I’ve been reading some RR books I received at Christmas. Some of them are about railroads in the UK, and they mention something called the “staff and ticket” system for controlling train movements. What is that??
Ray - the ‘staff and ticket’ control system is one of the original methods of controlling trains on single tracks - the ‘staff’ they refer to is not a person, but a an actual staff - a truncheon-like item a bit like a New York Cop’s billy club, that is actually handed over from the loco cab to the signal [switch-tower] operator. It is actually a key that fits into the switch lever frame, enabling the lever to be pulled to operate the switch, a bit like a safety hammer on a Ruger revolver, if you know what I mean by that. The other item is the ticket - literally a document that has to be passed from the station-master to the loco engineer, authorising him to move along the selected line.
On the many heritage lines here in UK it is still in use, as is the token system - again, handed over from the switch-tower operator to the engineer to authorise his movement along the track, and one that can also be a key to the various switches on the route, as well as gates across the lines that are closed to rail traffic. This is quite usual here in UK, where a large number of our heritage lines in narrow gauge are actually classed as ‘light railways’, subject to the road traffic acts that are superior in authority to the Light Railway Acts. This means that road traffic has the right of way over the tracks, and the train, on approaching the grade crossing, must stop, the conductor gets out and guards the crossing while the train passes over it. If it is a gated crossing then he must close the gates to road traffic - using the token key - and stand with a red flag to warn road traffic until the train has passed.
Many movies of the Welshpool railway show this happening - look for them on YouTube.
Hope that helps.
tac
www.ovgrs.org
Thanks Terry! I thought it might be something like that but wasn’t sure.
Hmmmm… I guess early computer network designers borrowed a page from the old railway system when they invented the Token Ring network :o
Is this “The Return of the Rings?” :lol:
No Steve it’s " Have Ring, Will Travel"
So if your the boss does that make you Lord of the ring?
Geoff George said:No, Geoff, it just makes you the most libel to be sue'ed........ :)
So if your the boss does that make you Lord of the ring?
Andy Clarke said:I don't have anything to sue for. That is unless they would like my bills. ? Or I could let them have that picture frame I got for you. ;)Geoff George said:No, Geoff, it just makes you the most libel to be sue'ed........ :)
So if your the boss does that make you Lord of the ring?
I was not long out of college when that network topology was being explored. My buddies thought it was Tokin’ Ring :o