Pre-grouping two-position upper-quadrant semaphores

[ac6000cw]

Prompted by the discussion in the 'LSWR Lower Quadrants' thread - were there many two-position upper-quadrant semaphores around before the 1923 grouping?

Background - AFAIK, an IRSE (Institution of Railway Signal Engineers) committee recommended in 1922 against installing any more (US-style) 3-position upper-quadrants and use 3-aspect colour-lights instead. That opened up the general use of 2-position upper-quadrant semaphores, without risking potentially dangerous confusion between 45 degree 3-position 'caution' and 2-position 'clear' indications.

 

[Gloster]

I think that upper-quadrants were rare before Grouping, although I have seen a date of 1910 for their appearance, but I have no idea of the source or reliability of this date. I suspect that there may have been a few, either trial installations or specials for a particular situation.

 

[D6130]

IIRC, American-style three position upper quadrant signals were installed by the Great Central Railway in the Althorpe-Keadby area near Scunthorpe....and by the South Eastern & Chatham Railway at Victoria (Eastern).

 

[ac6000cw]

Thanks both for the info (I was aware of the GCR 3-position upper quadrants, but not the SECR ones).

Out of interest, below are a couple of snippets from a paper presented to the IRSE in 1932 by A.F. Bound (then the Signal and Telegraph Engineer of the LMS, previously with the LNER and GCR), that I found today:





Over a century later, those three and four aspect colour light signal indications are still commonplace in UK lineside signalling - an excellent example of forward-thinking at the time.

 

[Mr. SW]

The Metropolitan Railway had motor-worked upper quadrant two-position signals in 1907. Quite hard finding good images though.
Here's one in the background of this group photo at Neasden 1915.

https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/collections-online/photographs/item/2004-1540.

LURS pdf here showing the Ealing and Shepherds Bush Railway (Central London Railway) 3-position installation with pictures

https://www.lurs.org.uk/01_July_2021_LONDON_UNDERGROUND_SIGNALLING.pdf

This LURS pdf shows a Met Railway UQ shunt signal

https://www.lurs.org.uk/02_Oct_2021_LONDON_UNDERGROUND_SIGNALLING.pdf

 

[ac6000cw]

The Metropolitan Railway had motor-worked upper quadrant two-position signals in 1907. Quite hard finding good images though.
Here's one in the background of this group photo at Neasden 1915.

https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/collections-online/photographs/item/2004-1540.

LURS pdf here showing the Ealing and Shepherds Bush Railway (Central London Railway) 3-position installation with pictures

https://www.lurs.org.uk/01_July_2021_LONDON_UNDERGROUND_SIGNALLING.pdf

This LURS pdf shows a Met Railway UQ shunt signal

https://www.lurs.org.uk/02_Oct_2021_LONDON_UNDERGROUND_SIGNALLING.pdf

Thanks - some interesting stuff there, especially the 'Ealing and Shepherds Bush Railway' signalling, with a mixture of GWR and US (probably from Union Switch & Signal) equipment controlled from Underground signal boxes! (This blog page has photos of some old US&S 3-position automatic semaphores that were still active in 2013 in their home country, some with pointy finials too!)

 

[matchmaker]

There is mention in Warburtons "LMS signalling" of upper quadrant arms being used in the "mid 1920s". The third edition (1933) of L.P.Lewis's "Railway Signal Engineering (Mechanical)" refers to "the new British Standard semaphore signal" as being an upper quadrant.