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signal boxes wich have ars

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signal boxes wich have ars 25/08/2013 at 10:48 #48830
tjfrancis
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hi all what signal box have got ars and how do ars help with keeping trains moveing
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signal boxes wich have ars 25/08/2013 at 11:14 #48831
Steamer
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The following SimSig simulations have ARS: Liverpool Street, SwinDid, Waterloo, Peterborough, Drain, Marylebone, Fenchurch and Edinburgh. Note that the last 3 are payware.

In real life, I think ARS comes as standard in IECC-type signalling centres, and I think most of the areas that cannot be simulated have ARS.

ARS can look after about most of the traffic most of the time without causing any problems. It's helpful to have it looking after the simple areas on larger simulations, so that you can focus on the more interesting areas. However, it is not perfect, and you have to watch out for it trying to do something stupid.

"Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q)
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signal boxes wich have ars 25/08/2013 at 21:04 #48835
Lardybiker
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ARS stands for Automatic route setting and works as an aid for the the signaler to reduce the signalers load. What ARS does is automatically set routes just far enough ahead of trains to ensure that trains run under green signals. It does this by basing what routes are set on the timetable of the train in question. By doing so, it allows the signaler to concentrate on problematic areas. It's only available in newer signaling installations.

It's simulated in certain SimSig sims in a similar way.

As Steamer said, its not perfect though and the signaler keeps an eye on it

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signal boxes wich have ars 25/08/2013 at 22:17 #48840
Firefly
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It's not limited to IECC.

Wimbledon ASC (a traditional NX panel) has ARS on the Windsor lines.

This is the only panel that I know of with ARS, but there may be more out there.

FF

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signal boxes wich have ars 25/08/2013 at 23:09 #48842
Hooverman
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Three Bridges panel 5 has ARS, but it got switched off at privatisation, no one wanted to pay for the cost of maintaining it or re programming the TT ever 6 months. :-(
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signal boxes wich have ars 26/08/2013 at 02:36 #48848
GeoffM
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Three Bridges was the very first in the UK with actual regulation as opposed to simple auto-routing which some panels do/did, albeit usually in very simple situations like branch lines or double junctions. I believe the code was written in Coral.

Liverpool Street was the first IECC, and with ARS from the start. It should have been Yoker (Glasgow North) but twas not to be; I think Yoker came a few months later. Each IECC came with it as standard, to varying degrees of reliability: I remember watching the signaller on the London workstation of Upminster (Fenchurch Street sim plus a bit more) quite happily (and very unofficially) playing darts during the evening rush hour, such was the reliability of it. Yet others watch ARS like a hawk.

I can't remember the exact agreement but Westinghouse Signals, as it was then, had a license to re-use the ARS code and they applied it to Dartford (North Kent, at Ashford IECC). At that time, IECC ARS was still running on some custom hardware on top of a custom operating system (BRX - British Rail Executive IIRC)). Yours truly had the delight (?) of porting it to run on Delphi and Windows NT - and that meant reproducing BRX to run as a layer on top of Windows NT. It was a threaded OS, sort of, but in such a way that made it easier for me to write the wrapper. As far as I know, Westinghouse (now Siemens) haven't used the ARS on another project to date.

Next TRE came along with their Signaller's Assistant (TRESA). This was written mostly from the ground up, although did incorporate some, ahem, SimSig code (as per the license we had). Last I heard it was still in formal trials on the Watford workstation at Rugby SCC. Mind you that was a couple of years ago now so it ought to have passed by now! TRESA is scheduled to be rolled out on all of Rugby SCC, West Midlands SCC, West of Scotland SCC, and South Wales SCC - maybe more.

SimSig's ARS has got better over the years too, from learning at Westinghouse, TRE, and general regulation strategies from around the world. I had a book at some point which was very theoretical and mathematical (ie not necessarily practical!) but was nonetheless very interesting. Annoyingly I can't remember the title.

SimSig Boss
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signal boxes wich have ars 26/08/2013 at 07:44 #48851
birchy74
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Would like to see Kings Cross done with ARS then at least one person could manage one of the bigger tt's like 1955 steam or 1985 with a couple of add ons
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signal boxes wich have ars 06/09/2013 at 20:46 #49185
Prof Jolly
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" said:
Would like to see Kings Cross done with ARS then at least one person could manage one of the bigger tt's like 1955 steam or 1985 with a couple of add ons
Kings Cross does have ARS but only on the Moorgate branch

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signal boxes wich have ars 07/09/2013 at 00:04 #49189
Hooverman
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" said:
" said:
Would like to see Kings Cross done with ARS then at least one person could manage one of the bigger tt's like 1955 steam or 1985 with a couple of add ons
Kings Cross does have ARS but only on the Moorgate branch
Is that true ARS or does it have a TDM override that can be set to "Auto platform working" the same way that we can at Caterham and Tattenham Corner?

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signal boxes wich have ars 07/09/2013 at 13:45 #49192
birchy74
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I know the Moorgate branch is ARS but would like to see the rest of it done it would make life a hell of a lot easier with the big timetables.
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signal boxes wich have ars 07/09/2013 at 15:44 #49193
tjfrancis
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it wood make it easy for to the beginners to SimSig
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signal boxes wich have ars 07/09/2013 at 17:44 #49197
GeoffM
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" said:
" said:
" said:
Would like to see Kings Cross done with ARS then at least one person could manage one of the bigger tt's like 1955 steam or 1985 with a couple of add ons
Kings Cross does have ARS but only on the Moorgate branch
Is that true ARS or does it have a TDM override that can be set to "Auto platform working" the same way that we can at Caterham and Tattenham Corner?
I don't recall it even having that, though I could well be wrong. Certainly not ARS in the form that performs regulation.

SimSig Boss
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signal boxes wich have ars 07/09/2013 at 18:38 #49200
Tempest Malice
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" said:
" said:
" said:


Kings Cross does have ARS but only on the Moorgate branch
Is that true ARS or does it have a TDM override that can be set to "Auto platform working" the same way that we can at Caterham and Tattenham Corner?
I don't recall it even having that, though I could well be wrong. Certainly not ARS in the form that performs regulation.
I don't know about the real panel, (I assume it doesn't have any ARS of any kind but I could be wrong.) but the KX Sim has auto working for the Moorgate platforms, I'm not certain how ARS like it is though; Also the button to turn the auto working off has been missing since the upgrade to the scrolly version.

Last edited: 07/09/2013 at 18:39 by Tempest Malice
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signal boxes wich have ars 08/09/2013 at 12:05 #49230
Jan
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Just got across this thread in the Signalbox.org forum, which has some info on the Moorgate auto working.
Two million people attempt to use Birmingham's magnificent rail network every year, with just over a million of them managing to get further than Smethwick.
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signal boxes wich have ars 08/09/2013 at 12:21 #49231
John
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Quote:
It is only a two-platform terminus (9 & 10) with a scissors crossover just outside the platforms, and when in Auto, the signal routes TORR-ed (Train-Operated Route Release): Automatic routeing for approaching Up trains was triggered by, on their starting to leave the previous station (Old Street), their occupying the first track circuit after that in the station platform, the interlocking then seeking to set a route from the Up Moorgate 'home' signal (K342) to a clear platform, check/trying for the right-hand platform first (9), then for No.10 if 9 was occupied or a Down route set from it: As long as a route was free immediately, it would set and K342 would clear to Yellow in time for the Driver to just get long enough sighting of 342R Distant signal going from Y to Green in time.
There were also 'calling-on' routes from 342, plus a set-back position-light signal on the Down Moorgate, both having routes to both platforms, but these could only be set by the signalman with Manual mode selected.
That's interesting.

I think I'm right in saying the ARS in the KX sim will only route towards the booked platform.

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signal boxes wich have ars 08/09/2013 at 13:22 #49233
Peter Bennet
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" said:
" said:
" said:
" said:


Kings Cross does have ARS but only on the Moorgate branch
Is that true ARS or does it have a TDM override that can be set to "Auto platform working" the same way that we can at Caterham and Tattenham Corner?
I don't recall it even having that, though I could well be wrong. Certainly not ARS in the form that performs regulation.
I don't know about the real panel, (I assume it doesn't have any ARS of any kind but I could be wrong.) but the KX Sim has auto working for the Moorgate platforms, I'm not certain how ARS like it is though; Also the button to turn the auto working off has been missing since the upgrade to the scrolly version.
KX SimSig does have simple auto-working at Moorgate (similar to that found at Springburn on Cowlairs Sim and possibly other Sims) it reads the TT of the approaching train and platforms it accordingly. On KX the control button was a (misused) ARS sub-area button which later core-code changes made hidden by default in non-ARS sims; which was a fact that was unfortunately overlooked in the release. That's not quite the same as is described in John's extract of how it works in reality - it could be made to do it that way quite easily but looking at the files it's a bit of a job to update the data to the current spec.

Peter

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