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Canterbury Signal Box NSW Australia.

You are here: Home > Forum > Miscellaneous > The real thing (signalling) > Canterbury Signal Box NSW Australia.

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Canterbury Signal Box NSW Australia. 27/04/2016 at 22:34 #82009
ozrail
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Closed April 1, 1996. It has the bells.

https://youtu.be/7DG6i0BeAg4

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Canterbury Signal Box NSW Australia. 28/04/2016 at 08:15 #82011
kbarber
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Nice. Thanks for putting it up. Pity it's all OOU.

The lever runner castings have a certain resemblance to the GWR 5VT design; that's the nearest UK equivalent I can see for the levers themselves as well. I wonder if there was some cross-fertilisation, or just that it's a sensible design that will get repeated. (And are there any photos of the interlocking mechanism? The drive to the tappets would tell us for sure whether the Gas Works Railway had a hand in it.)

Am I right in thinking the sections both sides were fully track circuited with auto signals and trains described by bell only from box to box?

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Canterbury Signal Box NSW Australia. 28/04/2016 at 13:09 #82013
Westrail
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That's very interesting video. NSW semaphore signals used to look like god's wonderful railway signals too even used tubular steel post's very few left nowadays
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Canterbury Signal Box NSW Australia. 29/04/2016 at 01:55 #82027
BarryM
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Keith,

For your interest, I have attached a track diagram (Copyright ARHSnsw) of Canterbury NSW 1986 Signal Box before closure. Sections both sides were fully track circuited with automatic signals.

Canterbury Station was adjacent to Canterbury Racecourse. Race trains were provided with sidings available for stabling of trains for return workings.

[attachment=3750]CanterburyNSWR1986.pdf[/attachment]


Barry

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Barry, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Canterbury Signal Box NSW Australia. 29/04/2016 at 03:56 #82028
ozrail
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Canterbury has four lines. The top two are goods line and the red block bells were used to describe the trains departing. The left bell was to Wardell Road junction controlled from Meeks Road junction and the right bell was to Enfield South Signal Box. The lower lines are the Bankstown suburban passenger lines. Automatic signalling is used and no information is given to adjacent signal boxes unless the trains are late or out of timetable order. The lever frame was a NSW Standard Type A. All points have been removed from Canterbury and the goods lines are now controlled from ARTC Junee which is 422 kilometres away or 262 miles.
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Canterbury Signal Box NSW Australia. 29/04/2016 at 08:45 #82029
kbarber
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Thank you. With that diagram, it becomes obvious that an awful lot has been whited out on the SB diagram in the clip. Interesting to see that the Up Goods wasn't redesignated for the length of the Race Platform (which would've been UK practice), and that although it is protected by catch points 15 against a run-back on the up goods, there is no protection against an overruning right-direction move, nor any such protection where it passes over the down goods. Fascinating to see how practice develops in such different directions.

Not sure I could get my head around having no description or indication of approaching trains either. Would I be right in thinking that Main Line signals would work automatically if the levers were left reverse? Or could that only be done with the closing lever reverse?

Sorry to be full of these questions. It's a fascinating look at something so familiar, yet simultaneously so different.

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Canterbury Signal Box NSW Australia. 29/04/2016 at 13:39 #82038
flabberdacks
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" said:

Not sure I could get my head around having no description or indication of approaching trains either. Would I be right in thinking that Main Line signals would work automatically if the levers were left reverse? Or could that only be done with the closing lever reverse?
I didn't work that particular box, but did work some similar to it - controlled signals did not work automatically.

It wouldn't take you too long to get used to it - a train would hit the board, unless you'd been told something by the box in rear you could safely assume it was the next timetabled train in order. No need to pass information for passenger trains when you both have the same timetable. After the train departs, you look at the next train in the timetable - if it also goes straight though, you just re-stroke all your signals and sit back.

Junction working could get a bit comical during major disruptions...

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Canterbury Signal Box NSW Australia. 29/04/2016 at 22:36 #82058
ozrail
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At one minute and nine seconds into the video you see number 36 a blue closing lever with a key in it for the Bankstown line. The signals would then operate automatically with an "A" light displayed on the signal but all the telephone circuits remained connected and the signal box was always attended.
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