View allAll Photos Tagged signals
Statesville, NC. March 2022.
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A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly. Typically, a signal might inform the driver of the speed at which the train may safely proceed or it may instruct the driver to stop.
One of the earliest forms of fixed railway signal is the semaphore ike these ones. These signals display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore signals were patented in the early 1840s by Joseph James Stevens, and soon became the most widely used form of mechanical signal. Designs have altered over the intervening years, and colour light signals have replaced semaphore signals in some countries, but in others they remain in use.
Engine sheds could be found in many towns and cities as well as in rural locations. They were built by the railway companies to provide accommodation for their locomotives that provided their local train services. Each engine shed would have an allocation of locomotives that would reflect the duties carried out by that depot. Most depots had a mixture of passenger, freight and shunting locomotives but some such as Mexborough had predominantly freight locomotives reflecting the industrial nature of that area in South Yorkshire. Others, such as Kings Cross engine shed in London, predominantly provided locomotives for passenger workings.
This view is on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway (RH&DR) which is a 15 in (381 mm) gauge light railway in Kent, England, operating steam and internal combustion locomotives. The 13 3⁄4-mile (22.1 km) line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St. Mary's Bay, New Romney and Romney Sands to Dungeness, close to Dungeness nuclear power station and Dungeness Lighthouse.
This is at New Romney railway station which has always been the headquarters location of the railway.
There is a signal box for local train control, and also the main Control Centre for train operation across the whole railway. The latter is staffed by a Control Officer, who is in constant radio contact with all signal boxes, locomotives, and (where appropriate) station staff, travelling guards, and engineering teams.
This original engine shed is still in use, but was designed to accommodate only nine locomotives. In recent years it has been considerably extended, more than doubling the original size. This shed is now capable of housing all the railway's locomotives, as well as an engineering centre capable of work from minor running repairs to full locomotive overhauls, together with the necessary mess facilities for engineering staff. Also on the New Romney site are a separate locomotive erecting shop, and a paint shop where locomotives and other rolling stock can be re-liveried. Although there is a secondary engine shed at Hythe station, all locomotives are now based at New Romney locomotive shed.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_signal
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_semaphore_signal
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motive_power_depot
Grantham Signal Box on the 10th January 1976. The box was built by the Great Northern Railway and dates from the 1881 resignalling of the Grantham area and was originally Grantham Yard Signal Box. The Box closed in July 1971, however following closure the lever frame was removed and a panel installed to control new colour light signals and power operated points throughout the Grantham area and for several miles of the East Coast Main Line in both directions. The Yard Box was reopened as Grantham Signal Box in February 1972 when Grantham North and Grantham South boxes closed, bringing to an end the use of mechanical signals in the Grantham area.. The box finally closed in February 1980 when the control of the Grantham Interlocking was transferred to the new Power Signal Box at Doncaster.
Praktica LTL, Orwochrome UT18
This signal once guarded the crossing of the Nickel Plate Road and the Pennsylvania Railroad in Oakland, Illinois. Today the ex-PRR line is abandoned and the NKP doesn't go east of Metcalf, Illinois, or west of Neoga, Illinois. What was once the Cloverleaf route to St. Louis is now operated by the Decatur & Eastern Illinois.
This deserted signal box once controlled traffic at the intersection of the STEFER narrow-gauge line to Grotte Celoni and ATAC urban tramways at Porta Maggiore in Rome - picture taken in 1977
Signal 616 at Stockholm Östra station is known in Swedish as a huvuddvärgsignal – in English, a main dwarf signal. This means that the dwarf signal is capable of displaying both switching and main signal indications. This type of signal has obvious similarities to the Pennsylvania Railroad position light design, but has two additional green lamps below the position light head, as well as an offset light that can display a red indication.
Signal 616 governs moves from Stockholm Östra's track 3, and is displaying a signal for the 16:41 departure for Näsbypark. The indication in Swedish is "Kör 40, varsamt" and the aspect is "blinkande grönt till vänster". In English, the indication is: "Proceed at 40 km/h, carefully", and the aspect is "flashing green to the left".
The speed restriction of 40 km/h (about 25 mph) is dictated by the track geometry of the station throat. The need for caution is dictated by the fact that the train's route from the station to the open line is not completely set, and there is a stop signal a short distance down the line.
The next huvuddvärgsignal at the end of the platform – signal 636 – is displaying the same indication, but I snapped the shutter while the green lamp was in the "off" state of its flashing cycle; the green lamp thus isn't visible. Once the route leaving the station is fully established, the green lamps on signals 616 and 636 will switch to a steady indication. In Swedish, this is "Kör 40” ("grönt till vänster”). In English, the indication is "Proceed at 40 km/h" and the aspect is "green to the left".
If conditions permit, the lokförare (driver) will encounter a "Kör" ("Proceed") indication on the station exit signal, at which point he or she can accelerate to the maxiumum authorized speed.
For a tiny station, Stockholm Östra is a busy place; there are six arrivals and six departures every hour, even on weekends like the Sunday, July 29, 2018 when I captured these images.
The railroad seen here is a suburban narrow gauge line, using rails that are three Swedish feet apart – 891 mm (2 ft 11 3⁄32). The line is known as the Roslagsbanan, named for the region it serves north and east of the Swedish capital of Stockholm.
53842 departs Chester Road forming the 0958 Longbridge-Four Oaks on Saturday 16-11-1985. On the left is Erdington Signal Box's up distant signal.
Scan of a Photograph.
One day I suppose these old semaphore signals will go.
Taken on arrival at Worcester Shrub Hill using live ND.
A rear of awestbound CSX local on the Shelbyville Secondary passes a pair of signals that as best I could tell convey no track occupancy status. The scene is near Fletcher Avenue in Indianapolis.
An eastbound Norfolk Southern stack train passes beneath the eastbound home signals for CP Leets on the Fort Wayne Line in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania.
The blade drops to vertical to display the "clear" indication when the cable is pulled slightly. The blade returns to horizontal (to display "stop") via the counterweight when the lever controlling this signal is returned to normal.
This signal was built from drawings and photographs found in a US&S co catalog from the turn of the century. It is part of my project to build a functioning mechanical interlocking out of lego.
Wansford signal box stands sentinel over the old Great North Road crossing, providing a warm refuge on a chilly January night.
04-01-2025
A 33 approaches Westbury with. Bristol to Portsmouth service on 27th January 1983
A class 33 (not noted unfortunately) is framed by Westbury signal box's impressive station gantry with a Bristol to Portsmouth service.
66739 "Bluebell Railway" approaches Knottingley station with 6H12 06:23 Tyne Dock to Drax PS loaded biomass. 1/10/2014.
The derelict signal box at Troutbeck, Cumbria, photographed in August 1979. Does it still stand today?
Just 'roll' with it...lol
The film got dented on a few frames in development from me having to forcefully untrap the film from being caught in a vintage old Patterson Major 2 tank reel that had a chip out of it.
I like the effect of the marks so embracing it's imperfections. Why not. Who is perfect? Certainly not meeee lol
Ilford Delta 3200 35mm Expired 2018
Shot at Box Speed
f5.6 1/125
Nikon F75
Nikkor 35-70mm 1:3.3-4.5
No post processing, No crop.
Development...
Adox Rodinal 1+25 11 minutes 20C 200ml
Adox Fixer 4 minutes at 20C 200ml
Adelante 180102 approaches Comer Road in Worcester on 24-5-17
The signals are controlled by Henwick signal box just beyond. The track is double but beyond Henwick both tracks become bi-directional
The working is the 1P40 09.54 Great Malvern to London Paddington Great Western Service
The ugly colour light on the left had recently replaced a semaphore a little further up the line.
The none tone mapped version of the sunrise this morning at Signal Hill. This is the Quidi Vidi side of the hill.
This is a close-up and personal view of the Union Switch & Signal wind-up time release at the former Alton Railroad's Ridgely Tower in Springfield, IL. Ridgely Tower was nearing the end of its days when I snapped this picture in 2010.
Time releases are used at interlocking plants to impose an intentional delay in the interest of safety. The clearing of a signal affects not only the signal at the interlocking plant, but one or more signals on the approach. On those distant signals, a favorable signal indication is a "promise" that the train will find the absolute signal at the interlocking displaying an indication more favorable than Stop.
If, however, after the train passes the distant signals, the towerman decides for some reason to withdraw the lineup and change the route, there is a risk of collision or overspeed derailment. Distant signals are located at braking distance from the absolute signal, and once the train's passed the distant signal, the train is not only unaware of the changed lineup (unless visibility permits) – and even then, the train may no longer have sufficient braking distance to reduce the train's speed or stop before reaching the interlocking.
The principle of approach locking or time locking was therefore designed by signal engineers to foreclose the danger of taking a signal away from an approaching train. The towerman is still able to withdraw a favorable signal at any time, but he must wind up a timer that "ties his hands" a sufficient amount of time to eliminate the chance of collision or overspeed derailment. At worst, the train will run past the Stop signal because the withdrawal of the signal came too late for it to brake sufficiently – but a train won't be put through a switch at higher than safe speed, or put into the side of another train because an opposing route's been lined.
In remote-control interlocking plants, approach locking or time locking is accomplished by a clockwork mechanism that doesn't require anyone to wind it. Today, approach and time locking is more likely to be accomplished by a microprocessor-based timer.