Crossing trains at crossing places (ETB): practicalities

When the train arrives at your signal box, the driver will give you the token. You must observe the train as it passes the signal box and make sure it has a tail lamp at the rear.

When it is necessary to send train out of section before the last vehicle of the train passes your signal box, you must make sure the train has arrived, complete with tail lamp, before doing so.

I've been wondering about the practicalities of crossing trains at crossing places on electric token block lines.

So let's imagine we are at box B and we have a train approaching from box A and another, in the other direction, from box C.

We must (generally) keep both home signals at danger. When the first train to be allowed to draw forward has stopped, we can clear the home signal for this train to proceed into the loop.

Now, we're gonna have to get the token from the driver of this train. The Rule Book also states

Quote:

When the train arrives at your signal box, the driver will give you the token. You must observe the train as it passes the signal box and make sure it has a tail lamp at the rear.

I can imagine this is not necessarily going to be that straightforward in reality. I have seen several plans with the signal box located in the centre of one or other platform. But even if the signal box is located so that a train in one direction will pass the box on its way to stop in the loop, one in the other direction will most certainly not.

So the Rule Book presumably has this in mind when it says:

Quote:

When it is necessary to send train out of section before the last vehicle of the train passes your signal box, you must make sure the train has arrived, complete with tail lamp, before doing so.

How exactly would that have been done - particularly in the days where electric token block was very common and most trains using these lines were not necessarily 1/2/3-car DMUs. If the train is more or less the length of the platform and the signal box is in the centre of it, it will surely be impractical for the signaller to observe the tail lamp themselves.

I wonder if consideration was ever given to the location of the signal box when deciding which train should be allowed into the loop first.

So anyway, assuming we have satisfied ourselves that the train, complete with tail lamp, has passed clear of the section and is clear of any points leading to the section, we place the token in the instrument and send train out of section. For the sake of the argument, let's say we're giving out of section for the train from box A.

So now we presumably send is line clear to A for the train from C, withdraw a token and lower the signals. Is it likely that we would wait until we could clear all the signals for the train from C, or might we, seeing it standing at the home signal, bring it into the loop before we start exchanging bell signals with box A?

So now we have to go down, give the token to the train from C for the section to A and get the token for the previous section.

Now assuming the train departs straight away, we'll be able to watch it past the box and then replace the token once we've observed the tail lamp and send train out of section to C. But what if it is booked to dwell in the loop for a while, or what if there is an unexpected delay. What if some thoughtless porter has delivered the wrong kind of food trolley?

So anyway, assuming we have satisfied ourselves that the train, complete with tail lamp, has passed clear of the section and is clear of any points leading to the section, as before we place the token in the instrument and send train out of section to C this time. Now presumably we send is line clear to C, get another token, lower the signals for the first train that arrived and then go to deliver the token to the driver.

I understand that electric token block has always been a bit of a faff, and that this led to various developments like lineside token deliverers and receivers, and then tokenless block and RETB and NSTR and direction levers and slots and so on and so forth.

But I wonder what consideration was given to the smooth working of this system (assuming I have described it correctly above). Would the timetable be constructed so one train would be booked to arrive first and have an extended dwell and the one booked to arrive second would have a much shorter dwell time. If the "wrong" train arrives at the home signal first, would you, or would you not, try to make sure trains arrive into the loop in the right order and hold that train?

The other critical thing touched on in a reply above is that the token(s) must be passed through the instrument(s).

There are stories possibly apocryphal of tokens ending up in the adjacent canal on the Dublin Mullingar line when thrown to hard.

Ron_J in post 122254 said:

The other critical thing touched on in a reply above is that the token(s) must be passed through the instrument(s).

See Abermule.

It's why the token machine is interlocked with the starting signal in modern practice.

geswedey in post 122255 said:

There are stories possibly apocryphal of tokens ending up in the adjacent canal on the Dublin Mullingar line when thrown to hard.

I've read a similar story somewhere, but can't remember where. After several people had gone paddling it was eventually declared lost and S&T told by management to put the machines back in sync.

Ron_J in post 122254 said:

The other critical thing touched on in a reply above is that the token(s) must be passed through the instrument(s).

See Abermule.

It's why the token machine is interlocked with the starting signal in modern practice.

If there's time, you'd ask on and withdraw the token before pulling off (including the back board if you're quick enough).

kbarber in post 122249 said:

If there's time, you'd ask on and withdraw the token before pulling off (including the back board if you're quick enough).

Also forgive my ignorance, I assume the back board is the distant signal?

Kids these days eh?

(If there's time, you'd ask on and withdraw the token before pulling off (including the back board if you're quick enough). You'd then go down as the train approaches and exchange tokens. Remember that, back in the day, token changes would be done with the train still moving. And on some secondary main lines such as the M&GN that could be done (in reality) at speeds up to 40mph with manual exchange; I suspect 60mph was possible where automatic exchangers existed.)

I have in the past had an Irish Rail driving cab pass and have exchanged a few tokens on the move as follows (note this wasn't a one off)

The token held by the driver was just thrown onto platform with exhortations not to hit anybody for the siggie to collect and the incoming token collected on the move prior to coming to a stand at the correct place in the platform.

There are stories possibly apocryphal of tokens ending up in the adjacent canal on the Dublin Mullingar line when thrown to hard.