nice to see some old Strowger there (in the thumbnail picture). Strowger was being phased out of BT when I joined in '88 as an apprentice. now in 2024 , we are phasing out the PSTN.so my job comes to an end. currently applying for Railway Signalling in ELY (cambs)
I know the feeling, luckily our colleague Mike ran me through a taster of how it all works which is the video you’ve got the thumbnail from, I never really got into that side of it being more the S side than the T side and yet we did have two STROWGER driven train describer setups with the relay sets rather than the selectors, those were at cheadle hulme and at romiley, the latter becoming spare parts after removal for some of the P.O type relays in our old STROWGER exchange up at Rowsley. Good luck with the job move.
Total random visit, was delayed getting a ferry over to dads so went and had a nip in, they were happy to let me see everything as it was a quiet day ., really nice little place to visit
Black levers mechanical points, blue are facing point locks, red signals, yellow distant signals, there are also other colours such as detonator placers black and white stripes with the arrow Ed stripes pointing in the direction of the line so up for the up line and down for the down line, black and blue levers combined motorised points, you can also have browns,greens, and combinations therof for special functions
Just to clarify, some of what is seen here are photos of a friends block in comparison and also the donor Caledonian Railway block too that was used to remake the missing top “cabinet” for mine, of which he kindly supplied many dimensions and photos to help. Work continues now on the locks, recovering the coils and artwork has been drawn up for the front face.
Have a check out on RU-vid at the other railway control videos for absolute block, there’s a few out there, it’s pretty run of the mill once you get used to it, of course I’m used to the other side of it ( the actual wiring side which is far more complicated) 😄
I have Westinghouse Brake and Saxby Signal Co style K frame serial K24 in my collection in New Zealand, which uses the same Hambay Cross Locking. James T. Hambay of the Union Switch and Signal Co., Pennsylvania was awarded US Patent 406212 on July 2nd 1899 for this system of locking. My K frame has the the same locking as the patent but with slight differences probably due to being manufactured 27 years after the patent date and being made in Chippenham UK. My frame has solid bronze levers which seem to be finer than the steel levers of the style B frame. Fortunately all 24 levers were in perfect condition when I dismantled the frame from Papatoetoe, Auckland in 1989. I have been fortunate to have found some spare parts over the years - 6 spare levers were found in a garage sale at a private house in the mid 90's. A length of wire on which was strung 100 new catch handles was found during a fossicking trip in NZR's Kaiwharawhara Interlocking fitters shop in the early '90s plus a 4" box of spare locking dogs, some new and uncut, were found when Wanganui Relay Repair Depot was closed around 1993. When Newmarket Relay Repair depot in Auckland was closed, I found a K frame bridle iron, complete with dogs, heading for scrap and that has been kept as well. My frame has been returned to service in a museum, complete with 1920s vintage AC relays but has a computer base simulator playing trains with the interlocking machine instead of a real railway. 40 years sgo I bought a Westinghouse Brake and Saxby Signal Co., searchight head relay exactly like the Union H2 in your video, from the South Australian Railway's reclaim store in Adelaide for $5. It is in mint condition and I doubt that it was ever used. No one in the SAR knew anything about the relay and there was no cast iron case for the relay. NZR never used Union searchlights so I have never managed to find a signal head to put the relay in. Congratulations on restoring your style B frame. I loved the shelf full of Q relays waiting for their turn in service. Please keep the searchlight signals working as they are now being replaced with LED signals at a very rapid rate and will shortly be extinct. Keep up the good work. Regards Ken
Beautiful signal box, a Junior Signalman or Trainee Signaller's nightmare, all that brass to polish! Great narration with excellent information, thank you!
If I’m reading g the question right, catch handle locking is what you’re after, the catch being the final part that drives the interlocking, when you squeeze the handle it releases the locking from position a to b or if the levers reverse d to c, then when you move the lever reverse it moves the locking from b to c or going normal c to b, only once you’ve completely released the catch handle does the locking finally allow the drive from c to d in reverse or b to a going normal. So it proves the levers correct and the handles released too.
Old time Safe Working covered in excellent detail, the old signal box, the heart of yard operations, now consigned to history in Australia, nice to see a preserved one in the UK. Great box Horsted Keynes, clean, tidy and well preserved. Thanks for the memories!
This seems as good a time as any to ask this question: why do signalmen use a hand cloth when operating levers? American "operators" and "levermen" never used those - even on levers with chrome finishes. It is a nice touch of class. Today, there are no manual pipe-connected interlockings left in the United States, and probably less than twenty electric and electro-pneumatic towers.
Quite correct, plus hands usually with grease , mild acids and such cause the handles to dull over time, in the midlands we clean our handles traditionally so cloths weren’t always used, different areas had different ways of doing things, there were levers with white shrunk handles too but over time they become brittle.
If the barriers never came down the signal would not clear, persons would be dispatched to get the crossing barriers down and trains running and the fault located, there are robust plans always in place and they vary depending on barrier types and the area but have many similarities.
I've had a couple of days doing Nant Gwernol over the last few years. It's quite enjoyable to do, although you really need to do it on a pink timetable or gala day for it to be a worthwhile day!
Nice to see the railway progressing. Sad to say we will not be coming back to UK for a third visit, so will have to follow progress on RU-vid. Are you still running a three-car DMU? I have a surplus model which I could send if you have a museum with a model railway. Now semi-retired in PICTON, South Island NZ.
Many happy days in the early 1960’s spent at Dore and Totley Station waiting for the Thames Clyde express headed by a Jubilee to pass through - always exciting.
Great gala, location, railway and video. Thank you. I remember Victoria from many visits to the Isle of Mull Railway. The guy who ran that line was the happiest man in the world, running train along the Sound of Mull. When I asked him was that true, he did not deny it, but the smile on his face was evidence enough.
