Swindon genius

Swindon Genius

A brief note on one of the finest inventions of all time - to wit, the
Great Western Railway system of automatic train control which remains
unsurpassed to this day.

The system operated on the fail/safe principle at the distant signal
and was introduced as much to save expense during foggy conditions as
to protect traffic in the event of a driver running through signals set
at danger.
A ramp between the rails ( standard gauge ) raised the engine located
plunger which sounded a vacuum siren in the cab. If brakes were not
applied by the driver, they came on automatically. This describes the
situation where an engine runs through the distant signal at
danger.
Where distant signals are at all clear, current is applied to the ramp
&; if collected in the cab, a bell rings instead of the siren. If
contact is not properly made for any reason, the siren/automatic
braking routine is activated. This masterpiece of engineering typified
the Great Western Railway's approach making it the envy of all other
railway companies who poached their best engineers from Swindon.

Disasters avoidable by atc if it had been installed:
1. Harrow &; Wealdstone 1952
2. Bourne End 1945
3. Ilford 1944
4. Welwyn Garden City 1957
5. Lewisham 1957

This is my Xmas '97 card - more informative than an ancient man in red
coat and whiskers on a reindeer.

Mal