mrfs42
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Big Hair Day
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Post by mrfs42 on Aug 4, 2007 15:11:19 GMT
This question arises in part from another forum that I'm on, concerning the Level Crossing at North Weald. North Weald would switch in for crossings as timetabled, and then switch out, uniting the Epping - North Weald - Ongar sections into one. However, the 1957 peril seems to contradict itself. The full description of the signalling allows the switching in/out of the box, though towards the end of the peril, this seems to be forbidden. The relevant bits of text are: 3 Operation of the Single Line Signalling
c) When North Weald signal box has been closed and the automatic working lever No 11 has been reversed, the single line between Epping and Ongar will work as one section, and will be controlled by the Epping Signalman. In these circumstances signals LW21 or LW22 and LW20 at Epping will not be lowered until levers No 3 and either No 4, 8, 9 at Ongar have been reversed and all track circuits between Epping and Ongar are clear. Similarly signals LZ29 and LZ30 at Ongar will not be lowered until all track circuits between Ongar and Epping are clear, and the Epping signalman has reversed lever No 1 to give permission for the train to enter the single line. This quite rightly gives the impression that the branch can become one long section. BUTgoing to section 21: AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 4 OF APPENDIX TO WORKING TIMETABLES:
The instructions where applicable contained within Section 4 of Appendix to Working Timetables will apply between Epping and Ongar except as amended below:-
a) Clause (b) of Regulation 26 is amended, so far as concerns North Weald, as follows:-
When North Weald signal box is closed levers nos 1, 2, 3, 7, 13 and 17 must not be pulled, neither must the automatic working lever be reversed. All signals must be left in the 'On' position, and lever No. 20 must be reversed in order to unlock the crossing gates, which must be chained and padlocked in the 'closed' position. This gives a completely different slant on the workings. What was Section 4 - General Signalling Regulations? Is it possible that North Weald was envisaged to remain open after the crossing of trains purely to work the level crossing? Or is the yellow peril written in such a way for the later commissioning of automatic working on the through line at North Weald? |
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Oracle
In memoriam
RIP 2012
Writing is such sweet sorrow: like heck it is!
Posts: 3,234
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Post by Oracle on Aug 4, 2007 17:06:04 GMT
When were the semaphores last used in connection with the passing loop, and the annual terminating trains for the North Weald air show? It seems that the show was on two days, Saturday and Sunday, not one as I had previously thought.
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Post by trc666 on Aug 4, 2007 17:47:44 GMT
The loop at North Weald was closed and lifted in 1976, according to the Wiki article.
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Post by Harsig on Aug 4, 2007 20:00:56 GMT
This question arises in part from another forum that I'm on, concerning the Level Crossing at North Weald. North Weald would switch in for crossings as timetabled, and then switch out, uniting the Epping - North Weald - Ongar sections into one. However, the 1957 peril seems to contradict itself. The full description of the signalling allows the switching in/out of the box, though towards the end of the peril, this seems to be forbidden. The relevant bits of text are: 13 Operation of the Single Line Signalling
c) When North Weald signal box has been closed and the automatic working lever No 11 has been reversed, the single line between Epping and Ongar will work as one section, and will be controlled by the Epping Signalman. In these circumstances signals LW21 or LW22 and LW20 at Epping will not be lowered until levers No 3 and either No 4, 8, 9 at Ongar have been reversed and all track circuits between Epping and Ongar are clear. Similarly signals LZ29 and LZ30 at Ongar will not be lowered until all track circuits between Ongar and Epping are clear, and the Epping signalman has reversed lever No 1 to give permission for the train to enter the single line. This quite rightly gives the impression that the branch can become one long section. BUTgoing to section 21: AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 4 OF APPENDIX TO WORKING TIMETABLES:
The instructions where applicable contained within Section 4 of Appendix to Working Timetables will apply between Epping and Ongar except as amended below:-
a) Clause (b) of Regulation 26 is amended, so far as concerns North Weald, as follows:-
When North Weald signal box is closed levers nos 1, 2, 3, 7, 13 and 17 must not be pulled, neither must the automatic working lever be reversed. All signals must be left in the 'On' position, and lever No. 20 must be reversed in order to unlock the crossing gates, which must be chained and padlocked in the 'closed' position. This gives a completely different slant on the workings. What was Section 4 - General Signalling Regulations? Is it possible that North Weald was envisaged to remain open after the crossing of trains purely to work the level crossing? Or is the yellow peril written in such a way for the later commissioning of automatic working on the through line at North Weald? This may have been a temporary measure or simply an error. Seven weeks after the yellow peril you quote was issued another was issued principally dealing with alterations to the control of the ground frame at Blake Hall but it also included the following paragraph: Second Supplement to Traffic Circular Railways No. 49(1957)
Signalling Alterations Epping-Ongar
7. Operation of King Lever (No. 11) At North Weald
(a) The reference to "automatic working lever" in paragraph 13(c) of the Supplement to Traffic Circular No. 42(1957), "Electrification of Single Line between Epping and Ongar" must be amended to read "king lever"
(b) The following must be substituted for paragraph 21(a) of the Supplement referred to :
Operation of King Lever (No. 11) At North Weald
Should it be necessary to close North Weald signal box, the Signalman must ascertain that all track circuits between North Weald and Epping are clear, and that lever No. 21 is in the normal position. The Signalman must then notify the Epping Signalman of his intentions, and satisfy himself that the Epping Signalman has reversed lever No. 1. The North Weald Signalman must then place his king lever (No. 11) to the mid position, reverse levers Nos. 6,8,13,12,15,17,2,3,1 and 20 in that order, then fully reverse No. 11 lever. The level crossing gates must be chained and padlocked in the closed position.
When the signal box is opened, after ascertaining that all track circuits are clear between Epping and Ongar, and after notifying the Epping and Ongar Signalmen of his intentions, the North Weald Signalman must place the king lever to the mid position, the place levers Nos. 2,3,17,15,12 and 13 in that order to the normal position, and fully restore No. 11 lever to normal, when automatic working will cease. |
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mrfs42
71E25683904T 172E6538094T
Big Hair Day
Posts: 5,922
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Post by mrfs42 on Aug 4, 2007 23:56:52 GMT
Thank- you. ;D
Most kind.
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Post by mandgc on Aug 5, 2007 0:17:09 GMT
Reading the Instructions quoted above it seems to me that when North Weald signal box was switched out (forming one long Section from Epping to Ongar ) the gates of the Hand Worked level crossing at North Weald were required to be Padlocked in the closed position.
The General Signalling Regulations, which were very similar to the British Railways Regulations, normally authorised the neccesary signals at an Intermediate Signal Box that was to be Switched out to be placed in the Clear position. At North Weald, where the Level Crossing was occasionally used, Authority was given for the neccesary signals to remain at danger. protecting the Level Crossing and allowing the 'now' Crossing Keeper to obtain permission to unlock the gates and use the crossing.
Though not in general use on Tube lines this was a fairly common practice on British Railway lines. One that comes to mind was at Bellwater Junction (formerly North of Boston and which had an Occupation Crossing) where the Signalman, who lived in the crossing house, on Sundays- when the branch line was closed- acted as Crossing Keeper while the Signal Box remained switched out. This saved paying him Signalman's rate for the Sunday. :-)
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mrfs42
71E25683904T 172E6538094T
Big Hair Day
Posts: 5,922
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Post by mrfs42 on Aug 5, 2007 16:22:21 GMT
Seven weeks after the yellow peril you quote was issued another was issued principally dealing with alterations to the control of the ground frame at Blake Hall Very interesting - what was the substance of these alterations? Was the working by Annett's key removed and electrical releasing put in place (perhaps by time-occupied TCs - GF free after a specific TC has been occupied for more than 2 minutes)? |
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Post by Harsig on Aug 5, 2007 20:07:39 GMT
Seven weeks after the yellow peril you quote was issued another was issued principally dealing with alterations to the control of the ground frame at Blake Hall Very interesting - what was the substance of these alterations? Was the working by Annett's key removed and electrical releasing put in place (perhaps by time-occupied TCs - GF free after a specific TC has been occupied for more than 2 minutes)? No it actually dealt with changes to the use of the Annett's Key, particularly when not in use for the ground frame at Blake Hall, something the original notice made no mention of. Specifically an Annett's Lock was provided in Ongar Cabin to normally hold the Annett's Key and the advance starter (LZ29) at Ongar could not be cleared unless the key was present in this lock. When a freight train for Blake Hall was to leave Ongar it was signalled past LZ29 and then came to a stand. The shunter then removed the Annett's Key from the signal cabin and then joined the train for the journey to Blake Hall where the key was used to unlock the ground frame in the same way as before in co-operation with the Ongar signalman reversing lever No. 27. On completion of shunting the train would proceed to North Weald where the Annett's Key would be inserted in another new lock which would allow the Ongar signalman to return lever No 27 to Normal and allow a train to be signalled from North Weald to Ongar. The Annett's Key would be returned to Ongar on this train. If the freight train was to be locked in Blake Hall sidings then simply locking the ground frame with all track circuits clear between Ongar and North Weald woudl be sufficient to allow the Ongar signalman to restore No. 27 lever to normal, but the next train from North Weald to Ongar must stop at Blake Hall to pick up the shunter so that he could return the Annett's Key to Ongar. |
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mrfs42
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Big Hair Day
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Post by mrfs42 on Aug 5, 2007 23:36:53 GMT
No it actually dealt with changes to the use of the Annett's Key, particularly when not in use for the ground frame at Blake Hall, something the original notice made no mention of. Yes, the thought did cross my mind when reading the first 1957 peril that: "What happened to the Annett's Key? Was it just sculling around the blockshelf, desk, any indeterminate location?" What small amount I know about LT signalling, I thought that highly unlikely. There must have been something along the lines of :"what was the easy/easier/easiest way of proving that the Annett's Key was in a specific place, not in the frame at Blake Hall and most importantly unable to be used after a train had been given permission to be on the branch. Specifically an Annett's Lock was provided in Ongar Cabin to normally hold the Annett's Key and the advance starter (LZ29) at Ongar could not be cleared unless the key was present in this lock. Aha! This explains a comment made some while back about a similar key-release instrument at Alston on the South Tynedale - I was talking to someone who had visited one of my signalboxes and he made an (then) enigmatic comment there was something akin at Ongar - he'd seen the divisible staff with Annett's Keys brazed to the metal tickets. On completion of shunting the train would proceed to North Weald where the Annett's Key would be inserted in another new lock which would allow the Ongar signalman to return lever No 27 to Normal and allow a train to be signalled from North Weald to Ongar. The Annett's Key would be returned to Ongar on this train. Ooo. A nicely designed bit of circuitry there, allowing maximum operational flexibility. Also fairly economical on line wires if my quick sketch of the circuit bears any resemblance to the installation. If the freight train was to be locked in Blake Hall sidings then simply locking the ground frame with all track circuits clear between Ongar and North Weald woudl be sufficient to allow the Ongar signalman to restore No. 27 lever to normal, but the next train from North Weald to Ongar must stop at Blake Hall to pick up the shunter so that he could return the Annett's Key to Ongar. Indeed, it would be in the motorman's best interests otherwise he would be stuck at Ongar waiting for LZ29 to clear........... Many thanks, Harsig. |
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