The BC&SJ crews will have a blast

I love TT&TO operation, and I find is the most enjoyable form of train control.  Understanding it can be a bit daunting, but having one of the co-authors of the book being so close by  will be very helpful.  i am going to be attending a Regional Convetion where the other coauthor of the book will be giving a detailed clinic on TT&TO later this week, and I am very excited in learning and understanding it more than I do now!

Ken L.

Train Order Signals

Charlie,  Glad to see you getting into TT & TO ops. A retired railroader, I have operated over the years with TT & TO and at the end, TWC, and I liked train orders a whole lot better. Time marches on, I guess.  Your installation looks really good. 

Just a comment or two on TO semaphores: 1) Operated by a set of levers in the depot or tower, and in older installations, just unhooking a ring from the front wall, the signal moves fast, especially from clear to red, as the balance weight pulls the board up with its weight. Red to Yellow to Green or red to green is still pretty fast as the operator pulls the lever or pulls down the wire and rehooks it in the older installations. So, a faster travel would be realistic. No bounce, either ... that's for electrically-operated block signals.  ......  

2) Not all TO signals used a yellow or caution position. In my travels around the country, it seems to be split about half-and-half 2 position to 3. Lines using Manual Block tended to like three-positions better.  A two-position signal was also used for 19 Orders, in which case if the crew saw the signal at Stop, and the operator on the platform ready to hoop up orders, they would slow a little and cruise on by. No operator and/or a red fusee or a lantern on the platform meant stop. 

Not to be critical of your work ...... just wanted newer modelers to know there were variations. 

Regards, 

Blade position for servo

Do the blades have to be in a cetain position for the bend in the control wire?

Adjusting blade position

I tried to have the blades in their yellow (45^o down) position. The is in the middle of their travel. I set the servo to the center of its travel and made the bend in the control wire accordingly.

There's more travel in the servo than there is in the semaphore's control wires so if you're not precise in getting the middle position you can compensate when you set the semaphore red, yellow, and green positions.

Charlie

The other thing...

The other thing I did wrong was putting the TO semaphore between the tracks. Normal practice would have it between the depot and the nearest track.

I did it the way I did because:

1. I didn't know any better at the time
2. The depot is a stand in model and I wasn't sure exactly where the final depot will be located nor how high or the type of the platform associated with it. When the final depot goes in, I'll be moving the semaphore.

Charlie (there's always something wrong with it) Comstock

TO signal between tracks

True, it's not normal for the signal to be between tracks, but there are, of course, always exceptions: 

http://www.shorpy.com/node/11440?size=_original#caption

Skip 

Signals

Hi Charlie,

I hope you don’t mind me sending you this as its well outside your Magazine scope, but your train order signal prompted me. This is one of the hand built signals I have made for a British layout I am making. It is supposed to represent a LNER rebuild of a North British Signal. It is servo controlled like the train order signal. This signal is at a branch line station entry and controls Platform 2 (RH), Platform 1(Centre) and Goods Yard (LH).  The two small arms below the main platform signals are “Calling On” signals to allow a movement into an occupied road. A total of 5 servos for this signal and 12 LEDs for illumination. The signal is semi automatic in operation. The operator can clear it, but only if the correct route is set and the sections to the rear un-occupied. The boards fall down when the signal is passed and the sections become occupied. I use JMRI for control using MERG (Model Electronic Railway Group) circuits via a touch screen using Cbus. Due to the complexity of this signal it was built at a bench on a small section of removable baseboard. The servos are mounted on the underside of this board. The whole edifice being installed from below.  It can be removed for maintenance in just a few minutes. I also model US railroads in both HO and G scales and look forward to the MRH every month.

I've attached a couple of pictures.

Regards,

Tony Lambert  

Thanks

Nothing about railroading is "outside the scope" here.

Simply amazing

How to distribute the train orders?

Hi,

after reading this nice article one question arose with me: you now have these nice signals at your layout's stations. How do you get the train orders to the crews?

(Assuming that radio communication was not practical in the days when train order signals were used.)

Thinking about it for a while didn't get me anywhere - until a few days ago. There are receipt printers (like used in grocery stores and hobby stores for printing a receipt of what you've bought) available that can print text (with or without images) on paper from a long roll. They are available for cheap (from 20 Euro upwards) or expensive.

You could set up three or four of these next to your train order signals and deliver the train orders to your crews. When you set a signal, fill in a form on your dispatcher's computer and send it to the appropriate printer. Might be a nice addition to the actual signals

Ok, this is stupid, but..

Have fun!