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Post by jamesb on Mar 5, 2016 18:41:36 GMT
I just got on an Eastbound train at Leytonstone which pulled into the station with one headlight only. Looked strange coming out of the darkness.
Are trains allowed to run with only one headlight? Doesn't it only illuminate half the railway ahead of the train?
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rincew1nd
Administrator
Junior Under-wizzard of quiz
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Post by rincew1nd on Mar 5, 2016 18:56:09 GMT
It doesn't illuminate half the railway, it illuminates all of it, just half as bright!
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Post by tjw on Mar 5, 2016 19:46:37 GMT
I have also noticed that the marker lights on the front of modern stock are so much brighter... Of course in the past the lights were a warning, and also included a code to say what type of train it was or where it was going. Those old oil lamps where useless to see more than a yard ahead.
I have not had to learn the LU rule book only the old BR (1960 odd)... but are the modern lamps supposed to illuminate the track? One would have thought that in most cases by the time you have seen an obstruction you will hit it!
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rincew1nd
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Post by rincew1nd on Mar 5, 2016 20:41:44 GMT
The RSSB consultation on removing the need for yellow ends comments that headlamps are there to identify the train and at night to pick out lineside signs.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2016 22:14:21 GMT
Certainly on the Central line, Block Marker Boards are not floodlit and you definitely need at least one headlight to see them.
In any case, trains running around with only one headlight is not a new one on me! I would imagine, though, that it would make it harder to pick out block marker boards on the unlit side, assuming a straight piece of track?
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Post by jamesb on Mar 6, 2016 12:38:52 GMT
It looked like a motorbike was pulling the train along as it approached Woodford in the distance!
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Post by jamesb on Mar 6, 2016 12:42:07 GMT
I wondered if the driver would know (apart from the line ahead looking less bright) if a headlight wasn't working? Would a warning light come on? When the trains reverse ends in the siding, often one headlight comes on followed seconds later by the second one. Is it necessary to turn on each headlight separately? Or do they come on automatically when the 'key' is put in?
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Post by tjw on Mar 6, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
The RSSB consultation on removing the need for yellow ends comments that headlamps are there to identify the train and at night to pick out lineside signs. Thanks, I had seen the temporary speed restriction signs (on NR) were now glow in the dark and did not appear to be lit in anyway, I suppose it is an improvement in safety, considering how many accidents have been caused by unlit boards... |
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North End
Beneath Newington Causeway
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Post by North End on Mar 7, 2016 11:29:10 GMT
I wondered if the driver would know (apart from the line ahead looking less bright) if a headlight wasn't working? Would a warning light come on? When the trains reverse ends in the siding, often one headlight comes on followed seconds later by the second one. Is it necessary to turn on each headlight separately? Or do they come on automatically when the 'key' is put in? In the open / daytime the driver is unlikely to notice, and certainly on stocks up until 1996 there's no form of indication - not sure if later stocks have anything. The driver is more likely to notice in the tunnel, or perhaps during darkness. Nowadays drivers don't check lamps upon changing ends, so it would most likely get picked up either by station staff or another driver reporting it, either directly or via the controller. The driver is required to display a lamp in place of the defective lamp - although this is more to signify that he's aware than for any useful benefit, as handlamps aren't known for being particularly bright. Apart from that the train is free to continue in service until a changeover can be arranged. It would be good practice to be extra vigilant should staff be working on or near the track, though of course the whistle remains the main safeguard. |
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