Re: Minor Magical Mystery Tours on CityRail.

["Ron BEST" <ronbest@bigpond.com>]

It would have saved a lot of tangled overhead, if unwired sidings were
provided with enough 'overhead' to accomodate the length of several coupled
electric locos, and normally isolated from the system. However, that would
have cost a lot of money just to minimize the damage caused by these little
"mistakes".

Some systems have a signal-type indicator to show whether the next section
is alive. Unwired sidings could be fitted with one of these, permanently
showing "dead".
Rgds
Ron BEST

Paul Hogan wrote in message ...
>
>> >--
>> A mate used to be signalman at Spotswood years ago. One evening sent on
an
>> Up goods towards Melb but forgot to bell the next box that it was an
>> electric loco. Yep, the panto ran out of catenary.....
>>
>> D'oh!!!!!
>
>Which is why the then new NSW 85 class electrics were fitted with
>an illuminated "E" on the front, so highly trained signal box staff
>wouldn't mistake an electric "box" for a diesel one, and sent it
>down an unwired road!  (With their yellow front, I guess they
>*could* have been mistaken for an 80 or 422 on a dark night).
>
>I can only assume that this modification was carried out after
>one or two embarrassing incidents had already occurred.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Paul Hogan
>>
>>
>