Turnout Question ABS

[nscsxcrrailfan]

Thanks for the reply. I certainly feel better knowing this. It's always good to be safe.

[CShaveRR]

One or two inches is a pretty wide gap in the points. I know that our hump switches are tested to ensure that there is no signal indication if the gap is wider than a quarter-inch. With railroad signal design generally being fail-safe, I can't imagine the signals being anything but red in a case like that (or, at worst, dark--which is to be regarded as a stop signal in a case like that).

[wabash1]

nscsxcrrailfan

My friend couldn't tell exactly how big the gap was, but it was likely somewhere around 1-2 inches because he said it was small but noticeable. It might not have been that big of a deal, but I think it's always good to be safe.

 

I see it says your around fairfield so if your talking about either golden gate or moon then yes the signals are all red. and the spring switch will also be red. if we are running on bad blocks we haft to check every face point switch and if there is a gap must stop and realign the switch if it wont match up we must notify the dispatcher and they will get maintanace in the way to come out and fix it. I can say this ABS is the safest signal system i have run on. 

[nscsxcrrailfan]

My friend couldn't tell exactly how big the gap was, but it was likely somewhere around 1-2 inches because he said it was small but noticeable. It might not have been that big of a deal, but I think it's always good to be safe.

[mudchicken]

So RWM can answer this from the signalman's perspective properly...how much of a "gap' between the stockrail and the switch point?

Sounds like a hydraulic assist variable switch to me. (and then we can play with the what-if's)

[nscsxcrrailfan]

A couple years ago I talked to a friend who lives near the railroad. He noticed one day that the turnout on the main for entering a passing siding hadn't closed all the way after a train had left the siding. He said that it looked like the points on the turnout hadn't closed all the way and had left a small gap between the outer rail and the point. He couldn't see the signals on both sides to see what they indicated, however he was very concerned that a train might come through and derail. I talked to a local signalman for the railroad a year ago about this. The signalman said that if something like that happened the signals would all go to red and stay there. One thing to remember is this system is ABS and the turnouts are hand-thrown with light indicators (red-green). We've watched trains go through the turnouts on this line, and they just push the turnout over when they're leaving the siding. The only time the conductor throws the turnout is when the train is heading into the siding. The main question I have is, if the turnout had not closed all the way and left a small gap would the signals stay red as the signalman said or go to all clear?