in saying that 1-1 was for a block phone - that is, when the phone handsets were wired into the block bell circuit and only communicated with the next box. (Very useful, of course, for "squaring" things when you didn't want others - especially officialdom - to know what was going on.) On the Midland, where block phones were common, the 1-1 was given very slowly and as "flat ones" (i.e. the tapper was held down each time so the hammer stayed against the bell, damping the note right down).

1-2 certainly wasn't officially in any block regs I ever worked with but was used pretty universally around the North London/West London and on the GC to call your mate to the 'bus phone. But on the NL we didn't need calling to be advised train details, normal practice was to accept & immediately pick up the phone where box-to-box advice was given. There were a few locations where a box wouldn't advise the next one down, but the one after (or even further), in which case it was necessary to use the code ringing on the 'bus line (or the dial phone, but that was slower & much less convenient).

Yes, happy days... where were you a bobby Postman?

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 21/11/2011 at 20:00 #23454
Danny252
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1-2 apparently had separate meanings elsewhere, as well. Down at Exeter West, it was a special code for a local freight (Alphington Road I believe, but it could've been City Basin - they go the same way, in my defence!), whereas I've heard that on the WCML north of Crewe (Weaver Junction area) it was used to indicate that officialdom was on the approach.
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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 22/11/2011 at 13:27 #23475
kbarber
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" said:
1-2 apparently had separate meanings elsewhere, as well. Down at Exeter West, it was a special code for a local freight (Alphington Road I believe, but it could've been City Basin - they go the same way, in my defence!), whereas I've heard that on the WCML north of Crewe (Weaver Junction area) it was used to indicate that officialdom was on the approach.

Never heard of 1-2 for "company" before. That was another that varied between areas though.

On the Midland it was 2-2. Plenty of room for confusion between Cricklewood & St Pancras, as assisting in rear was authorised; generally got round by sending it on all bells, and usually slowly & carefully.

North London and GC (and, I suspect, the GW) used 1-2-1. Again, potential for confusion (although nowhere I heard it in use had train approaching authorised so there wasn't a problem).

The Great Northern used the completely distinctive 1-2-1-2 "Scotland Yard".

Any others?

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Re: A bit of a busy time on the bells at Carmont. 22/11/2011 at 14:20 #23479
DriverCurran
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1-2 was also used where the sbsi's allowed the authorised use of the special bell code list one as the code for train entering section.

Paul

You have to get a red before you can get any other colour
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