West Somerset Railway General Discussion

https://www.signalbox.org/frames/lms.htm

Live and learn !

 

Signalling is one of those fields where virtually any statement you can make has some sort of counterexample. For example with regard to the other things people have said upthread about point machines: there are a number currently in use on UK heritage railways that aren't worked by levers, or aren't even worked from signalboxes.

That isn't to say the things people have said above are wrong - they are right in the general majority of cases! But there are always exceptions.

 

Ironically, at one time a model railway "point motor" was less likely to contain an actual motor than a full sized point machine, because most used solenoids or electromagnets. Nowadays motor-driven brands like the "Tortoise" are widely available too.

 

I've always been led to believe that "points" was the British term and "switches" was the American term, but I've also seen them called "leads" on some PW dept blogs, and station announcers say that trains are delayed due to a "points failure".
It's all very confusing, but then again every profession or industry is going to have its own jargon and some of the terms are not always going to be consistently applied.

 

I think the last 15 or so offerings on point, nee switch with motors nee machines and rods nee wires is a very good example of why this forum erupts into something akin to mutiny ever now and again, mostly now. Robin heads the leader board by opening up with "to be pedantically correct", but do we fans, helpers or volunteers/employees need pedantry to correspond on railway matters. I suggest no. I don't think you need all this labouriousness to keep a thread going. Simply tell it as it is. We all know that colloquially we call an arrangement of rails with moving sections to change the course of a vehicle as a point. However I must thank those who explained briefly different systems they add to the thread. Enough said I think.

 

For those of you snowed in, here is some light reading.
http://www.railway-fasteners.com/news/what-is-the-railway-switch.html
https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/looking-after-the-railway/track/

 

I must say I rather like this sort of diversion, or switch if you will. I always learn something even if there’s no point to it. Thread drift can be delightful.

 

"Wildly laid" the perils of English written by person whose mother tongue it patently is not.

 

Often more delightful than the conflicting views expressed about the railway's management/finances/supporters.

 

Depends on how you view the forum. Some people treat it as a way of exchanging information, some as a way of points scoring over their peers and some as chatting with friends over a cup of coffee.

In my post about wires for some reason three characters went missing when I pressed the post button - they were "

And please …. no puns about 'points scoring'!

 

Surprised to see no mention of this on this thread already.

@West Somerset Wizard reveals on his unofficial website that on Tuesday 16th April 2019 a Steam Dreams excursion sees
61306 'Mayflower' running from Maidenhead to the West Somerset Railway. The return trip will be diesel-hauled.

Stef.

 

Had noticed it Stef but not come back here. It will be good to see a B1 here. They occasionally worked through to Weston Super Mare in the 50s. Reputed to be the best 4-6-0 in the country, now that is contentious. lol

 

Let's start threads on whether if one writes [guards vans], one should write it guards vans, guard vans, guard's vans or guards' vans, and whether one should call a knuckle / Janney / AAR coupler a Buckeye if it was not made by the Buckeye Company?

 

Decent railways called them "Break vans"

Tom

 

I’m in the ‘cup of coffee’ camp...

Now that we have done ‘points’ to death, how about my favourites, scissors crossovers, single and double slips and moveable angles...

... back to the coffee pot ☕️...

Robin

 

Only a TOAD will do...

Robin

 

On my railroad (garden of course) they are a caboose, waycar or crummy. There are other names depending on line and region.

 

No worse than all vacuums are Hoovers and I dont mean class 50s

 

And on a similar theme are pullman gangways pullman gangways when not on a pullman?

 

As in "have a break, have a Kitkat"?