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  • Old Wayside Signals/Section Break Signals

  • Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.
Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.

Moderator: Liquidcamphor

 #1345777  by SwingMan
 
I've been a bit curious lately about these lately. I know most areas of wayside signaling are in the past, but what time frame were they replaced? Also, I heard the term "section break" signal from somewhere, but I couldn't find a good explination about what they are.
 #1345788  by Head-end View
 
Wayside signals still exist on some parts of the LIRR, including the four-track mainline between Jamaica and Harold. They have been done away with incrementally from the 1950's to the present on sections of the main line and most branches in Nassau and Suffolk. One of the most recent branches to lose them was the Far Rockaway in the five-towns area.
 #1345797  by Kelly&Kelly
 
A Section Break Signal, which also served as an automatic block signal was located at a break in the third rail section. They were designated by the letters "SB" below the signal head and were listed in the Timetable's Special Instructions. Third rail power past the signal could be de-energiged. When it was, for an emergency purpose for example, the signal would display Stop aspect. A Section Break Signal displaying Stop could not be passed, as an automatic signal (whose most restrictive aspect was Stop and Proceed) could be.

This protected the third rail outage past the signal. If a train passed the signal with the power off, the train would "bridge" power from the live rail feeding it onto the de-energized rail and liven it.

Section Break signals were discontinued in the 1970's or 1980's when remote supervision (and control) of third rail power became available. With that improvement, the section of rail prior to the one desired is always de-energized also. This prevents a train from "bridging" power into a de-energized section of track.
 #1345892  by SwingMan
 
Kelly&Kelly wrote:A Section Break Signal, which also served as an automatic block signal was located at a break in the third rail section. They were designated by the letters "SB" below the signal head and were listed in the Timetable's Special Instructions. Third rail power past the signal could be de-energiged. When it was, for an emergency purpose for example, the signal would display Stop aspect. A Section Break Signal displaying Stop could not be passed, as an automatic signal (whose most restrictive aspect was Stop and Proceed) could be.

This protected the third rail outage past the signal. If a train passed the signal with the power off, the train would "bridge" power from the live rail feeding it onto the de-energized rail and liven it.

Section Break signals were discontinued in the 1970's or 1980's when remote supervision (and control) of third rail power became available. With that improvement, the section of rail prior to the one desired is always de-energized also. This prevents a train from "bridging" power into a de-energized section of track.

Thank you sir, interesting stuff.
 #1345926  by MattAmity90
 
These are places that have Wayside Signals, and some have been redone!

-West End of Amityville Station before heading into Amityville Interlocking.
-East End of Seaford Station.
-JS and Brentwood Interlocking on the Ronkonkoma Branch.
-Locust Valley.
-Babylon Interlocking.
-East End of Freeport Station.
-East End of Mineola Station.

I could go on forever. When they were elevating the Babylon you could find them along the temporary tracks (except the Amityville, Copiague, Lindenhurst segment). They were going to install them on the new elevated section with those abutments but they decided not to.
 #1345935  by krispy
 
A couple of things: Matt you listed interlocking signals which are different than waysides, waysides refer to automatic block signals which have been largely replaced by the cab signal indicator and the code in the track. K&K is correct, except that SB sigs persisted up into the '90s. There was an exception to them for diesel equipment also (as opposed to the MUs which had to stop), but they were the only automatics that could display stop. Some waysides that exist are on portions of the Montauk Babylon to PD, Central Branch and also the Mainline West of Jay. They'll probably keep the ones Jay to Wood/Harold on account of dealing with a ASC failure, they don't need the block if they have waysides. A wayside is marked by a nameplate with a letter (for the branch it was on) following by the approx mileage as a number. Recent waysides to go was the Lower Montauk, the one on the West Hemp., and the ones on the Atlantic and Montauk Hall to Valley. The Far Rock ones went in the mid to late '80s
 #1345994  by MattAmity90
 
I thought wayside signals were the ones found on the side of the tracks (block signals). The one I mentioned at Amityville is at the West end of the station platform.
 #1346048  by emfinite
 
The term wayside signals largely refers to the signals between interlockings which exist on main track, not the signals of an interlocking.

The one at Amityville is part of an interlocking and is used to protect the pocket on #1 track so that westbound traffic can be brought up against a train turning between that signal and the signal bridge.
 #1352795  by Engine 277
 
Section Breaks.. when we qualified we had to know where every one of them was. One night, coming back from Port wash, we Had a stop and proceed on a section Break, the one just east of the Bayside pedestrian overpass, east of Bayside station. ( Its Now an interlocking) and the engineer refused to pass it, I explained to him, a stop and proceed we can pass, not a stop signal. He still refused. Had to get my book of rules and show him. Then we were on our way. As someone else Mentioned, any train without 3rd rail contact shoes could pass it, as they would not gap the section break. Even then the train had to proceed at restricted speed to the next Automatic signal.