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Block Instruments
Absolute block signalling is a British signalling scheme designed to ensure the safe operation of a railway by allowing only one train to occupy a defined section of track (block) at a time. This system is used on double or multiple lines where use of each line is assigned a direction of travel. A train approaching a section is ''offered'' by a signalman to his counterpart at the next signal box. If the section is clear, the latter ''accepts'' the train, and the first signalman may clear his signals to give permission for the train to enter the section. This communication traditionally takes place by bell codes and status indications transmitted over a simple telegraph wire circuit between signalmen using a device called a ''block instrument'', although some contemporary block working is operated wirelessly. This process is repeated for every block section a train passes through. The absolute block system does not replace the use of any other form of signalling, such as fixe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Signalling
Railway signalling (), also called railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormous weight and inertia of a train, which makes it difficult to quickly stop when encountering an obstacle. In the UK, the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 introduced a series of requirements on matters such as the implementation of interlocked block signalling and other safety measures as a direct result of the Armagh rail disaster in that year. Most forms of train control involve movement authority being passed from those responsible for each section of a rail network (e.g. a signalman or stationmaster) to the train crew. The set of rules and the physical equipment used to accomplish this determine what is known as the ''method of working'' (UK), ''method of operation'' (US) or ''safeworking'' (Aus.). Not all these methods require the use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS HFRSE FRSA Doctor of Civil Law, DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of his father. Robert has been called the greatest engineer of the 19th century. Life Robert was born in Willington Quay near Wallsend, Northumberland, the son of George Stephenson and his wife, Frances Henderson. The family moved to Killingworth, where Robert was taught at the local village school. Robert attended the middle-class Percy Street Academy in Newcastle and at the age of fifteen was apprenticed to the mining engineer Nicholas Wood. He left before he had completed his three years to help his father survey the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Robert spent six months at Edinburgh University before working for three years as a mining engineer in Colombia. When he returned his father was building t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rule 55
Rule 55 was an operating rule which applied on British railways in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was superseded by the modular rulebook following re- privatisation of the railways. It survives, very differently named: the driver of a train waiting at a signal on a running line must remind the signaller of its presence. Rule 55 was introduced following a spate of accidents caused by signalmen forgetting that trains were standing on a running line, sometimes within sight of their signal boxes. It required that, if a train was brought to a stand at a signal, within three minutes in clear weather or immediately in rain, snow, or fog, the driver of the train must despatch his fireman, guard, or any shunter riding on the train, to the signal box to ensure that the signalman was aware of the presence of the train, and that all safeguards to protect it, such as slides or collars on the signal levers, were in place, the crewman then signing the train register to confirm this. In pra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heritage Railway
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) in the history of rail transport. Definition The British Office of Rail and Road defines heritage railways as follows:...'lines of local interest', museum railways or tourist railways that have retained or assumed the character and appearance and operating practices of railways of former times. Several lines that operate in isolation provide genuine transport facilities, providing community links. Most lines constitute tourist or educational attractions in their own right. Much of the rolling stock and other equipment used on these systems is original and is of historic value in its own right. Many systems aim to replicate both the look and operating practices of historic former railways companies. Infrastructure Heritage railway lines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pan Books
Pan Books is a publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. Pan Books began as an independent publisher, established in 1944 by Alan Bott, previously known for his memoirs of his experiences as a flying ace in the First World War. The Pan Books logo, showing the ancient Greek god Pan playing pan-pipes, was designed by Mervyn Peake. A few years after it was founded, Pan Books was bought out by a consortium of several publishing houses, including Macmillan, Collins, Heinemann, and, briefly, Hodder & Stoughton. It became wholly owned by Macmillan in 1987. Pan specialised in publishing paperback fiction and, along with Penguin Books, was one of the first popular publishers of this format in the UK. Many popular authors saw their works given paperback publication through Pan, including Ian Fleming, whose James Bond series first appeared in pape ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Token (railway Signalling)
In railway signalling, a token is a physical object which a train driver is required to have or see before entering onto a particular section of single track. The token is clearly endorsed with the names of the section it belongs to. A token system is more commonly used for single lines because of the greater risk of collision in the event of a mistake being made by a signaller or traincrew, than on double lines. Principle The operation of a bidirectional single track line has the hazard of two trains colliding. The simplest way to prevent such collisions is to have only one train in the section at any given time. Such a system is known as "one-engine-in-steam” (OES) or “one-train working" (OTW). This system is used on some branches of rail networks, and on heritage railways. The main disadvantage is that it restricts the number of train movements that can be made. For a larger railway system, it becomes exceptionally limiting in the level of operations that it allows, wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freight Operating Company
The railway network in Great Britain has been used to transport goods of various types and in varying volumes since the early 19th century. Network Rail, which owns and maintains the network, aims to increase the amount of goods carried by rail. In 2015–16 Britain's railways moved 17.8 billion net tonne kilometres, a 20% fall compared to 2014–15.Office of Rail Regulation, http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/22008/freight-rail-usage-2015-16-quarter-4.pdf Coal accounted for 13.1% of goods transport in Britain, down considerably from previous years. There are no goods transported by railway in Northern Ireland. History Pre-19th century Even in the 16th century, mining engineers used crude wooden rails to facilitate the movement of mine wagons steered by hand. In Nottingham, 1603, a tramway was constructed to transport coal from mines near Strelley to Wollaton. Horse-drawn lines were increasingly common by the 18th and early 19th centuries, chiefly to haul bulk mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Operating Company
A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating Passenger Trains, passenger trains on the Rail transport in Great Britain, railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the Privatisation of British Rail, privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993. There are two types of TOC: most hold Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain, franchises let by the Department for Transport through a tendering system, to operate services on certain routes for a specified duration, while a small number of open-access operators hold licences to provide supplementary services on chosen routes. These operators can run services for the duration of the licence validity. The franchised operators have changed considerably since privatisation: previous franchises have been divided, merged, re-let to new operators, or renamed. Some operators have been taken over by a government-owned operator of last resort, due either to failing exp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overlap (railway Signalling)
An overlap in railway signalling is the length of track beyond a stop signal that is proved to be clear of vehicles in the controls of the previous signal, as a safety margin. Overview Enough braking distance is provided to allow a train to comfortably stop at the stop signal, but should it fail to do so for any reason (fog, smoke, slippery rails, brake failure, inattention by driver, etc.) there is still some distance to allow the train to stop short of any obstruction, such as another train. Length The length of an overlap may be a nominal length, or else calculated on the full emergency braking distance for the gradients and speeds for that particular section of line. Two signal protection If the overlap is long enough to extend from one stop signal to the next, then the effect is to provide two signal protection (or "double blocking"), with the first signal having a full overlap, and the second signal having a short overlap. With two signal protection, only one trac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Absolute Block Signalling
Absolute block signalling is a British signalling scheme designed to ensure the safe operation of a railway by allowing only one train to occupy a defined section of track (block) at a time. This system is used on double or multiple lines where use of each line is assigned a direction of travel. A train approaching a section is ''offered'' by a signalman to his counterpart at the next signal box. If the section is clear, the latter ''accepts'' the train, and the first signalman may clear his signals to give permission for the train to enter the section. This communication traditionally takes place by bell codes and status indications transmitted over a simple telegraph wire circuit between signalmen using a device called a ''block instrument'', although some contemporary block working is operated wirelessly. This process is repeated for every block section a train passes through. The absolute block system does not replace the use of any other form of signalling, such as fixed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
