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Railway General Knowledge.

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DerekC

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Radio signalling/AWS
Yes! (Well, near enough). Frank Wyatt Prentice (a US citizen at that time living in Toronto) patented a "wireless signalling system" which LSWR tried out on the Hampton Court branch in 1911. It used radio transmission (then called "Herzian waves") from a cable laid between the rails with a "coherer" (early radio signal detector) on the locomotive. The coherer energised a relay which showed a green light in the cab to the driver. if the coherer wasn't receiving a signal, a red light was shown and the emergency brake was applied. Connect the radio transmitter to the interlocking so that it is only energised when the line ahead is clear and Bob's your uncle! It obviously had problems because the LSWR (and various US railroads which tried it) dropped it quickly. My guess is that discrimination between adjacent tracks and between one block and the next might have been a problem, as well as the fact that the whole kit would have been highly unreliable and probably subject to interference from any local radio ham. I haven't managed to find a copy of the patent yet - that might reveal more.

The revolution that is still ongoing is, of course, radio based signalling, characterised on the main line network by ERTMS/ETCS.

ironically Seltrac, the first successful transmission based signalling system was developed in Toronto about seventy-five years later!

@CarrotPie - your highly innovative floor, I think.
 

xotGD

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Next question:

What was officially handed over to BR on 29 January 1968 at Marylebone Station?
 

Snow1964

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One hundred years ago, (year 1921, no specific date in year)

Which railway companies (or joint lines) had electrified lines and where. There are a few answers, so whoever gets the most wins. I think there are 13 if I have counted correctly.

I will exclude the tube size lines (Central London, City & South London, Bakerloo, Piccadilly, Northern line, Waterloo & City)
 

EbbwJunction1

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Here's a few guesses:
North Eastern; South Eastern; London, Chatham and Dover; London & South Western; Glasgow Suburban Railway (or whatever it was called then?); Merseyrail (or whatever it was called then?); Great Central (Woodhead Tunnel route).
 

Calthrop

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I'll add: London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (London suburban lines); Lancashire & Yorkshire Ry. (north-east of Liverpool, and Manchester -- Bury -- Holcombe Brook); and Liverpool Overhead Railway, if that one's eligible.
 

Calthrop

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There are a few "not-sure" outfits: counting as "railway"; or tram, and / or too footling-and-silly to pass muster? I'll tentatively suggest, Volk's Electric Railway at Brighton -- but wonder whether for this question, it is seen as in the footling-and-silly pile.
 

Snow1964

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Here's a few guesses:
North Eastern; South Eastern; London, Chatham and Dover; London & South Western; Glasgow Suburban Railway (or whatever it was called then?); Merseyrail (or whatever it was called then?); Great Central (Woodhead Tunnel route).

North Eastern, London and South Western, Mersey railway are correct

Glasgow suburban was 1960 onwards, the Glasgow subway was cable worked until 1935. SE and LCDR had plans but nothing done by 1921. Woodhead route started by LNER, finished after WW2
 

Snow1964

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I'll add: London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (London suburban lines); Lancashire & Yorkshire Ry. (north-east of Liverpool, and Manchester -- Bury -- Holcombe Brook); and Liverpool Overhead Railway, if that one's eligible.

All correct, that’s another 3 companies
 

Snow1964

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There are a few "not-sure" outfits: counting as "railway"; or tram, and / or too footling-and-silly to pass muster? I'll tentatively suggest, Volk's Electric Railway at Brighton -- but wonder whether for this question, it is seen as in the footling-and-silly pile.

More a specialist pleasure ride, I was meaning normal pre-grouping railway companies
 

Calthrop

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... I was meaning normal pre-grouping railway companies

Racking brains -- a couple of concerns come to mind, which called themselves "railways", though in many people's eyes they were more tram-like; and to boot, in non-UK bits of our island group -- possibly allowable?? ...am probably clutching at straws, I know...
 

Calthrop

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Always the uncertainty of the "tram?" grey-area thing; but I'll try with the Great Central and its Grimsby & Immingham Electric Railway.
 

341o2

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LLundudno & Colwyn Bay
Newcastle suburban
Manchester, Glossop & Hyde
Manchester - Altricham
Euston to Watford
Hythe Pier Railway
Southend Pier Railway
 
Last edited:

Snow1964

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LLundudno & Colwyn Bay
Newcastle suburban
Manchester, Glossop & Hyde
Manchester - Altricham
Euston to Watford
Hythe Pier Railway
Southend Pier Railway

Llundudno is more a tram line than full rail line
Newcastle, correct but already answered as North Eastern
Manchester lines were 1950s and 1930 respectively
Euston, correct, but already answered as LNWR
2 Pier railways I considered out of scope

Lets see if anyone else can think of the others, they are all standard gauge
 

Calthrop

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Yes, correct, that brings total to 9
Lets see if anyone else can think of the others, they are all standard gauge

Four to go, then -- all s/g. Reckon that I'm stumped: will suggest (basically, certain of rejection) the Guernsey Railway: which was standard gauge -- dates 1879 to 1934, converted steam-to-electric in 1891; but despite its "Railway" title, this one was beyond any doubt, a tram.
 

Gloster

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Up the creek
The District Railway, or was it called the Metropolitan-District?

In addition to the line to Cruden Bay (#10,646), was the line at Carstairs standard-gauge?
 

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