Voyager to Cardiff!
Voyager to Cardiff!
Well, it nearly went that way anyway! (see the way the point is set!) Luckily the driver saw what was going on and got on the blower and sorted it all out! Stumpy, were you working the box today!
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stumpytrain
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Ha! No wrong routings today... (for a change?! 
)
The points at Filton South Junction (sounds very grand for a single ender doesn't it?) have to be reversed for a train to be signalled from South Wales towards Bristol. It dates from the re signalling of Filton Abbey Wood a few years ago and is a "flank protection" measure as a result of Ladbroke Grove. The idea being that if a driver passes B239 at danger he runs towards the up Bristol where worst comes to worst you he'll end up going up the arse of something. If they were normal theres a slim chance he'd go in to the side of something crossing from the down Bristol to the down Filton.
The rules changed recently so a driver is now required to call the signalman as soon as he comes to a stand at a danger signal. For over 70 years if the line is track circuited he could wait two minutes.
He's probably just been regulated for something coming from Wales.
Alex
)The points at Filton South Junction (sounds very grand for a single ender doesn't it?) have to be reversed for a train to be signalled from South Wales towards Bristol. It dates from the re signalling of Filton Abbey Wood a few years ago and is a "flank protection" measure as a result of Ladbroke Grove. The idea being that if a driver passes B239 at danger he runs towards the up Bristol where worst comes to worst you he'll end up going up the arse of something. If they were normal theres a slim chance he'd go in to the side of something crossing from the down Bristol to the down Filton.
The rules changed recently so a driver is now required to call the signalman as soon as he comes to a stand at a danger signal. For over 70 years if the line is track circuited he could wait two minutes.
He's probably just been regulated for something coming from Wales.
Alex
Aha! I see. And yes you're correct, the Voyager was stopped while 158776 entered the station from the Cardiff line.stumpytrain wrote:He's probably just been regulated for something coming from Wales.
FAW is a real mish-mash of a design really. It could do with another Cardiff platform and a proper junction to the south of the station. At the very least a starter on platform 2 would allow north bound stoppers to enter the station when one of these conflicting movements are taking place. (if that's allowed in the rules and regs considering the turnout we're talking about)
This is just an observation, but it seems to me that signallers look after their local trains first, and Voyagers are just a pain in the backside. This is not just in the Bristol area, but country-wide. Today I arrived in Doncaster five minutes early and left seven late due to poor regulation.
How can a signaller justify letting a coal train take pecedence across a junction on the down road, then allow a stopper (class 2), to precede a class 1 on the up?
That must have made the bloke on TDA really mad....
How can a signaller justify letting a coal train take pecedence across a junction on the down road, then allow a stopper (class 2), to precede a class 1 on the up?
That must have made the bloke on TDA really mad....
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stumpytrain
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I can't comment about Signallers but I would say that all the Signalmen in Bristol are very attentive to the current "regulating for PPM" policy. With regards to Virgin trains I personally think they have an excellent service from us, with other services often regulated at Westerleigh, Filton, Narroways, Bedminster, Yatton, Worle Jn and Uphill Jn if there is a chance that the XC can meet PPM (and often even if it can't).
When it comes to Filton bank, if trains are all on time there's a good chance you're going to get restrictive aspects as on a weekday it's a tad busy.
Avonmouth trains for example can't be held on the branch forever, with only a 5 minute turn around at BTM you can easily shaft the service for the rest of the day if it's delayed too much.
In the above photo we don't really know the full story do we? It's all speculation? The train from Wales could've had station overtime at Patchway or perhaps he'd stopped to report something? Anyway, most Midlands are booked to follow an up London through Parkway so it probably made little difference having the train waiting at Filton instead of waiting at Stoke Gifford.
Alex
When it comes to Filton bank, if trains are all on time there's a good chance you're going to get restrictive aspects as on a weekday it's a tad busy.
Avonmouth trains for example can't be held on the branch forever, with only a 5 minute turn around at BTM you can easily shaft the service for the rest of the day if it's delayed too much.
In the above photo we don't really know the full story do we? It's all speculation? The train from Wales could've had station overtime at Patchway or perhaps he'd stopped to report something? Anyway, most Midlands are booked to follow an up London through Parkway so it probably made little difference having the train waiting at Filton instead of waiting at Stoke Gifford.
Alex
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stumpytrain
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Maybe the coal train was on time and that was his booked path? Perhaps he was only a couple down but delaying him to let you run would've resulted in him losing his path. Who knows? Perhaps the stopper was teetering on the edge of missing PPM, if you were only 7 late then you were within yours... It's hard at times to understand why things happen without knowing the full story.Mitch wrote:How can a signaller justify letting a coal train take pecedence across a junction on the down road, then allow a stopper (class 2), to precede a class 1 on the up?
That must have made the bloke on TDA really mad....
I spent shift once running all up Londons through Bathampton loop to avoid having to advise drivers of an un chipped (ATP) emergency speed restriction on the up main. I bet there was some cursing going on in te mess room at Paddington... However, I wouldn't expect either the driver or guard to realise that by doing that actually saved about 4 minutes delay to each train as well as being safter.
Who knows? Who cares? A friend of mine regularly points out that the Signalmen working in Mangotsfield Signal Box probably took pride in their work, polishing their equipment
and worrying about delaying the postal by running an early trip freight... but whats to show for their efforts now? Where Mangotsfield Box once stood is now a large bush. In 20 years time the Voyagers will hopefully have been scrapped and Bristol Panel will probably be a multi story car park. 
I think he has a point!Alex