02-24-2020, 05:45 PM
(02-24-2020, 01:53 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: Interesting. I strongly suspect they are being overcautious with the separation; the southbound LRV should move on from Waterloo Park to the signal just south of the bridge over the creek as soon as the freight crosses King. Then once the freight has cleared the interlocking, it should switch forthwith to allow the southbound LRV to continue; then as soon as that has cleared it should switch to allow the northbound LRV to proceed.
I await with baited breath the detailed explanations from railway signal engineers why this would actually be dangerous. My argument is basically that if regular traffic driven by the usual level of skilled driver we see on the roads every day can be trusted with level crossings, then trained LRV operators can be trusted to stop at a red signal and only proceed when it turns green after the freight has left. They don’t need to hold 600m up the track.
I'd be surprised if they weren't also de-energizing the overhead catenary system (OCS) on the shared segment when the freight train is on the line. This would affect a much larger block of track, and you wouldn't want any LRVs to be sitting cold and dark (or warm and dark in summer) on an un-powered section with passengers on board.
...K