The catch

The driver of train 455 snags the outbound token at Ban Don Ton station between Phattalung and Hat Yai on the Southern Line. The Thai Railway have an interesting combination of German and British practices. The semaphore signals are entirely German design while most non CTC lines use the classic British Neals Ball Token system to issue authority between stations. Most stations have a pair of these token stands, upon entering the station the driver will throw the token from the last section onto the mast and then grab the token for the next section from the second. I've seen this system in action in India and Sri Lanka as well, but only on lower traffic lines where the need for such fixed token stands has long disappeared due to lack of express service. The locomotive is a SRT class GEA, in GE speak CM22-7i and is powered by a Cummins prime mover. These locomotives until recently were in front line express service but have largely been downgraded to secondary work with the arrival of new Chinese locomotives.

Done