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Bristol - Portishead line

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Bristol - Portishead line 20/12/2011 at 22:47 #25911
DaveHarries
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1285 posts
Hi,

While playing a sim last night I mentioned I had been working on an imaginary Simsig layout showing how I think the Parson Street - Pill - Portishead / Portbury Dock route might look if the Portishead line was reopened and the relevant signalling installed.

I am pleased to say that, after a couple of days work, I got the map finished. I have incorporated some of the main line for a better idea of how the screen would look and also moved a couple of things around. I came up with two signalling scenarios: one takes into account the whole line being controlled from Bristol PSB (due to close in 2015 at present) while the other imagines things with Portishead line having a separate panel for much of its length. The maps for both can be found at:

http://www.btinternet.com/~dcharries/SimSig_portishead.gif

File size is not huge: it weighs in at 49.7KB. Feedback welcome on my effort.

Dave

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 20/12/2011 at 23:07 #25913
jc92
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Online
a question not a critisism... are those the symbols for bridges or tunnels?
"We don't stop camborne wednesdays"
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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 20/12/2011 at 23:23 #25915
DaveHarries
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Tunnels where the line goes under. However the Avonmouth Bridge is not a tunnel as such but the M5 goes over the line here.

Dave

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 21/12/2011 at 00:31 #25923
UKTrainMan
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1803 posts
Like the mock-up, looks good!

Small concern though with Scenario 1 - the closeness of Portished workstation to Weston workstation may see occasions of either signaller mistakenly routing on the other workstation.

" said:
Tunnels where the line goes under. However the Avonmouth Bridge is not a tunnel as such but the M5 goes over the line here.
:huh:

Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for.
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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 21/12/2011 at 00:39 #25924
AndyG
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I'm led to believe that the real Weston panel all of the branch as well as the Parson Street area.
I can only help one person a day. Today's not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look too good either.
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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 21/12/2011 at 00:49 #25925
DaveHarries
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1285 posts
Andy,

AFAIK the signals at Parson Street all have 'B' as their signalling area code.

Dave

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 21/12/2011 at 02:43 #25926
Danny252
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1461 posts
Quite worrying that the signals at Pill are autos...
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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 21/12/2011 at 07:42 #25936
alan_s
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152 posts
Looks good.

I do hope this line gets opened again. Its been on the cards for about 10~20 years, but keeps getting setbacks. One of the daftest things is refusing to put a level crossing across Quays Avenue and insisting that the road is diverted over a bridge. This is about 200 yards from the planned location of the station, so any train approaching will be crawling at under 10mph, and could easily stop if there was an obstruction.

Alan

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 21/12/2011 at 08:44 #25942
Late Turn
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The lack of distant signals is certainly an issue - you can go from a green at Ashton Jn to a red at the signal in rear of the loop at Pill, so you definitely need one there (even if you've got a good view of the next stop signal in clear weather). On the other hand, unless the loop at Pill is really long, there's no need for a distant signal just beyond the stop signal protecting the entry to the loop (as control of the yellow/green aspect on the latter acts as the distant for the signal at the far end of the loop).

A double ended single line can't be worked by OTW - that's only appropriate for a single-ended section with no facility to shut inside. Would suggest TCB, with track circuiting throughout the Ashton - Pill single line, would be most appropriate here.

Tom

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 21/12/2011 at 10:22 #25951
y10g9
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" said:
Andy,

AFAIK the signals at Parson Street all have 'B' as their signalling area code.

Dave
Dave, signals down at weston are all prefixed with a B as well also signals at filton abbey wood and bath (those being the ones that i know 100% as i was resently at those stations). The B only represents what signal box the signal is controlled from (in this case Bristol) It doesn't determine what pannel the signal is controlled by. the driver would only know what panel a certain signal is controlled by when he phones up from the signal.

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 21/12/2011 at 10:22 #25952
Forest Pines
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525 posts
" said:

AFAIK the signals at Parson Street all have 'B' as their signalling area code.
They do. However, so do all of the other signals controlled from Bristol box so far as I'm aware, so I don't think you can draw any conclusions there.

(Have hunted for photos but can't find any that show signal numbers clearly, even though I have lots of Parson St. Bath's signals definitely have B numbers)

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 21/12/2011 at 11:36 #25959
DaveHarries
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" said:
Quite worrying that the signals at Pill are autos...

Thanks for that. I hadn't realised the significance of the stems looking like a cross. Map edited with the crosses on the stems removed and edited map uploaded.

Dave

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 07/01/2012 at 17:10 #26900
hotwellian
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It has been suggested that Ashton Gate station be reopened with a passing loop if the line is reopened.

map from Portishead Railway group

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 07/01/2012 at 20:56 #26915
KymriskaDraken
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" said:
" said:

AFAIK the signals at Parson Street all have 'B' as their signalling area code.
They do. However, so do all of the other signals controlled from Bristol box so far as I'm aware, so I don't think you can draw any conclusions there.

(Have hunted for photos but can't find any that show signal numbers clearly, even though I have lots of Parson St. Bath's signals definitely have B numbers)
From my memory as a former Bristol PSB signalman all of the controlled signals are prefixed B. The auto signals dating from the installation of the panel are labelled UM, DM, UT, DT or whatever. The newer auto signals, for instance on the Up and Down Branch between Filton West and Avonmouth, are prefixed B and are fitted with Emergency Replacement Switches on the panel. I think they are plated as auto signals with a Bxxx number. I have a feeling that the standard for naming automatic signals was changed just before those newer signals were introduced (mid 1990s).

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 07/01/2012 at 21:06 #26917
KymriskaDraken
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Assuming the panel hasn't been redesigned since I was there in the 1990s it was split as follows:

Weston end: Bridgwater to Bedminster (exclusive), including the branch towards Portishead from Parson St (althouh this wasn't in use then)
Station: Bedminster to Dr Days Jn (exclusive) and North Somerset Jn (exclusive), and the lines between North Somerset Jn and St Philips Marsh. SPM had its own shunting frame.
Bath end: Dr Days Jn to Filton Jn (exclusive), including the line from Narroways Hill Jn to Clifton Down. North Somerset Jn to Box Tunnel or Bradford on Avon (exclusive)
Stoke panel (a seperate panel from the main one): Pilning to Filton Jn, Henbury, Charfield or Hullavington (exclusive)

On the main panel the signals controlled by the station man were identified by a white surround on the SPT button.

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 26/01/2012 at 19:34 #28270
alan_s
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News in today's evening post, though I'm not sure of the authenticity of the mystery "rail insider"

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Henbury-Portishead-rail-lines-open-5-years/story-15038048-detail/story.html

Alan

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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 26/01/2012 at 19:59 #28272
postal
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I must have missed the point. The thrust of the article is that the organisation which wins the franchise should pay the costs for the re-opening so that it does not come out of the public purse. But surely the bids for the franchise will have factored in these costs which will then reflect in the subsidy/premium that is the bottom line of the bid. And as the subsidy will be increased or the premium decreased to account for these costs then the public purse will still pay (only with added mark-ups for Network Rail and TOC costs rather than just the Network Rail element). Or am I totally deluded?
“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe
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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 26/01/2012 at 22:24 #28274
benstafford
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It's called pretend capitalism and has been all the rage since 1979. See Water, Electricity, Gas, Health etc etc. The only winners are lawyers and consultants - I don't think the bus bandits really make enough to be genuinely worth it.
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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 26/01/2012 at 23:36 #28280
AndyG
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" said:
It's called pretend capitalism and has been all the rage since 1979. See Water, Electricity, Gas, Health etc etc. The only winners are lawyers and consultants - I don't think the bus bandits really make enough to be genuinely worth it.
Don't omit the bankers!

I can only help one person a day. Today's not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look too good either.
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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 26/01/2012 at 23:52 #28282
postal
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The penny has just dropped. If it is counted in the subsidy/premium it is a revenue cost to the public purse not a capital cost and so does not show in the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement. So we'll pay more but it won't show as debt.
“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe
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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 27/01/2012 at 00:01 #28283
AndyG
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I believe that's called 'creative accounting'.
I can only help one person a day. Today's not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look too good either.
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Re: Bristol - Portishead line 27/01/2012 at 10:29 #28298
kbarber
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" said:
I believe that's called 'creative accounting'. :unsure:

aka Financial Engineering... I think the other name got a bit of a bad press when Enron got into trouble :dry:

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