Recent content by paxman

Thanks everyone for your helpful answers. I'll definitely follow up on splashoutradio's excellent suggestions. As regards the accuracy of GPS altimeter recordings - it's a tough call. I've been taking the average of three readings. The results are often slightly inconsistent with official...

There's no chance we'll be switching to in-cab signalling any time soon - or ever. (I'm not in the UK.) I'm putting together the new grade diagrams with Adobe Illustrator, rather than painfully drawing them out on paper. The raw data comes from an Excel sheet populated by GPS location and...

Thanks for your response. My intention is to color-code the gradients (eg dark red for 2%, a lighter shade of red for 1.75%) and include signals and other important features. I can't imagine I'm the only person to have thought of that.

Hi everyone I'm trying to re-do the grade (ie gradient or topographical) diagrams for the major lines on our network. Our existing diagrams are 40 years old and are of limited use. I'm curious about ways of depicting this sort of information. How do other railways go about showing grades? I...

Again, a terrific answer. Indeed, our automatic air brakes permit only a graduable application, not a graduable release, hence the obligation to go unbraked a couple of times per station stop. Although our DMUs have only a single brake pipe, every car has its own compressor, meaning that the...

Thanks for your comprehensive reply, hexagon789. In hindsight I should have mentioned the term 'triple valve', which is what our single-pipe air brake systems are based on - and which is why we lack graduated braking on those trains. It sounds as if Westinghouse's triple valve, or at least...

Hi everyone I'm curious about the use of single-pipe air brakes on passenger trains around the world. I recently qualified as a driver on a passenger fleet that's a mix of modern DMUs with EP braking and older diesel-hauled stock equipped with 26L, A-7 and No. 4 single-pipe air brakes. Knowing...

Alas, such is the down-side of the Westinghouse triple valve: you can only recharge your brake pipe by releasing the brakes. During the 10 to 15 seconds that it takes to recharge, you're essentially unbraked. In an emergency, you could possibly apply the locomotive brakes as they're directly...

Life would be considerably easier were EP fitted to all our rolling stock - but, then, I imagine management would use that as an excuse to chop a zero or two from our wages! To do a smooth platform stop at high speed, the usual procedure is to make two air brake applications. The first brings...

That's correct. Around half the fleet uses electro-pneumatic braking, allowing you to gradually release and apply brakes as circumstances warrant. The rest of the fleet uses traditional air-brakes (A-7 or 26L). You can't decrease braking force with those: once they're on, your only options are...

Many thanks for all your replies. It sounds as if the use of braking points - or zones, which is perhaps a better description - is universal. I'd thought that a rail system as modern as the UK's might employ some sort of dedicated track-side signage or electronic warning system. It's good to...

Around half our fleet uses A-7 or 26L brakes. In effect, you only get two attempts at air-braking for a stop - and heaven help you if you hit the end of the platform while your brake pipe is still recharging.

I figured route knowledge is still the linchpin of good driving regardless of where you are - but it's nice to know that UK railway companies go to the trouble of helping out with signage along the way. How many different tracks would a UK long-distance driver be expected to master? 'Stretched'...

I recently qualified as a driver. A decent part of our training involved identifying shut-off and braking points. These can be anything: bridges, signal posts, crests - even, in one case, a particular puddle. For every station there are usually a couple of braking points in each direction...

Thanks to everyone for all your replies. I really appreciate the time and effort you've taken to responding. We do indeed have access to track videos and route simulators, which we're free watch and practise with ad nauseam. To me, geofencing seems like a logical extension of using technology...