Railway Signalling in Britain (Index)

As this blog (like Topsy) 'just growed' the use of the 'Labels' to select a group of posts becomes less useful. The label 'railway signalling' currently produces almost 200 'hits' so I've started to add a few Index Posts to try to make life easier. It remains to be seen how effective this will be, particular since updates is done manually, when I get around to it.

I've always been interesting in railway signalling so, back in 2013, I started a series of articles on Railway Signalling in Britain. The emphasis on historical systems, rather than modern practice. Progress is slow and erratic, I'm afraid, but a number of parts are available, as listed below:-

Part 1: Introduction 28-Apr-2013
Part 2 - Semaphore Signals 3-May-2013
Part 3 - Slotting 3-May-2013
Part 4 - Semaphore Signal Aspects by Night 13-May-2013
Part 5 - Signal Arm, Slot and Lamp Repeaters 23-May-2013
Part 6 - Mechanical Operation of Points 18-Sep-2014
Part 7 - Train Detection In preparation
Part 8: Colour Light Signals 2-Apr-2018
Part 9 - Power Operation of Points In preparation
Part 10 - Absolute Block Working In preparation
Part 11 - Single Line Railways 8-Dec-2018
Part 12 - Automatic Train Control In preparation

There are also a number of articles about British signalling which don't form part of a series - more of a 'pot-pourri'. The one on Double Wire working is included because, although this is principally associated with overseas railways, Double Wire working is not unknown in Britain.

L. & N.W.R. Signal box architecture and features 16-Oct-2016
Double Wire Working of Points and Signals 29-Oct-2015
The use of Electricity in Railway Signalling 8-Oct-2015
Life in the Signal Box 20-Sep-2013
Manchester Piccadilly Station - Behind the Scenes 19-Mar-2013
The End of an Era 16-Jan-2013
A. F. Bound 3-Jan-2013
Sealed Release for Signal Boxes 24-Dec-2011
Single-stroke Bells 16-Dec-2011
Reading the Runes: Decoding Train Register Books 5-Dec-2011
The Train Register Book 29-Nov-2011
L&NWR Block Signalling Instruments 18-Jun-2008


In general (but there are no fixed rules in this blog), the above list excludes posts applying to a specific area or signal box, but there's a separate post Signal Box Posts (Index) which lists posts relating to specific locations.

Alternately, a lot of my early experiences working mechanical boxes in the West Midlands in the steam era can be traced through the introductory post Visiting Signalboxes.

Of course, an alternative way of looking for a specific topic is to use the Blogger search box and enter a word or phrase that might be included in the post, for instance 'block control'.

[Posts added 31-Oct-2016: Link to Signal Box Posts added 1-Nov-2016: Updated 8-Apr-2018: Part 11 added 8-Dec-2018]