The LNER Encyclopedia

I'll start a new topic regarding access into Hitchin Stockyard (The Farm) from the most obvious route, the up slow in the facing direction..

Here is a box diagram.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32297024@N ... otostream/

Trains regularly ran from the up slow into the Engineers Yard via 19 points reversed but there is no signal for this route. How did they do it?

Well Richard a train would arrive at HITCHIN SOUTH up slow line home signal (this signal also had the home signal for the route from the up slow to up fast line mounted on the same bracket post) where the signalman in HITCHIN SOUTH would reverse the facing points leading into the stockyard and lock them with a FPL.

I think there may have been a YELLOW disc-signal on the ground beside the facing points leading into the stockyard??. So the facing points would have been reversed and locked and the disc signal "pulled off" into the stockyard then the signalman would have exhibited a green handsignal from the box to authorise the loco driver to proceed passed the up slow line home signal and into the stockyard.

Thats all guess work on my part because i never got into HITCHIN SOUTH box to findout?.

Not quite. I had the pleasure of a good number of ex Hitchin signalmen here to play with my Ely boxes and have heard the stories many times. I found it hard to believe but here goes..

Levers 6,11, and 18 would be pulled to allow 2 signal to be cleared. once the train was past 2 the lever would be returned to normal, 18 FPL lever would be placed to normal to unlock 19 points which would then be reversed and relocked by pulling 18 then 17 lever would be pulled to clear the yellow disc into the Farm...

As far as i can make out only one passenger train ended up going in there after being miss described on the block....

Interesting an unusual bit of signalling practice but thats wot made that era of semaphore signalling so interesting.

I can't access your diagram of Hitchin South so i can't relate properly to the signal & points numbers at Hitchin South but interesting all the same.

PM me with an email address and i'll send the pictures if it helps.