track circuit operating clips ?

S Stock and 1972 Stock do indeed carry Track Circuit Operating Clips as they run over or alongside National Rail infrastructure.
They must NOT be used on 4-rail current system track.

Forgive me, what are track circuit operating clips?

Please could you explain why.

for example, in addition to protecting itself, a train may be derailed, or part derailed, and still operating the track circuits on its own track, but could be overhanging a parallel track without making contact with the rails, so that track too needs blocking; put a track circuit clip on it will make the circuit go down, hence red signal before it; that is just one example

Is there anywhere that they operate that doesn’t have 4 rail electrification? I’m struggling to see where they might be used given that restriction.

again. a use is not necessarily to apply track circuit clips to the tracks where, say, derailed LU train, or some other incident requiring such protection, but to apply them to parallel NR tracks, that may not be LU 3rd/4th rail.

actually my question /was/ about LU trains on LU tracks, but since upthread posts (q.v.) indicated where LU trains carry them, it falls into place (well, to me anyway).

We have them on the Central line. Parallel running from North Acton to West Ruislip, West Acton to Ealing Broadway and technically at Stratford although we'd have to clear the platform to get a derailed 1992 stock onto Network Rail.

We also carry detonators which are supposed to be placed 2km from the derailed train, by the time we got there any train approaching would have turned up!

I can't vouch for the accuracy of that video as I am not myself trained to use the things, but you'll see them and how they are applied.

I felt sure that Central line trains would need these too - for the very reasons you suggest.

But, re: Stratford, the eastbound Central line platform 6 runs alongside westbound Network Rail platform 5 - there is no platform between them, just some sort of fence.

I suppose that in theory derailments from things like broken rails (and other reasons I'd rather not try to think about) are possible just about anywhere, however unlikely it may seem. However there are no points (switches / turnouts) on this section of track, which rules out one of the more likely reasons.

Whatever causes or however unlikely a derailment is does not negate the need to provide emergency equipment for when they do.

Speaking as an ex-H&S Rep if there was an issue raised and it led to changes then it can hardly be described as a "hissy fit"


I've just read Christian Wolmar's history of British Rail and one of the things highlighted was how greater attention to H&S cut the number of rail workers deaths  

Yeh sorry that didn't come over in the way intended.

IIRC the h&se issue came about where detonators were being stolen from trains/storage railway sites and used for other purposes leading to injuries; it was not about their use on the railway, nor about their use on the railway, nor on potential injuries to rail personnel.

Well as you are no doubt well aware you would only need to place emergency protection if you had been unable to contact the Network Rail signaller (which I suppose in your case would be quite likely insofar as contacting them directly, but perhaps Wood Lane would be able to do that for you) or the signaller was unable to provide protection, which would be quite unlikely. In any case, if you were required to place emergency protection and a train did approach you would of course at once place three detonators on the track and display a hand danger signal to stop the approaching train. Furthermore if you came across any telephone linked to the signal box you would place three detonators on the line at the telephone and then contact the signaller. You would only need to continue the full distance if the signaller was unable to provide protection.

In any case it's funny this should come up now as NR has been reviewing its use of detonators and even in the forthcoming December Rule Book updates it has gone to town on them, such that assistance protection will not be provided in good visibility, a decision I wholeheartedly disagree with. But in no sense whatsoever were detonators removed years ago, nor are they being removed in December.

not sure that is a fully valid argument, since can still bridge 3rd to 4th rails, as well as 3rd to closest running and 4th to closest running rails as those lengths are all shorter than running rail to running rail, the latter being setting the required clip cable length