Re: First Automatic signal?

[Mark Bau <markbau@altavista.com>]

> From: John Duncan McCallum <mccallum@melbpc.org.au>
> Organization: Melbourne PC User Group
> Newsgroups: aus.rail
> Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 15:03:18 +1000
> Subject: Re: First Automatic signal?
> 
> Mark,
> If what you say is route signalling in the USA, what aspects do the
> signals show
> when you are diverging to a left hand road as distinct from a right hand
> road, where
> both exist at that location?
> If they show the same aspect, then it is not route signalling.

If there is only one diverge you get a bottom light, as there is only one
way to diverge why have anything else?

If there is two diverges ahead the signal will be equipped with 3 lights.
Top light straight
Middle light right diverge
Bottom light left diverge

Anyway, I'm coming to the conclusion that terms route and speed signaling
are meaningless. No signal system tells you at all times what speed to go
and no signal system always tells you what route you are taking as a BR
driver explained to me at Euston years ago.

>From now on I'm going to stop using these two terms.

Just as a history note. The use of the term speed signaling in Victoria came
about because the first 3 pos installations definitely told you what track
you were going on. When they started to use use bottom lights for speed
control rather than for their original purpose VR people referred to this
new use as "speed signaling" because for the first time in Victoria the
signals were actually telling you how fast to run your train.

Mark