Re: Hornsby Derailment in Sun-Herald

["Ron BESDANSKY (formerly Ron BEST)" <ronbest@bigpond.com>]

Rod Gayford <rjaygee@smatchat.net.au> wrote in message
3793A2F5.6BA35675@smatchat.net.au">news:3793A2F5.6BA35675@smatchat.net.au...
> I may stand corrected but are there any trips north of Hornsby? I
understood trips
> were only used in the original limits of metro electrification. Remember
the
> prototype K set that ran into the back of the freight at Berowra killing
the driver
> some years ago. It also ran a red light.
>
I think there are trips west to Penrith or Emu Plains, north to Cowan, south
to Campbelltown/Macarthur, Illawarra to Helensburgh? -i.e. basically, the
area in which suburban electric trains traditionally operated. I have always
thought how inconsistent it is that the sections served by Intercity trains
were generally not provided with train stops when the sections were
electrified. What is the difference between one person in the cab of  a
suburban EMU, and one person in the cab of an Intercity train (except that
sections are longer outside the "suburban" area)?

A train stop isn't necessarily going to prevent a collision or derailment.
It will always require some distance for the train to be brought to a stand
from whatever speed it was doing when it was tripped. In the case of the
exit signal from a loop, there's almost no point in having a train stop,
because, if the signal is passed at 'stop', the train is likely to be sent
into the dirt by the catch points anyway. Normally, the  design of overlaps
etc should be such that, unless the driver does something really silly, the
train will be brought to a stand clear of any obstruction.
Rgds

Ron BESDANSKY (formerly Ron BEST)