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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 4, Issue 6 (October 1, 1929)

Track Circuiting Rare in Germany

page 54

Track Circuiting Rare in Germany

There is one interesting field of working where the methods followed in England and on the Continent differ widely—that of train signalling. The German signalling, for instance, is full of interest. In Germany what is known as the Siemens and Halse lock and block arrangement is favoured, developed to a high standard of safety and efficiency. There are 17,869 signal boxes on the German railways, about 1,000 of these being power-operated. The “stop” signal has a circular disc at the end of the arm, working in the upper quadrant. The signal arm is coloured red and bordered with an inch-wide stripe, or conversely, according to the background. Slat arm construction is common, this with the idea of securing better visibility. A disc about two feet in diameter serves as “distant” signal. This disc is painted yellow with a two-inch black border, and it is sighted at 700 metres from the stop signal. In the “off” position the disc falls parallel with the ground, and by night a double yellow light is shown. Points, signals and crossings are operated by the compensated double wire system, and track circuiting is very rare. Route indicators, also, are not favoured, their places being taken by dummies which point downwards left for divergence to the left, and downwards right for divergence to the right.