Re: [NSW]-Question about signal phones

[Eddie Oliver <eoliver@efs.mq.edu.au>]

Tezza wrote:

> Got some signal numbers? I was in both places tonight and didn't notice any.

Obviously this is not the sort of thing I carry conclusively in mind,
but try the signal on the city outer protecting the points into 22/23
platforms, and the signal at the end of platform 14. 

And for some examples of accepts and outer homes that defy the "rule",
try the down accept local and the outer home north suburban into no. 5
platform at Strathfield.

> What use are most of the rules that are ignored daily? But I think your mixing
> up what I said with what Ian(?) said. I never said the placement of the phone
> had anything to do with whether or not or how it could be passed, I said it
> was used to help determine what kind of signal was what.

Fair enough, although that then raises the next question of what reasons
there are for needing to determine what kind of signal is what, except
in the context of passing them at stop. When they are not at stop, I
can't think of too many contexts where one would behave differently
depending on whether they are an auto, home or whatever??? Or are we
somehow talking in different lines of thought again?

> The first thing a newbie learns on the railways is that every rule has an
> exception. Please note that "every" is not strictly true.
> 
> "You can't pass a signal at stop". "Here is the list of 27 ways of passing
> signals at stop."
> "All automatic signals are offset." "Plated automatic signals are not offset."
> "All switches on locos are American style up is on". "46 class use Pommie
> style down is on switches".
> "XX locos have generators, except XXY which has an alternator."

I understand what you are saying, but I suspect it shows that we may be
using the word "rule" in rather different senses. For instance the
"rules" in my sense for identifying automatic signals do cover all the
possibilities; i.e. it is certainly laid down in writing in SSUs and/or
SWUs that auto signals may have staggered lights or "A" plates. But you
might say that "as a rule, auto signals have staggered lights" where one
is using "as a rule" in the colloquial sense to mean "most commonly" or
even "almost always".

Like you might say "as a rule, train drivers are male", whereas I would
say there is no "rule" to require them to be male. You could reasonably
say that the female drivers are an exception to the rule, whereas I
would say there is no rule to which they can be exceptions. In our
respective terminology systems, we would both be right.