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Lightening strikes and signal failure

You are here: Home > Forum > Miscellaneous > The real thing (signalling) > Lightening strikes and signal failure

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Lightening strikes and signal failure 20/07/2016 at 16:39 #83692
northroad
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Having just joined 1E19 from Darlington to Kings Cross the guard has immediately announced that the 50 minute delay is due to an earlier lightening strike on the North bound service causing a signalling failure between Darlington and Newcastle. Does this type of thing knock out large sections or is it restricted to localised sections?.
Got the usual excuse for the air con not working on the way up to Darlington this morning. Hot weather to blame. Something you don't expect in this country I know........


Geoff

Last edited: 20/07/2016 at 16:40 by northroad
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Lightening strikes and signal failure 20/07/2016 at 18:19 #83695
Steamer
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Depends on what it hits, and how the equipment in the area is protected. There was a strike on a relay room at Ardwick last year at the start of the morning peak, and it was pretty much "game over" until the afternoon.
"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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Lightening strikes and signal failure 20/07/2016 at 19:54 #83699
GeoffM
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The trackside TFM modules are, for some reason, more susceptible to lightning strikes than other equipment. A TFM is, in simple terms, the interface that connects the multi-drop cable for the interlocking to the lineside signals, points, and tracks. One TFM typically handles a couple of 2/3-aspect signals or one 4-aspect or two point ends, plus up to 3-4 track circuit inputs.
SimSig Boss
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Lightening strikes and signal failure 21/07/2016 at 06:42 #83710
sorabain
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does one TFM translate into one lineside cabinet?

I've been trying to decide how many lineside cabinets to stick on my model railway at varioos locations :whistle:

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Lightening strikes and signal failure 21/07/2016 at 07:56 #83711
Firefly
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No. At a squeeze you could fit about 8 TFM's in a cabinet.

In terms of how many cabinets you should put on a model railway, I'd say 2 at a signal, 3 at a set of points and some single cabinets dotted about to act as cut section locs.

Just because I've said 2 at a signal that doesn't mean 4 if 2 signals are next to each other. If you have an up and down signal at the same location you'd still only be likely to have 2 cabinets unless there was other equipment there.

FF

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Lightening strikes and signal failure 21/07/2016 at 08:23 #83713
Noisynoel
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Of course the lightening strike can blow modules and fuses in more than one loc as the power from the strike can run down cables looking for the weakest link. I had one a Fawkham Jn a couple of weeks back that blew out 3 locs, only one of which took the hit
Noisynoel
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