GCR Swithland - A Tribute

The inner (accelerating) distants are 32 and 43 signals. What you're looking at are the Up Outer and Inner Distants for Rothley Cabin.

 

Ah I see - thanks for the clarification.

 

I'm surprised that there is no means of running passenger trains direct onto the Mountsorrel Branch, from Rothley, or into the Up Loop and then reversing from Quorn. Am I missing something, or are point clips going to be the order of the day?

 

I'll have you know that Flying Distants are *perfectly* conventional for the London Extension, young man !

 

Nope, you're not missing anything. The Mountsorrel branch is not now, never has been, and has never been intended to be, signalled for passenger traffic - whatever some people may have got into their heads.

 

Fair enough, thanks for the clarification!

P.S. Is the Up outer distant - the colour light - automatic?

 

Edited - too slow!

To answer the last question though, the Up Outer Distant (actually named the Up Auto Distant if I'm not mistaken?) is indeed automatic, with a replacement switch to allow for the few occasions when the Regulations require the distant to be maintained at Caution. That's the same arrangement as at Quorn and Loughborough.

 

Has anybody told the Mountsorrel Railway? Quoted from their Flickr account under the 'railbus' section...

"One of the aims of the Mountsorrel Railway project is not only to utilise the branch line for historical recreations, and to show how an industrial branch line would have interacted with a double track mainline railway, but we also hope for the GCR to run a passenger link along the branch to the nearby Stonehurst Farm attraction at Mountsorrel. The railbus would make an ideal vehicle for running that service, particular at quieter times of the year when passenger numbers may not cover the cost of running a steam service. Being able to run the railbus would allow us to operate trains along the branch on many more weekends than would otherwise be economically possible. The railbus would also offer excellent all-round views of the scenic branch line. "

There is also a section on the construction of 'Bond Lane Halt', I believe the logo of the group depicts an artists impression of this?

Or am I missing something?

Steve

 

I don't know whether the Mountsorrel Railway (who are doing a cracking job on the branch) have ever asked whether the signalling (the design of which was finalised a long time ago) will allow passenger traffic over the branch connection!

 

Hi Steve, I cannot comment on the Mountsorrel Railway, or what their understanding is, as I have no involvement with that group. I can tell you that currently the signalling at Swithland exists on the ground exactly as it is shown on the previously provided diagram.

 

Very nice GCR, be nice to see a Freight looped to let a Passenger or TPO have the road.

 

Hi Steve,

My understanding is that it is an aspiration to operate a passenger service, but with the current signalling the chances of running a regular passenger service is nil, but a gala service is far more likely as we will be more able source a pointsman to clip and scotch 48A and 52 points for the duration that a passenger train requires the branch line. It is after all signalled as a siding, rather than a passenger line.

 

My thoughts were that passenger movements over the branch would be much easier to achieve on a 'normal' weekend, when we can afford to have 48A and 52 clipped for the branch without getting in the way of the inevitably numerous freights requiring the loop. It'd perhaps be a bit of an added attraction on an otherwise quiet weekend!

 

My thoughts are that re-signalling it to allow some form of passenger use would not be impossible, should the requirement arise and subject to the obvious constraints of time, money and other priorities. (So that's "not any time soon", then...)

By the time the branch project was conceived the design for Swithland was already in pretty much its final state and most of it had been built or was well underway, so even if a decision to switch to passenger signalling had arisen, it's unlikely that the scheme would have changed so late on. If it had, it probably wouldn't have been commissioned for another year or two, with all the changes that would have been required. And not just the obvious ones, there is a truckload of approvals and so on which would have had to be re-done.

At the present rate of progress on the railbus, I imagine we needn't stress too much about this. I do, however, wish the Mountsorrel project well, and I hope that at some point a 'special' up the branch can be arranged using the aforementioned point clips!

 

Question:

In the Up direction at Swithland, you have a three-position distant - yellow, double yellow, green. Yellow for 42 being at danger, double yellow for 42 being clear and 41 being at danger, green for 39-43 off inclusive (I presume).

So if you see a double yellow, and then come upon 43 in the off position, you know that it's all go - the accelerating distant has served its purpose of telling you that since you saw a double yellow, 40 and 39 have been cleared and the line is good to Rothley.

However...

In the down direction, you only have a conventional outer distant, which tells with its two positions only whether you have a straight run through or something against you - could be 33, 34 or 35, all or a variety thereof. So when you pass it at danger, if you come upon 33 in the clear position, by Rule 39(a) you must have a clear run through - so what is the purpose of having 32?

 

An interesting question. One scenario I can imagine is where you are able to clear the home signal and distant signal at the same time - for example if something had been in the section ahead when the train had passed the outer distant but had cleared by the time the train was on the approach (and had seen the home signal at danger) to the home signal/inner distant combination. Thus the driver wouldn't expect to be dropped from signal to signal despite having the home signal cleared while he was approaching it at caution because the inner distant would tell him that all signals were now off for his train.

I've never heard of a distant signal being passed at danger by the way

 

Not far off, but a single yellow indicates that 42 must be expected to be found at Danger and a double yellow indicates that at least 42 is 'off' (but you've not got the road all the way through). Suspect you've just got your numbers mixed up there!

Along with other similar signals on the GC, signal 33 is exempt from Rule 39(a) owing to the combination of the presence of the inner distant and an adequate overlap beyond signal 34. Signal 32 therefore still has an important role to play! Incidentally, there's a further advantage of the concept (or at least its application at Quorn) - the potential for Rule 39(a) exemption allows you to get a train into the station (with the forward section still occupied) without having to check it at the home signal, and therefore (after completing station duties) beyond the clearing point quicker.

 

Correct, I've amended my original post!

Interesting. So could you feasibly have 33 cleared as soon as you have accepted a train from Rothley, even if Points 29 are reversed?

 

You can clear 33 upon receipt of 'train approaching' from Rothley (or when you accept the train if you really want, but it doesn't achieve anything!) if 29 is normal. The latter is necessary as it forms part of the overlap beyond 34 - if you're getting something out of the Down Loop, the train from Rothley has to sit at 33 (no real pain, as it's not going anywhere rapidly anyway).

 

Right, with you, thanks for that!