Equipment wouldn't go blank. It would fail safe at both Endex so all the TCs would be showing occupied, with all the points flashing out of correspondance (unless of course the signals were knackered then they would go blank).
No they don't ring to pass them (unless you again mean the signals are blank due to the fault, then yes they would) if the controls work fine, the signaller generally signals trains as normal, but first has to identity that it is an indication fault (but in this case, you won't be signalling much if the signals are dead with no point indications!).
One thing I don't know is how they would signal trains if they have no indications of signals etc on the panel, I wonder if the route lights would be affected! It's relatively easy in a small area, but a whole panel isn't great
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've got some pictures from work where we had a power spike from the national grid and backup UPS failed and left the whole signalling panel total dead and blank. Luckily this was just after 04:00 in the morning with no trains running, then I've got another picture at about 05:30 when the power was restored but the signalling computer that runs the panel said "NO" and all track circuits were showing occupied and all points were showing out of correspondence. Service did not resume until after 06:30 when the computer was successfully re-booted by the technicians.
Whether you move trains or not when there is a total loss of signalling indications will depend on if it's just plain line or if it involves points, crossovers and level crossings or not. Temporary block working could be introduced if none of the latter above were to apply, but once your working blind with no point indications, well that's basically the end of the game until the technicians fix the fault or a mass of support staff start clipping up points to be left in one direction only for Temporary block working to start. Which will need at least two persons outside per line (one at the start of the broken section of signalling and one at the end of the effected section) working under the signallers instructions and you can forget any trains working to or from any diverging routes as all points would be set for straight running and left that way.
With a total loss of signalling even if the Train Describer is working and not effected you can't use it as the train IDs want step from berth to berth as it's the track circuits that drive the stepping of the IDs.
The best you can do with a total loss of signalling is wait for the drivers to start calling in and get the number of the signal they are standing at and start using good ol note paper and pen and starting recording their locations down ready for when things get fixed enough that you start moving trains again.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Every signal would have been red, if power is lost then they have a backup which keeps them red for quite a while.
If a signal is blank (or black as it is known) then it has to be assumed to be at its most restrictive aspect.
I think that depends on the age and type of signalling installation. On the night England played Uruguay in the World Cup the London Electric board managed to blow up a feeder cable of something in the New Addington area which took out the power supply to South Croydon relay room towards the end of the evening peak. The signalling is RRI fed via a TDM, so when the power went all tracks went red all points went out of correspondence and the TDM was showing it was just TDM indication failure only, not nice as you've now lost all of visual reference to where all your trains are but as it's indication everything trackside is still working as far as the train drivers are concerned and we have a back basic system we can use once we know that all current trains are clear of the effected section and all other trains are stopped from entering the section until the backup system is switched in.
Then it started happening driver after driver started calling in reporting blank signals, a quick recheck of the TDM revealed that the remote had also failed so now there is NO power to any of the trackside equipment ie signals and points. Well that's it nothing now moves as you have now no way of knowing the position of the points or if they are still locked no aspects in any signals and on top of that the TDM control circuit fails as well, so indications, no control signalling equipment and no power to it, it don't get much worse than that