Re: British Accident 1sr Report Out - Thames Driver Not Being Blamed At This Point

["Rod" <comtrain@mpx.com.au>]

>
> the "phantom indication" theory is gaining credence. There would have
> been early morning sunshine right on the signal at the time of the
> accident.
>
> cheers
>
>
The phantom indication is a real problem. It happened to me during my
Drivers exam!
With the sun virtually directly behind the mast head on a signal, I
approached at the correct speed in S317, freshly painted, with a bright
yellow nose. At about 15 kph I caught a good view of the low speed at
yellow, and saying so, released the train brake! To my horror almost
immediately I saw that the low speed was out. By the time I got the brakes
to reapply I was past it about 30 feet. Fortunately the Examiner agreed with
me that I had the signal. We decided that the Sun had reflected off the
rounded nose of the S and again off the backing mirror of the signal giving
me the false indication, which disappeared a few seconds later as the angles
changed. Apparently L Class Locos had a similar reputation.
Rod