Resources

1948 – May – Stewart – Power Railway Signalling

Author(s): Mr. F. Stewart (Member) A. S. T. C., A. M.I.E. (Aust.) Assoc. Inst. T.,Signal Engineer, McKenzie & Holland (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.

Date presented: December 28th, 2015

Some Observations on English and American Practice Mr. F. Stewart (Member) A. S. T. C., A. M.I.E. (Aust.) Assoc. Inst. T., Signal Engineer, McKenzie & Holland (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. Modern railway signalling covers such a wide field that no single paper can adequately cover the technicalities involved, and this paper has, therefore, been limited to some observations on English and American practice in power signalling.Railway systems in England and America have had to meet widelv different conditions of population density and area, and traffic operating conditions in the two countries have been developed to suit the local conditions.Railway signalling in each country has been adapted to meet the varying traffic conditions and track layout, whilst retain- ing the accepted basic principles of safe working.We get some idea of these differences by comparing the long hauls on single track, with long and heavy trains, so characteristic of much of the mileage on American railways, with the shorter trains and short hauls on multiple track, which constitute the greater portion of English railways.

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1979 – July – Purcell – Pilbara Area – Hamersley Iron

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Date presented: December 28th, 2015

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1954 – Aug – Black – Signalling of Plunger Locked Crossing Junction Stat

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Date presented: December 28th, 2015

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1990 – July – Whybird – Queensland Railways Telecommunications Aspects o

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Date presented: December 28th, 2015

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1952 – Sep – Fahey – American Railway Signalling Practice

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Date presented: December 28th, 2015

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1971 – March – McCamley Meyers – NSW Ralways – Sydney – Orange Microwave L

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Date presented: December 28th, 2015

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1973 – Oct – Cumming Turnham – Planning New Developments of Signalling

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Date presented: December 28th, 2015

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1972 – Nov – Tooth – A New Approch to Power Signalling

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Date presented: December 28th, 2015

AD Tooth ASTC MIEAust MIEE Chief Engineer, Masters Equipment Pty Ltd This paper deals with a new approach to the problems of railway signalling using the technology which has been developed over the last few years in hydraulics for the aircraft and allied industries. This approach involves the use of a sealed hydraulic system which is completely self-contained and should offer a 10-year mean time between fai lure period. The use of hydraulics provides a means of generating power from a train itself for remote areas. The system also gives a means of providing a more economical and reliable power signalling system for areas where mains power is available.

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2015 – October – Moore – Signalling Principles of ARTC

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Date presented: December 28th, 2015

Trevor Moore  BEng, MBA, FIRSE, FIE Aust  Australian Rail Track Corporation The Australian Rail Track Corporation was established in 1998 to manage the below rail assets from the devolution of Australian National Railways. It subsequently set up leases for the interstate rail network in Victoria and New South Wales. It now covers 5 states in Australia. It manages track and access for trains from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia through Adelaide, South Australia to Melbourne, Victoria and on to Sydney, New South Wales and finishing just outside of Brisbane, Queensland. It is an accredited rail organisation and manages rail operations, signalling, track and civil infrastructure. The signalling principles are represented in signalling standards and in the network operating rules. The Rules detail how the train drivers and the network controllers/signallers view and operate on the rail network. The signalling principles of a railway cover design, construction, testing, maintenance and operation. All of the System Life Cycle elements incorporate principles that govern the manner in which the signalling system operates. ARTC has inherited the rail networks, signalling infrastructure and signalling principles of the long standing railways in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. For the past ten years these inherited signalling standards have been reviewed and merged. This is an ongoing task and will continue as the railway adapts and grows and new technology is introduced.

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1994 – Aug – Haley – Wollingford Lifting Bridge

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Date presented: December 28th, 2015

David Haley MIRSE Signals & Operational Systems Corporate Services Engineering Division Queensland Rail In Queensland, private railways operated for cane haulage by sugar mills are referred to as Tramways. The majority of these railways are 2' (610mm) gauge. Despite the gauge these are real railways with some mills operating long trains and hauling quite significant tonnages. The Pleystowe Mill operates trains up to 600m long and during the crushing season (June to  December) hauls in excess of one million tonnes of cane from the cane fields to the mill. At present Queensland Rail has eighty five at-grade tramway crossings. Many of these crossings are at or near 90" and with seventy crossings on the North Coast Line (Brisbane - Cairns). The filler block diamonds used in 90" crossings have 50mm wide flange-ways through the heads of the running rails of both gauges. The filler blocks are provided to allow the wheels of QR trains to run on the flanges thus reducing the impact as the 2' gauge flange-way is crossed. The mechanical shock to the diamonds is considerable and is the main factor in their service life. To maximise the service life of the diamond, maximum train speeds of 40kph or lower are desirable. Queensland Rail presently operates trains up to 80kph over such diamonds, resulting in a maintenance penalty. In some cases diamonds are physically taken out of track outside the crushing season to extend their lives. For shallow angle crossings (e.g. 25O) it is possible to design diamonds which rely on wheel tread running only and produce much lower impact loadings. To date there has been little alternative to the 90" at-grade crossing. Grade separations involve significant earthworks and purchase of land to accommodate the cuttings or embankments. The gradient acceptable on the tramway is limited by the fact that the trains are operated with head end power only and brakes on the locomotive only. The land resumption is in general very expensive as both railways are in general running in prime cane land. Oblique angle crossings are more wasteful of land and due to the need to purchase land for the required deviations are not an attractive solution to upgrade existing 90" crossings.

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