Railroad Signals

Railroad Signals - Culture, Family, Travel, Consumer Reviews - Posted: 8th Feb, 2005 - 12:42pm

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11th Jan, 2005 - 1:31am / Post ID: #

Railroad Signals

When on a train, did you ever wonder what all those signals on the way mean? Well, of course a red light is stop and a green one is go - but there is a lot more to it:

QUOTE
There is more to understanding railroad wayside signals than simply "green means go, red means stop." To appreciate what the signals you see along the track are telling you, you first have to grasp a few basic concepts.
Railroad traffic control boils down to three situations: trains running in the same direction on the same track; trains running in opposite directions on the same track; and trains running on two tracks that intersect.
One of the first types of traffic control was the timetable, which specifies where each train should be at a given time. To cope with unforeseen circumstances - delays, breakdowns, extra trains - the dispatcher issued train orders, which supplemented and superseded the timetable.
Another type of traffic control is to divide the line into sections or blocks and permit only one train in a block. Initially the system required a person at each end of each block to record trains entering and leaving the blocks, and a way for them to communicate with each other. The manual block system still exists on many lines but with different names and different technology - the communication is by radio.
Manual block signal indications were simple: stop, the block is occupied; proceed, the block is clear; and proceed at restricted speed prepared to stop short of a preceding train. Because trains had to approach each station prepared to stop, the "distant" signal was developed to give an advance indication of whether a stop was required at the "home" signal...


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8th Feb, 2005 - 12:42pm / Post ID: #

Signals Railroad

We have some of these signals in Trinidad, but Trains have been decommissioned to only handle the movement of cane so they are out in the fields. When I was in the US I saw many of these and the ones to stop the cars are the most interesting and despite the many colors, patterns and warnings I have witnessed vehicles racing through before the barriers come down. In the UK's countryside the signals resemble those in old time Villages of the 1920's.




 
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