Thanks v. m. Dave.DaveGN wrote:On the Potters Bar panel - we have the 'correct' colours for the up and down lines and a conflicting T/C which would have been blue (into a crossover also blue) coloured pink!StevieG wrote: Very very occasionally though, probably on complex layouts, even following the above real-life solution, 'same-colour' conflicts can still arise, in which case I have known a fifth colour to be used where absolutely unavoidable: Usually orange, or possibly even red;
That is quite interesting indeed, for more than one reason.
I didn't remember that track circuit (TC) being a problem in this way, and consulting several of my old panel sketches reveals why.
Firstly, the need for this pink 'un has come about, as you say, from the colouring policy which has been applied to the panel that you've pictured, which partly undermines my earlier spoutings on the subject, and so partly supports Micky's originally-stated understanding about colouring by line direction.
I should explain: The first 're-signalling' (1972-3?) panel at PB, like the 1950's one, had the signalman facing the back of the box (east). Incidentally, the second and final panel in New Barnet North box (which, no doubt you know, includes PB) faced the same way, as does, in King's Cross PSB (also being on the east ('Up') side of the line with the signallers also 'back to traffic') the large panel there.
On all three of these panels, track circuit colouring was done in the way I outlined - blue/yellow and brown/green on alternate lines irrespective of direction.
But this Potters Bar panel obviously faces the opposite way to the previous one (I thought its fascia looked remarkably clean and tidy
*), and has been done using the strict 'colours according to direction' system; - which has caused the problem in what colour that T.1232 Up Slow track circuit had to be, by using blue/yellows for both Up lines : On the other three panels that I've mentioned, the UF was blue/yellows, and the US was brown/greens (though individual TC colours on the three did not exactly match with each other, but that doesn't matter: It is not at all usual AFAIK for TC colours to be made to match between signal boxes/panels), so at that time there was no problem with this specific TC. * - [ Do you know if this is a new panel, or the old one re-mounted the other way round, and presumably with a new complete vinyl overlay fascia?
Have any other KX box area satellite/emergency panels been moved round and/or re-surfaced using the 'TC colours by direction' system, we could wonder. ]
