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Questions on the Victoria LUL sim settings

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Questions on the Victoria LUL sim settings 06/12/2013 at 08:32 #52461
block_operator
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In the sim settings, there is an option to display the route setting. How is the situation on the real LUL panels? Are routes displayed or just locked points?

There is another option called 'geographical display'. However, if activated or not, it has no obvious effect on the display. So, what is the purpose of that option?

Joern

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Questions on the Victoria LUL sim settings 06/12/2013 at 09:10 #52462
Andrew G
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As with most things you can find an answer in the simulation manual on WIKI.

http://www.SimSig.co.uk/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=usertrack:mans:victorialul

For example:

The primary layout follows the panel diagram as found in the control centre at Cobourg Street near Euston, and the “swapping” of the running direction between Highbury and Islington and Warren Street is not shown. A geographically correct layout option is provided, which mimics the view that can be seen on other LU train monitoring systems

There is also reference to the track circuit displays.

This link from Earls Court also shows how the Track Circuits Flood if you look at the train crossing over the junction at High Street, Kensington as well as one on the Piccadilly line.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/llangollen_signalman/10715470006/in/set-72157637392832414

Personally I was surprised to find out that Signal Operators at Earls Court (and other locations) are not permitted to use the displays for Safety Critical decisions as the display can sometimes be out of sync with what is happening on the ground. The only displays that can be relied on are areas operated directly from a Signal Cabin (not via a remote IMR) or from the Interlocking Machine Room itself. This means that during degraded working or failures a lot of decisions are reliant on somebody being on the ground or from a driver on an adjacent running line.

Last edited: 06/12/2013 at 09:12 by Andrew G
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Questions on the Victoria LUL sim settings 06/12/2013 at 14:11 #52473
kbarber
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" said:


Personally I was surprised to find out that Signal Operators at Earls Court (and other locations) are not permitted to use the displays for Safety Critical decisions as the display can sometimes be out of sync with what is happening on the ground. The only displays that can be relied on are areas operated directly from a Signal Cabin (not via a remote IMR) or from the Interlocking Machine Room itself. This means that during degraded working or failures a lot of decisions are reliant on somebody being on the ground or from a driver on an adjacent running line.

I think that's because LT use non-safety critical links from Regulating Rooms to Interlocking Machine Rooms, allowing them to use telephone-style (and telephone-grade) gear, with an enormous saving in £££. Although CBIs and relay interlockings are beginning to appear, IMRs traditionally house pneumatically-worked lever frames (latterly style V but previously N2 or some such); it is possible to cut off the air supply and work these as if they were a traditional lever frame.

Of course where you have cheapness, performance and reliability needs it is invariably the case that you can have any 2 of the 3 but you cannot have all three at once.

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Questions on the Victoria LUL sim settings 06/12/2013 at 17:04 #52482
block_operator
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" said:

This link from Earls Court also shows how the Track Circuits Flood if you look at the train crossing over the junction at High Street, Kensington as well as one on the Piccadilly line.

Thank you, that's a very interesting picture. I have seen flooding track circuits on some underground railways in other countries (e.g., in older areas of the Cologne underground lines), but not up to such an extent. It somehow looks a little confusing.

Joern

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Questions on the Victoria LUL sim settings 07/12/2013 at 11:16 #52514
metcontrol
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There are a lot of variations to the signalling throughout the underground - in fact no single line has identical signalling to another. Even those who appear on the surface to have the "same" actually have "a later / incompatible version."

Typically, "flooding" is found on diagrams which are fixed and are illuminated by means of bulbs/LEDs. The whole track circuit illuminates to show the track occupied, regardless of train length, direction of travel (over points) etc. In some locations the reverse of this indication is used - the diagram shows un-occupied sections illuminated.

On the whole, many of our computerised control rooms will show track circuits in a similar way to what you see on Network Rail - that is a train traversing over a set of points will be indicated accurately and it will be "obvious" which way the train is heading. There are exceptions to this of course, and there are occasions where even the "accurate" systems will show flooding (often if the signal has previously been set to another route / returned to danger and selected for the other route - the system is "expecting" the train to head one way, yet it goes the opposite way).

Where our signalling is controlled through computers, it is non-safety, simply because all you are seeing is a computer image - and we all know computers have a habit of showing what they want rather than what you want. We do have many locations still where manual signal cabins and control rooms are in control. Many of these have the solid indications required to make safety-critical decisions.

We then also have an information tool known as "Trackernet." This attempts to show locations of all trains accurately, using a variety of data inputs. This program must never be used for making safety-critical decisions.


As far as the other questions go:

Route setting indications are, again, different for each area. Many control rooms see only the signal displaying the appropriate aspect, and no "white line" to show route status.

The geographical element has also been quoted - this is also similar in many locations. The signaller will generally have the "simple" version of a diagram. In the case of the Victoria Line, the "switch" is on the whole irrelevant to the operation of the line. There are many other locations where the line dives under / crosses over other lines and these are not shown / needed either.

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