Hinchcliffe

Good to see you are keeping your hand in Ron

 

Hi Ron. When I had your permission , and copied your plank idea, apart from the fact that I chose wire in tube, I didn't give a thought to a panel. The one drawback with my idea is "Interlocking" (there ain't any) And that is the problem, forgetfulness, causes derailments , and I was never a signalman, l was the handle turner and the bloke who would stop short of a wrong signal, get on the phone and alert the signalman.Now if I had gone for one of those fancy lever frames one sees advertised? It may have been achievable ? after a style, but I went for the DPDT option, but at least with that idea polarity is catered for. With your vast experience of model railways, is there a way I can do this ? Or can I make a panel with LED's
to alert me as to which way the points were set???
All the best. Kevin

 

Hi Ron. Thank you for the info. As it happens I keep finding
Platform 1 emails in my SPAM folder, would you know how to fix this please ? All the best. Kevin

 

Hi Ron. Thank you, BT is my provider. Kevin

 

Hi Ron. Excellent work as ever. And I am also building a mimic board , but, I would like it( if possible) to be detachable, and
I am looking for a 12 volt multi pin plug and socket.
Would you advise me. Kevin

 

Hello Retired Operator and others,

actually, both the British and Australian prototype also has non interlocked railways which does operate passenger trains. This usually applies to those One Engine in Steam ( OES ) / One Train Working ( OTW ) Branch lines. A Token usually a Train Staff, is the authority to travel, and if no signals are provided, then only one train can be on the line at any one time, and that train must be in possession of the appropriate Train Staff.

The next question is how do you protect the passenger train when points are involved. The answer is the points are locked, to secure the line for the passage of a train. There are a number of methods to achieve this. At its most basic, a padlock secures the point lever in the Normal position. A more sophisticated version uses a Plunger Lock to secure the points in the Normal position. At some locations a protecting Home Signal, by use of either Slide or Rotary Detectors, allows the Signal to be placed at Proceed.

Another method is to use Train Staff Locked Points, wherein at one end of the staff a key is provided. This may be either an Annett Key, or the end of the Train Staff, which in this instance is essentially a steel tube (*) inside of which is a notch, or feather, that engages with the lock and the Train Staff is then turned to release the Point Lock and allow the points to be reversed.

In all of the above cases, the turning of the key both releases the point lock and traps the key. This is known as Trapped Key Interlocking. Only by returning the point lever to Normal, and by turning the key of the Lock, which re locks the point key mechanism, and thereby allows the key to be withdrawn.

It can be appreciated that this relatively simple ( and cheap ! ) system ensures the safety of the train, without the need to install an interlocking machine.
If a locomotive ( which includes self propelled vehicles ) is locked away at a location, then the Train Staff can be used to allow another train to run, however, the locked away locomotive cannot be used unless and until the driver of the locked way locomotive has possession of the Train Staff.

For instance, the preserved Chinnor & Prices Risborough Railway ( C&PR ) (# ), until the installation of signals at Chinnor, was operated as a One Train Working railway. The provision of a Home Arrival signal at Chinnor allowed another locomotive to move around the yard if need be, but I could not leave the confines of the yard, unless in possession of the Train Staff. In this instance, the C&PR is still an OTW operated railway, and this form of working is applicable to most preserved railways, both in Britain and Australia.

Train Staffs with a lock may also allow for the use of a Train Ticket, as the Train Staff will unlock the Ticket Box, and will be secured in the Ticket Box Lock due to the provision of Trapped Key Interlocking. This system is called Train Staff and Ticket ( TST ), and this allows for more than one train to travel in the same direction. The Train Staff is still the Authority to travel, but in TST, a Ticket can be issued for travel subject to the driver sighting the Train Staff. The last train to travel in the same direction will require to be issued with the Train Staff.

(*) a tube is a non pressure vessel, whereas a pipe has a pressure rating. The Victorian Railways ( VR ) used metal tubes with a ring and a notch or internal feather, as a Train Staff. The line to which it applied was engraved on the opposite end. By using a metal tube style Train Staff, Staff Locks could be used in lieu of an Annett key, and the Train Staff could also be used to access a Ticket Box if required. At some locations, a Staff Lock would be used to release an Annett key to operate specified locks.

(#) the preserved Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway is the former xGWR Watlington Branch, which has been truncated too Chinnor.

Regards, Echidna.