Referring to your question about splitting distants, (a question
brought to my attention in a sort of way by my correspondent in
Vancouver BC) I looked up my copies of the 1908 and 1913 VR Book of
Signals and found the following
Flinders Street A Box The viaduct between Spencer Street and Flinders
Street, which was then only double line, had a gantry on which were 5
distants which directed trains to a number of home signals and from
them to a number of platforms The dollies were numbered from I to 5
and they were not strictly brackets but anyway they were splitting
distants. They were worked from A Box and at the other side of the box
and maybe on the other side of the Yarra, there were three distants,
two on one post and one on the other. The two from the Port Melbourne
line were diverging I suppose and the single one was from the St Kilda
line and in conjunction the three may have been converging AND
diverging. (I think)
North Melbourne Junction. Post No 6 seems to have been a signal bridge
on which were six distants 4 from Essendon line and 2 from Country
line. Post 95 had 2 distants on it and about 7 discs the latter not
applying to the passenger lines. Post 12 had three dollies a distant
on the left, a starter and a distant in the middle and a distant on
the right.
North Fitzroy A had post 37 with two dollies both of which had a home
signal, below which was a distant. The two distants applied to (1) the
line from Northcote and (2) the line from Clifton Hill. Both referred
to lines converging into North Fitzroy station/
Carlsruhe had diverging distants one for Daylesford and the other for
the Kyneton
Kilmore Junction (later Heathcote Junction) had diverging distants one
for Kilmore and the other for Wandong
Mangalore had diverging distants one for Goulbum Valley and the other
for Main Line
Ballarat East had converging distants into Ballarat East station, one
from Buninyong and the other from Warrenheip
Linton Junction had converging distants from Ararat and Linton
directions.
Ararat had converging distants from Maroona and from Beaufort into
Ararat station
Stawell doesn't qualify but should get a mention with a distant on one
dolly and a home arm on the other
North Geelong A Box had 2 down diverging distants for North Geelong A
and for North Geelong C via the Loop
North Geelong B Box had only a single distant from Geelong direction.
North Geelong C Box had 2 diverging distants for North Geelong A Box
via Loop and for North Geelong B Box.
South Geelong had 2 converging distants from Queenscliff and from
Moriac
Dandenong B Box had 2 converging distants from Warragul and from
Nyora.
The 1913 Book of Signals shows the following
Flinders Street A Box Bridge No I still had 5 up distants on it but by
1913 had 2 down distants as well.
The three distants from Port Melbourne and St Kilda were also still
there
North Melbourne Junction Bridge 6 still has 5 distants on the bridge.
Bracket 12 still has three distants but no longer a starterPost 95
only has two distants on it.
North Fitzroy A Box Post 37 still there
Carlsruhe Post 1 still there
Kilmore Junction down diverging distants still there
Linton Junction still had converging up distants
Ararat converging down distants still there
Stawell funny bracket still there
Mangalore down diverging distants still there
North Geelong A bracket distant still there
North Geelong B Box still only one distant on the up.
North Geelong C up bracket distant still there
South Geelong up converging bracket still there
Dandenong B up converging bracket still there
Moe up converging bracket there (since Moe interlocked 13 May 1913
Traralgon bracket up distants still there
Nyora add new up converging bracket distant