Heart Beat TV series

[aussiesteve]

G'day All,
Finally at the local library and have attempted to snavel the Heart Beat episode from You Tuber.
Copyright problems preventing such a caper.
And, me other you tuber video downloader mob is now banned by library security.
But, I have finally had success, Thankyou Mr Putin.
I shall view the clips in detail at home.
But, from a quick squiz, yes the soot belcher is numbered 90775.
I actually snavelled another episode of Heart Beat featuring a soot belcher, dubbed Playing Trains by accident first.
Don't recall having squizzed that episode neither afore.
Yes, the book worms are silent in here today.
Steve.

[aussiesteve]

G'day,
Now having viewed the Heart Beat you tuber segment at home, I am prompted with another question.
HMMMM.
As soot belcher 90775 hurtles along, Rowan the copper sprints along on his motor bike to the station.
Up to the signal box he runs yelling at the pointcop to "pull down" the signals.
There is a run-away train approaching.
The pointcop reaches for the frame and pulls off a signal to CLEAR.
We indeed squiz this lower quad semaphore go to CLEAR.
Back on the footplate, the joker with Greengrass espies the signal at CLEAR and yells DANGER.
Danger the train must stop.
And he hurls out the anchors in a flurry of sparks to stop the soot belcher.
HMMMM.
Has somebody in the production team got the difference betwixt upper quad and lower quad semaphores wrong ?
YES, I am aware that interlocked signals remain at STOP until a train is accepted to approach.
Hence, having the signal displaying CLEAR to then be put back to STOP would be a stretch of the rules.
As this run-away train was not in accordance with the WTT.
But, at least would be more accurate for the purposes of the drama.
If however the intention was to not have the rampaging soot belcher go past a stick at stop, HMMMM.
Surely, rustling a puffer billy would incur a larger infringement than going past a stick at stop.
Sorry, but I tend to notice such anomalies.
Don't get me started with the Hollywood blockbuster Unstoppable.
Steve.

[hereward]

Saw that Steve, I thought that type of signal was only used on the GWR???

[TRP]

Others did use lower quadrant signals in the past including the LBSCR, the LSWR, the LNWR, the GNR and the NER - the signals on the NYMR are the North Eastern Railway type. I believe that after grouping in 1923, the LMS, LNER & SR all favoured upper quadrant, but some of the older signals survived for a long time if there was no need to replace them.
As for Heartbeat, I'm sure it's a bit of misunderstanding or artistic license for dramatic effect, although I often wonder if the Railway's representatives point out the inaccuracies and get told to mind their own business by the film company!
And I'm sure that stealing a locomotive is a much worse misdemeaner than passing a signal at danger but perhaps their conscience kicked in & thought they need to observe the rules of the road!

Tony

[hereward]

Thanks Tony I didn’t know that. My dad once said that if a rock and roll yobo cut the wires the signal would go to clear, but Steve said they are counterbalanced to go to stop. (My dad had a low opinion of the younger generation.)

[Beeyar Wunby]

Originally Posted by hereward

Thanks Tony I didn’t know that. My dad once said that if a rock and roll yobo cut the wires the signal would go to clear, but Steve said they are counterbalanced to go to stop. (My dad had a low opinion of the younger generation.)

Signalling equipment is designed to be fail-safe. Although some of the early apparatus was flawed, accidents soon revealed the shortcomings and these were designed out, so semaphore signals will return to danger if the operating cable/linkage is removed.

There is always a possibility that a signal might be drooping, or half-showing, but as you might expect, any signal not showing correctly has to be interpreted by a driver as being at its worst state, ie Caution for a distant or Danger for a stop signal.

Similarly with colour light signals. If one is not displaying an aspect, by Rule Book definition it is at Danger.

BW.

[Beeyar Wunby]

Further to the above post, here's a real-world example of saggy signals. We used to have a job which didn't go all the way to the sea, but turned a Down train back towards London in the peak. The reversing movement was controlled by a semaphore shunt signal, one of only 2 on the whole network as everything else has been modernised to LED signals.

Anyhow, this signal was cable operated by a run of about 500 yards, and it didn't like the hot or the cold. Consequently when you were sat in the Down platform waiting for the cattle to get off, the bobby might sometimes call you and tell you to contact him/her on the radio once you'd gone beyond the shunt signal and changed ends to do the shunt.

And sure enough when you'd got to the other cab you would see that the dod (shunt signal) was half way between On (horizontal) and Off (45* up). Because this was incorrectly showing the bobby was required to assure you that the points were set correctly into the Up platform and the signal was Off, even if it didn't look like it.

It's that old chestnut. Provided that you had come to a clear understanding, you can still work with poorly performing gear (and there's plenty of that around).

BW

[aussiesteve]

I guess that is the beauty of Autonomous trains.
No signals necessary.
And no hogger to get the wrong information.
Wonder how they would factor an autonomous train into a series of Heart Beat.
A viral computer has caused a run-away.
NAH, dosen't have the same viewer impact.
Bring back the good ole days.
Steve.

[hereward]

Stumbled across a programme on UKTV: “Bangers and Cash” I had watched the first two series and it seems they have made a third. It concerns Mathewson’s Classic Car Auctions in Thornton-Le-Dale, Pickering, near the NYMR station. The episode I watched saw the auction of a Post Office van that had appeared in Heartbeat. The owner had supplied all the classic cars used in the series he was based in Durham. He sold several cars that had appeared in various TV programmes, but the PO van was the only one from Heartbeat. He wanted to sell the ambulance complete with all the life saving gear that had appeared, but Mathewson didn’t think it was the sort of thing the customers would be interested in. The episode I watched started with a Black Five (?) pulling into a station, as normal it was difficult to make out what it was. It had a name plate, I think the number was 45438, the NYMR website doesn’t help.

[JEB-245584/2]

It would have been 45428, named Eric Treacy. The well known Bishop of Wakefield and railway photographer.
The Moors also have another "5" 44806. Also 44767 George Stephenson ran there for a while.

Cheers John