This is a perfect video to introduce people to the basics and some of the terminology regarding signalling. Quality filming, editing and pacing when providing information. Gives anyone who wants to dip their toes in further into signalling a good starting point. Great work.
When showing one amber light on the signal that means stop at the next signal which is on red for danger Double yellows means one signal has one yellow so prepare to slow down Green light means you have a clear road ahead to proceed
MORE DETAIL !!! Junction indicators (also known as "Feathers" or "Lunar Lights") must be further divided ! The Signal seen at 1:53 has a Junction Indicator in POSITION ONE. (That's ALWAYS Top left). The Right hand Signal seen at 2:09 numbered (L240) has Three Feathers in Position 1, 2 & 3 all of which are for tracks branching off to the left. Where POSITION 1 relates to the first track to the left. POSITION 2 relates to the second track to the left & POSITION 3 for the third & furthest track to the left. If there were 3 optional tracks to the right then the Indicators would be sticking out of the right side where a finger at 45 degrees would be indicator in POSITION 4. A finger at 90 degrees to the right is POSITION 5, & an Indicator at 135 degrees is POSITION 6. The need for definitive "POSITION" numbering from 1 to 6, is to avoid confusion between rail staff, when faults or other problems develop. Further the Signal number plate is also important. The signal seen at 0:08 has the number L406, where the "L" tells you it is a London Bridge signalling Centre signal. But above the number is a white section with a horizontal black bar, indicating this is a Fully Automatic signal. (Operated by the movement of trains across the various track Circuits). The signal at 0:50 on a gantry has just a black plate with the number W300. So a Wimbledon Signalling Centre CONTROLLED signal. So trains will trip the signal to Red when a train passes, but a Signalman has to "release" the signal before it will show a proceed aspect. There is a Further type not seen in the programme called a "SEMI" Automatic (This also has a white plate with a horizontal black bar with the word "Semi" written on it). Such signals are fairly rare, but usually protect the exit from a siding or Goods Yard that is NOT frequently used. Hence the Signal is normally in the "Fully Automatic" mode to suit trains passing on the main running line. But as and when the Siding or Yard needs to be used, the signal protecting the points, will be put in "Controlled" mode by the Signalman. So he can directly supervise access to or from the Yard. Very rare today I would think is the signal with a vertical white plate with a vertical black bar. This is an "Intermediate" signal. It can be a semaphore or a two Aspect colour light. This type will be found between two signalbox areas using normally "Absolute Block" and the signal with Intermediate plate will be controlled "remotely" by the Signalbox in ADVANCE. If this Signal is at Danger & delays a train for more than 15 minutes, the Driver can Sound the Horn and pass this signal at Danger, & proceed at Caution towards the next Controlled Signal ! A WHITE DIAMOND under a Signal alters what used to be called "Section K". (Trains detained at Signals). It was the rule that the Driver had to contact the signalman within 3 minutes if detained at a "Controlled" signal. The White Diamond modified this rule to Eight Minutes.
You will also find a blue SPAD (signal passed at danger) signal at some locations. These are normally placed just after a normal signal at a critical location such as a complex and busy junction, the idea being to stop a train overshooting the main signal when it is showing red, and fouling the junction. We also have the Advanced Warning System which has been around since steam days and provides an audible and visual warning to the driver of the approaching signal's status.
Those were a short-lived attempt in the 1990s to rectify the problem of multi-SPAD signals arising from the Purley rail crash. However, Train Protection Warning System became more commonplace, so blue signals were obsolete.
Great Video. Have you noticed at stations the 'OFF' indicator? This is placed at curved Station platforms or where the signal is obscured. It denotes that the signal is showing proceed.
@@Taitset the 'off' indicator is to let station staff know the condition of the signal at the end of the platform,..when signalling to the driver to start the train.
Indeed the off indicator is for the staff to let them know the state of the departing signal. It is an operational irregularity to dispatch a train against a red signal during normal working conditions.
The Junction Indicators are commonly known as "Feathers" and a signal can have 6 in total, 3 either side. For more than 6 diverging routes a "Theatre Indicator" is used which is a large glazed box on top of the signal which is capable of using a light pattern to show letters or numbers.
seems on the underground they rely more on repeaters than bothering with double yellows, although those signals are also very close together and the trains run much slower than on the main line
this is truly piece of cake signalling. i've learned german railway signalling and it's so much harder with a speed limit indicator. not only that, also the signal types are divided into three types. HL Signal, HP Signal, and Ks Signal. Pzb signalling is quite complicated but it pays off.
I love your description! Long story short they can mean several things. Without going into all the operational reasons why sometimes trains don't use the 'big' signals shown in this video. A good starting point would be googling position signals to understand more about why. For what you describe 'ground position signals' sound likely what you have seen, but could be limit of shunt indicators too. Good luck!
A random questions I got railway's by me that got 2 play forms but splits into middle lanes for frieght trains that split on the line use track switches who controls these as it got no Signal boxes
there is a few Signals here, but what about THAT BOARD that is black and about 12inches square, I am thinking there is some LEDS HERE to indicate a PLATFORM or a ROUTE ahead, I would like to know the Measurements. PLEASE
Do you refer to the box on the left hand side of the signal at 0:55 for example? That`s a route indicator, uses numbers and/or letters to tell the driver which route is set form the signal. Where there are a lots of routes available it is more practical than a tree of junction indicators. From this particular signal there are 5 routes available, Up Windsor Fast, Up Windsor Slow, Up Ludgate, Up Latchmere Curve and Down Latchmere Curve. The smaller rectangular one next to it is a CD/RA indicator, platform staff operates it when they dispatch passenger trains. CD tells the driver to Close Doors, RA is for Right Away, the train can depart.
Wondering if someone could measure this, PLEASE - might I suggest 2 pieces of dowel, one long for height other for across, while carrying these together there could be 2 rubbers in the form of a cross, so one can move across up or down the long one, the short one can move across the long one, PLEASE make sure you have a PRICE RECIEPT so everyone around can se it is not a WEAPON
@@graemewilson4126 That could be looked on as tampering with the signals so not a good idea. Why don't you ask Network Rail or one of the UK manufacturers which you can find on Google.
It actually says that on a green signal (clear) you can expect the next signal to be showing a 'proceed' aspect. A proceed aspect is any aspect other than Danger.
Nice little video. Though I think you mean some signals are PREceded by a banner repeater, not proceeded by them. They also mirror the aspects of lower-quadrant semaphores, not just upper-quadrants.. but yeah, nice video :-)
You are absolutely correct on the spelling - Somehow I've never noticed they are different words before! Even growing up with my mother as an english teacher who is very quick to correct me on that sort of thing. :) I was under the impression that all banner repeaters rotated the same way, but looking now I can see that some of the mechanical ones do in fact go 'left side down.' Are there any of that type still in use today? I can't see any examples of a modern electronic one that goes that way.
@@Taitset Ah I see what you are saying now, I was just meaning that both upper and lower quadrant use a 45 degree angle as "off", as per banner repeaters, rather than looking at the specific rotation direction.
TLDR: Practically speaking, it means the same as a regular green aspect. Flashing green meant that the next signal is showing at least a green aspect. They were installed in the 1980s when British Rail wanted to introduce 140mph/225kph trains, because the existing double yellow signals did not provide enough warning to safely stop at speeds above 125mph/200kph. A flashing green signal told the driver that the next signal is showing at least a green aspect, so they could safely continue at 140mph. A normal green signal told the driver to slow down to 125mph so they would be able to stop in time if the next signal is double yellow. Since no trains currently run above 125mph, there is no practical difference between a flashing green and a normal green, but they left the flashing green signals in place where they were already installed because it wasn't worth the effort to remove them.
Not bad stuff at all, good illustrations, the bit about Flashing Yellows is a wee bit misleading...I explain that here: ua-cam.com/video/_cXTyHZDIkg/v-deo.htmlsi=dyFaEqwIgB9paDJ-
Just to be clear about the flashing Yellows...they were brought in around the 90's so passenger trains could approach a station at a higher speed that wouldn't affect brakeware and bringing the train to a softer stop....driver would see double flashing yellows 4 or 5 signals out from the station and start braking earlier and softer than he/she would if they were closer, saving on brakeware....and passenger complaints if braking harder sending passengers flying forward.
This is a perfect video to introduce people to the basics and some of the terminology regarding signalling.
Quality filming, editing and pacing when providing information.
Gives anyone who wants to dip their toes in further into signalling a good starting point. Great work.
When showing one amber light on the signal that means stop at the next signal which is on red for danger
Double yellows means one signal has one yellow so prepare to slow down
Green light means you have a clear road ahead to proceed
MORE DETAIL !!!
Junction indicators (also known as "Feathers" or "Lunar Lights") must be further divided !
The Signal seen at 1:53 has a Junction Indicator in POSITION ONE. (That's ALWAYS Top left).
The Right hand Signal seen at 2:09 numbered (L240) has Three Feathers in Position 1, 2 & 3 all of which are for tracks branching off to the left. Where POSITION 1 relates to the first track to the left. POSITION 2 relates to the second track to the left & POSITION 3 for the third & furthest track to the left.
If there were 3 optional tracks to the right then the Indicators would be sticking out of the right side where a finger at 45 degrees would be indicator in POSITION 4. A finger at 90 degrees to the right is POSITION 5, & an Indicator at 135 degrees is POSITION 6.
The need for definitive "POSITION" numbering from 1 to 6, is to avoid confusion between rail staff, when faults or other problems develop.
Further the Signal number plate is also important. The signal seen at 0:08 has the number L406, where the "L" tells you it is a London Bridge signalling Centre signal. But above the number is a white section with a horizontal black bar, indicating this is a Fully Automatic signal. (Operated by the movement of trains across the various track Circuits).
The signal at 0:50 on a gantry has just a black plate with the number W300. So a Wimbledon Signalling Centre CONTROLLED signal. So trains will trip the signal to Red when a train passes, but a Signalman has to "release" the signal before it will show a proceed aspect.
There is a Further type not seen in the programme called a "SEMI" Automatic (This also has a white plate with a horizontal black bar with the word "Semi" written on it). Such signals are fairly rare, but usually protect the exit from a siding or Goods Yard that is NOT frequently used. Hence the Signal is normally in the "Fully Automatic" mode to suit trains passing on the main running line. But as and when the Siding or Yard needs to be used, the signal protecting the points, will be put in "Controlled" mode by the Signalman. So he can directly supervise access to or from the Yard.
Very rare today I would think is the signal with a vertical white plate with a vertical black bar. This is an "Intermediate" signal. It can be a semaphore or a two Aspect colour light. This type will be found between two signalbox areas using normally "Absolute Block" and the signal with Intermediate plate will be controlled "remotely" by the Signalbox in ADVANCE. If this Signal is at Danger & delays a train for more than 15 minutes, the Driver can Sound the Horn and pass this signal at Danger, & proceed at Caution towards the next Controlled Signal !
A WHITE DIAMOND under a Signal alters what used to be called "Section K". (Trains detained at Signals). It was the rule that the Driver had to contact the signalman within 3 minutes if detained at a "Controlled" signal. The White Diamond modified this rule to Eight Minutes.
You will also find a blue SPAD (signal passed at danger) signal at some locations. These are normally placed just after a normal signal at a critical location such as a complex and busy junction, the idea being to stop a train overshooting the main signal when it is showing red, and fouling the junction. We also have the Advanced Warning System which has been around since steam days and provides an audible and visual warning to the driver of the approaching signal's status.
You can see these, albeit about of action at Eastleigh
Those were a short-lived attempt in the 1990s to rectify the problem of multi-SPAD signals arising from the Purley rail crash. However, Train Protection Warning System became more commonplace, so blue signals were obsolete.
I believe these have now all been withdrawn from the network, though having said that expect someone to tell me where there still is one!
They now use coloured signals that are LED. Where lights just switch colour instead of the older bulb lights
Indeed! More efficient, lasts longer, brighter and less energy required!
The old 4-lamp design is safer and more convenient, IMHO.
A banner repeater. So THAT's what those things are. Thanks for explaining, they were always a mystery to me.
Great Video. Have you noticed at stations the 'OFF' indicator? This is placed at curved Station platforms or where the signal is obscured. It denotes that the signal is showing proceed.
Glad you enjoyed it! I hadn't noticed the 'off' indicators, looks like an alternative to a banner repeater.
@@Taitset the 'off' indicator is to let station staff know the condition of the signal at the end of the platform,..when signalling to the driver to start the train.
Indeed the off indicator is for the staff to let them know the state of the departing signal. It is an operational irregularity to dispatch a train against a red signal during normal working conditions.
The off indicator is a thing used by dispatchers to identify if the signal is red or green. But if it's yellows it's still off.
The Junction Indicators are commonly known as "Feathers" and a signal can have 6 in total, 3 either side. For more than 6 diverging routes a "Theatre Indicator" is used which is a large glazed box on top of the signal which is capable of using a light pattern to show letters or numbers.
This also helps on some Train Simulators and Train Simulator games which respect and accurately simulate these signals.
A very informative video about modern Signalled System. Very short and very informative. Great work dear.
seems on the underground they rely more on repeaters than bothering with double yellows, although those signals are also very close together and the trains run much slower than on the main line
this is truly piece of cake signalling. i've learned german railway signalling and it's so much harder with a speed limit indicator. not only that, also the signal types are divided into three types. HL Signal, HP Signal, and Ks Signal. Pzb signalling is quite complicated but it pays off.
Really good video thanks. Explained it so simply
The yellows to the Red will activate the AWS. (Automatic Warning System)
Double yellow you'll need to cancel AWS as well and single yellow and red
Very informative. I thoroughly enjoyed your video. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
It would be good to have subsidiary signals in the video as well. They are also a part of the signaling system.
Is double yellow aspect alw
ays used or it depends of speed and braking distance on the route?
Low down, near to the ground beside some tracks, you sometimes see 2 little red lights like red eyes. What do those mean?
I love your description!
Long story short they can mean several things.
Without going into all the operational reasons why sometimes trains don't use the 'big' signals shown in this video.
A good starting point would be googling position signals to understand more about why. For what you describe 'ground position signals' sound likely what you have seen, but could be limit of shunt indicators too. Good luck!
Cool video! Informative!
Really does shorten up the Hour long him into the need to know standards
A random questions I got railway's by me that got 2 play forms but splits into middle lanes for frieght trains that split on the line use track switches who controls these as it got no Signal boxes
Where abouts in the world are you? It's almost certainly remotely controlled from another location.
@@Taitset UK
Well impossible to say without more information, but I would assume it's just controlled remotely.
@@nathanwilliams9169 What are the signals plated?
Didn't the new LED signals replaced the signals that look like the ones in this vid?
They do indeed
There are also theatre route indicators
there is a few Signals here, but what about THAT BOARD that is black and about 12inches square, I am thinking there is some LEDS HERE to indicate a PLATFORM or a ROUTE ahead, I would like to know the Measurements. PLEASE
Do you refer to the box on the left hand side of the signal at 0:55 for example? That`s a route indicator, uses numbers and/or letters to tell the driver which route is set form the signal. Where there are a lots of routes available it is more practical than a tree of junction indicators. From this particular signal there are 5 routes available, Up Windsor Fast, Up Windsor Slow, Up Ludgate, Up Latchmere Curve and Down Latchmere Curve. The smaller rectangular one next to it is a CD/RA indicator, platform staff operates it when they dispatch passenger trains. CD tells the driver to Close Doors, RA is for Right Away, the train can depart.
@@FrankyLon Yes indeed, I am hoping to make something in HO SCALE, 12 inches to 3.5mm, so hoping to get back over 12, maybe 14 inches square
Wondering if someone could measure this, PLEASE - might I suggest 2 pieces of dowel, one long for height other for across, while carrying these together there could be 2 rubbers in the form of a cross, so one can move across up or down the long one, the short one can move across the long one, PLEASE make sure you have a PRICE RECIEPT so everyone around can se it is not a WEAPON
@@graemewilson4126 That could be looked on as tampering with the signals so not a good idea. Why don't you ask Network Rail or one of the UK manufacturers which you can find on Google.
Flashing only happens when there’s a large speed differential between the route set and the main route, it isn’t always used
WELL presented, I learned a lot.
You can check out all my other signal explainer videos here: ua-cam.com/play/PLXmkoPHEvd7plwYBLpBWJEoMmcpy2dwYW.html
If a signal was showing clear but with a lit junction indicator, would the previous signal show flashing yellow or not?
I would imagine yes, but I'm not sure.
Yes, where there is a reduced speed limit on the crossover, it would force the train to slow down prior to crossing.
Red means STOP or Danger?
Same thing - Danger is railway language for stop.
@@Taitset And when a train passes a signal at Danger without authority then it is called a SPAD.
Not every approach to a junction indicator has flashing yellows.
that's because the relay has probably burnt out
@@GWRProductions-kg9pt Utter rubbish!
Depends on line speed and location
Great video 👍
This is really interesting.
So at 0.29 green is clear and expect next signal at green and later on green can be followed by double orange. The two statements are contradictory.
It actually says that on a green signal (clear) you can expect the next signal to be showing a 'proceed' aspect. A proceed aspect is any aspect other than Danger.
@@Taitset point taken. Sorry.
No worries, it is a bit confusing that one!
Cracking video.
Nice little video. Though I think you mean some signals are PREceded by a banner repeater, not proceeded by them. They also mirror the aspects of lower-quadrant semaphores, not just upper-quadrants.. but yeah, nice video :-)
You are absolutely correct on the spelling - Somehow I've never noticed they are different words before! Even growing up with my mother as an english teacher who is very quick to correct me on that sort of thing. :)
I was under the impression that all banner repeaters rotated the same way, but looking now I can see that some of the mechanical ones do in fact go 'left side down.' Are there any of that type still in use today? I can't see any examples of a modern electronic one that goes that way.
@@Taitset Ah I see what you are saying now, I was just meaning that both upper and lower quadrant use a 45 degree angle as "off", as per banner repeaters, rather than looking at the specific rotation direction.
@@Taitset Is this what you based video on? ua-cam.com/video/wAO3JbXYRnI/v-deo.html
No, haven't seen that one before.
@@martins.9352some stations have 🚫 repeaters.
what about flashing greens?
TLDR: Practically speaking, it means the same as a regular green aspect.
Flashing green meant that the next signal is showing at least a green aspect. They were installed in the 1980s when British Rail wanted to introduce 140mph/225kph trains, because the existing double yellow signals did not provide enough warning to safely stop at speeds above 125mph/200kph.
A flashing green signal told the driver that the next signal is showing at least a green aspect, so they could safely continue at 140mph. A normal green signal told the driver to slow down to 125mph so they would be able to stop in time if the next signal is double yellow.
Since no trains currently run above 125mph, there is no practical difference between a flashing green and a normal green, but they left the flashing green signals in place where they were already installed because it wasn't worth the effort to remove them.
Thanks that was handy to learn
Hello, please do a German one
Why can’t this just be implemented in victoria
I'm here just for completing my fictional trainz route
Green = proceed
2 yellow = Preliminary Caution
1 Yellow = Caution
Red = Stop (Danger)
Thank you!
This is a four aspect signal
Seems fairly simple compared to US rail signals
Why make things hard.
@@EXSKIN cause Murica
zP😊😊
Not bad stuff at all, good illustrations, the bit about Flashing Yellows is a wee bit misleading...I explain that here: ua-cam.com/video/_cXTyHZDIkg/v-deo.htmlsi=dyFaEqwIgB9paDJ-
Just to be clear about the flashing Yellows...they were brought in around the 90's so passenger trains could approach a station at a higher speed that wouldn't affect brakeware and bringing the train to a softer stop....driver would see double flashing yellows 4 or 5 signals out from the station and start braking earlier and softer than he/she would if they were closer, saving on brakeware....and passenger complaints if braking harder sending passengers flying forward.
How can it be 4 to 5 signals away as it's flashing double, flashing single the steady yellow that's 3 signals
@@EXSKIN Might want to watch Video 125's HST Great West when the train is approaching Swindon...then you'll see what I mean.
I learnt that from SCR
日本の鉄道信号とよく似てますが、微妙に違いますね。
Modern…. Exactly this is the Word I think of when i see such primitive Signals….
How are they primitive?
I mean you say primitive but the U.K. has among the safest railways in the world so they clearly work
@@felixbeutin8105 because we follow the KISS principle
What makes them primitive? They are easy to understand therefore effective in making the railway safe and optimising capacity
@@Isochestas the old saying goes, "keep it simple stupid"