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Catch points and trap points are types of points which act as railway safety devices. Both work by guiding railway carriages and trucks from a dangerous route onto a separate, safer track. Catch points are used to derail vehicles which are out of control (known as runaways ) on steep slopes.
The train could then proceed, and a second train could follow. In the earliest days, the second train could proceed after a designated time interval, as on double lines at the time. However, after the Armagh rail disaster of 1889, block working became mandatory. Seeing the train staff provided assurance that there could be no head-on collision.
The first such systems were installed on an experimental basis in the 1910s in the United Kingdom, in the 1920s in the United States, and in the Netherlands in the 1940s. . Modern high-speed rail systems such as those in Japan, France, and Germany were all designed from the start to use in-cab signalling due to the impracticality of sighting wayside signals at the new higher train spee
A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or trams travelling in opposite directions can pass each other. [1]
When a train is waiting at a signal it is "in rear of" that signal and the danger being protected by the signal is "in advance of" the train and signal. In North American practice, a distinction must be made between absolute signals, which can display a "Stop" (or "Stop and Stay") indication, and permissive signals, which display a "Stop ...
Computerized video displays removed the physical interface altogether, replacing it with a point-and-click or touchscreen interface. Finally, the use of Automatic Route Setting removed the need for any human input at all as common train movements could be fully automated according to a schedule or other scripted logic.
The end of train marker might be a coloured disc (usually red) by day or a coloured oil or electric lamp (again, usually red). If a train enters the next block before the signalman sees that the disc or lamp is missing, they ask the next signal box to stop the train and investigate.
Railway interlocking is of British origin, where numerous patents were granted. In June 1856, John Saxby received the first patent for interlocking switches and signals. [2] [3]: 23–24 In 1868, Saxby (of Saxby & Farmer) [4] was awarded a patent for what is known today in North America as “preliminary latch locking”.