SECTIONAL APPENDIX - STOKE JN
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General and History
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The line through Stoke-on-Trent was first cut between 1848-1849 from Colwich on the London Line to Macclesfield on the line to Manchester. It was known as the North Staffordshire Railway (or the Knotty). Later extensions were added, the Stoke to Derby line, the Biddulph Line, the Newcastle Branch to Market Drayton and the Potteries Loop line to Kidsgrove along with other various branch lines and by the end of the 1800's it was a very successful franchise. It was paid for largely by local businessmen who did not want to pay the high freight charges imposed by the larger railway companies.

Staffordshire was very rich in minerals and with its China Porcelain, Iron and Steel and Coal industries, was very wealthy. This resulted in a very busy railway operation in a relatively small area. Passenger traffic was soon established with direct services between Manchester and London, Crewe to Derby and the local services to Trentham, the five towns (Hanley, Burslem, Tunstall and Longton along with the forgotten 6th town, Fenton), with partnerships with the LNER. Running rights were established with other railway companies and "Knotty" engines could travel to popular seaside resorts as far as Llandudno in North Wales.

Stoke Junction Signalbox controlled the entrance and exits of the up and down lines to Derby and Nottingham, the up and down lines to Biddulph and Congleton, and  the lines south to Stafford, Birmingham and London. It also controlled the entrance to Stoke's Motive Power Depot and it's 6 lines looked northward towards Stoke on Trent's train station and shunting yard itself.

The box depicted in this simulation is the LNW Signalbox which stood facing the Derby and Stafford lines. It was not the first to occupy the spot. Situated as it was between the Derby and Stafford lines which were at its front and the Biddulph line and Motive Power Depot at its rear, it was the second such Signalbox to sit in the triangle. The first was a smaller North Staffordshire Railway Signalbox with a McKenzie and Holland Lever Frame. But as the railways expanded and handled more traffic, the need for another box was seen. In 1929 the new Stoke Junction box came into being. Much larger and capable of handling more traffic. It was elongated to fit into the space allotted for it. It had a 128 Lever LNW frame. It was worked by two men on each shift with a young boy fresh out of school to record the passage of each train and answer telephones.

By the 1960's things were changing transport wise, and the railways were losing their influence. Freight traffic was falling off. Local passenger stations were closing and Stoke on Trent was beginning it's long decline. Coal mines were closing. Factories were closing as their owners moved them overseas. Goods stopped being shipped by rail. Fewer trains meant fewer lines and sidings and so they began to be ripped up. Electrification came to Stoke on Trent in 1966. It spelt the end for Stoke Motive Power Depot and the Shed which both closed in July of 1966. The decline has continued until now and the site is becoming unrecognizable from what it once was.

Carters Crossing
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Carters Crossing was operated by a gate keeper from a small box next to the crossing. This box was not a block post.

Access to Engine Shed
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Apart from the access to the engine shed from the Viaduct lines as shown in the sim, access to the shed was also possible at the other end of the shed, controlled from Pratt's Siding. Many engines went to or from the shed via Pratt's Sidings which accounts for the imbalance of workings to and from the shed.

Signalling
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The signalling as depicted in this simulation is as it was during the 1950's, up to the end of steam working. The area has completely changed with electrification in the 1960's.
By the early 1950's the Roundhouse on the Down Side opposite the Signalbox was no longer used much. The Turntable was too small. A newer, larger Turntable had opened at Glebe Street so many locomotives were sent to Glebe Street to turn.

Adaptations
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Signal 50 is added on the Down Goods toward Glebe Street to comply with the program requirement that a single exit signal is provided.

Limit-of-Shunt signals are added on the Up Goods toward Glebe Street and on the Down Goods toward Sideway to enable proper route setting for shunt moves.

The shed area had multiple entries and exits connecting with the Viaduct Line but for simplicity this is reduced to just one entry/exit in the simulation.

The distant signals for Glebe Street on the Down Main are fixed at caution. Most trains stopped at Stoke either in the Down Platform or in the Down Centre. 

The distant signals for Pratt's Siding on the Down Bidduplh are also fixed at caution.

The Goods lines originally allowed for Permissive Block Working but the simulation will not allow for this.

Viaduct No 1 and Viaduct No 2 were through roads and were bidirectional but because of limitations of the sim they're shown as Yard entrance/exits.

Local instructions
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Signal 70 is an intermediate block signal and the section between signals 74 and 70 is considered to be a separate block.
The distant for the Up Derby line at Glebe Street (77) reads through signals 76 and 74 only. The distant 71 (with 76 and 74) reads through signal 70. Furthermore, it is not required to check trains at signals 75 (or 76) and 74 in case 70 is still at danger.

The lever crossing at Carters Lane is operated by two levers : lever 87 operates the gates, lever 88 operates the lock.
The gates must be closed before the lock can be set. Setting the lock will release signals 40 and 74. When opening the gates, first the lock must be lifted and then the gates can be opened.

General instructions
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Rules to caution trains.
For semaphore signalling, the rule (rule 39A) applied that for a sequence of signals which had no intermediate or combined distant signal, if the last signal in this sequence could not be cleared, all preceding signals had to be kept at 'danger' at the approach of the train and could only be cleared if the speed of the train was sufficiently reduced. For the simulation, the speed must be reduced (to about 10 mph on approach). The speed while passing the signal must not exceed 15 mph.
See the locking details for the list of signals and conditions where and when trains must be cautioned. Note that the cautioning does not always apply for shunt moves which are wholly within the station area.

Locking rules.
For locking rules please see locking table.

FPL.
Facing Point Locks (FPL) have been provided where these were installed - see Locking information for details.
FPL's normally stand 'out', i.e. the normal position of these levers is 'reverse', in this position the linked switches are locked. To operate the switch, set the FPL lever to 'normal'. Once the switch is thrown, return the FPL lever to 'reverse'. FPL levers are locked in 'reverse' if a route is set over the switch on which they operate, or when this route is occupied. If an FPL is in 'normal' position, all routes over the related switch are blocked and signals can not be cleared.
Note that if an FPL operates on a switch which is part of a crossover, these rules generally also apply to the other switch of this crossover even if the FPL does not work directly on this switch; some shunt moves are exempt from this rule.

Notes on shunting
-----------------
The 'shunt' command must be used if a train is to reverse at a particular signal. It is good practice to issue the shunt command before clearing the last signal which leads to the location where the train is to reverse, this in order to avoid 'overshoot' when the shunt command is issued too late for the engine to brake in time, which will result in the engine running past the reversal point up to the next signal.
The 'shunt' command can be issued for a train waiting to depart as issuing this command does not affect the timed departure of this train. However, the shunt command must NOT be used for a signal which is beyond a booked station stop before the train has come to a stand for that specific station stop. Setting the shunt command before the train has stopped will cancel out the station stop, and will lead to an error on missed station stop.
 
If an engine is to be attached to a train, it has to be terminated before it can do so.
If the engine is terminated in the same location as the train to which it is to be attached, it will stop short of this train. After the engine has terminated and is redescribed to a 0Z** number, it can be moved onto the train using the 'proceed' command, and can then be coupled to the train using the 'couple' command.
If the engine is terminated in another location and is moved onto the train while it already has a 0Z** number, it will move upto the train and can then be coupled using the 'couple' command.

Banking
-------
Quite a number of freight trains had to be banked by an engine in the rear from Stoke Junction up the steep incline of the Derby Line. The engine would let go at Caverswall and return from there. I saw it done many times even with diesel engines. The bank engine usually came behind the train on Viaduct No. 1.
The simulation does not allow for this.

Timing and Train stop locations
-------------------------------
The timing points for Stoke Junction are located at the following positions (as seen in normal direction of traffic) :
Down Goods    : in front of signal 50 (see note)
Up Goods      : behind signal 66 (see note)
Down Main     : behind signal 44
Up Main       : behind of signal 67
Viaduct No. 1 : between points 96 and signal 117
Viaduct No. 2 : between points 97 and signal 120

notes :
timing point on Down Goods is placed in front of signal 50 so trains can be stopped at this location before continuing to Glebe Street.
An additional stopping location has been included on the Up Goods in front of signal 66, this is set up as location "Up Goods" and can be used to stop trains coming from Glebe Street before they continue across the junction.

Additional stop locations :
Roundhouse Siding South 1
Roundhouse Siding South 2
Roundhouse Siding North 1

Section lengths
---------------
Distances to fringe boxes :

Sideway        : 1m 217y
Glebe Colliery : 1m 218y
Pratts Siding  : 386y
Glebe Street   : 722y

Speed Restrictions
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Down Main :
from Sideway to pts. 29 : 60mph
from pts. 29 to pts. 93 : 40mph
from pts. 93 to exit    : 30mph
on entry to Glebe Street: 10mph

Up Main :
on exit from Glebe Str  : 10mph
from entry to sig. 65   : 40mph
from sig. 65 to Sideway : 60mph

Down Goods (Sideway) :
from Sideway to pts. 33 : 25mph

Down Goods (Glebe Street) :
from pts. 31 to exit    : 25mph
on entry to Glebe Street:  5mph

Up Goods :
on exit from Glebe Str  :  5mph
from entry to pts. 94   : 25mph
across pts. 93 and 94   : 15mph

Down Derby :
from Glebe C to sig. 40 : 45mph
from sig. 40 to pts. 29 : 25mph
across pts. 29          : 15mph

Up Derby :
across pts. 83          : 15mph
from pts. 83 to Glebe C : 45mph

Up Biddulph :
from Pratts S to pts. 30: 25mph
across pts. 30          : 15mph

Down Biddulph :
across pts. 85          : 15mph
from pts. 85 to Pratts S: 25mph

Viaduct lines           : 20mph
Roundhouse sidings      :  5mph
Entry to shed           :  5mph
Other pts and junctions : 15mph
 
Train Reporting Numbers
-----------------------
Train reporting numbers only came into use in later years, and also changed over the years. See timetable information for details.

Opening Picture
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The opening picture is Stoke Motive Power Depot looking towards the Down Biddulph  passing behind Stoke Junction Signal Box on the right.

Personal Notes by the developer
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I started to work as a boy of 15 on the railway at Stoke-on-Trent  in August of 1967. I worked as a train recorder at Stoke Power Signalbox, which had replaced Stoke Junction and 13 other signalboxes, in July of 1966. I eventually went through the Manchester School of Signalling in 1970 and became one of the youngest signalmen on BR.

I had seen Stoke Junction many times as I had passed it on the train when we came over the Junction. I loved looking across at all the engines on the Shed getting fired up. I knew many of the men personally who had worked at Stoke Junction. I was fascinated by it and would walk to its ruins after it was demolished. I never tired of listening as the signalmen would tell me all the stories of its workings, and of that set of points from the up goods to the up main line, how heavy they were to get over. (They are shown as numbers 93 and 94 on the simulation). It would take two men to get them over. One having to put his arms around the waist of the other to swing the levers. Imagine how many times during an 8 hour shift they had to do this as you play with the simulation.

Its hard to imagine today, as you stand on the car park of the nearby store, peering through the chain-link fence toward the main railway line that runs from Manchester to Stafford and Derby via Stoke-on-Trent. Its hard to imagine that at one time, all of this, including the car park where you're standing, was part of a large Motive Power Depot affectionately known as The Shed.

I remember many of those who worked it. Norman Holbrook, Fred Blaze, Bruce Evans and Sid Alcock to name a few. I give due credit to those and the others who worked Stoke Junction.

Acknowledgements
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Thanks to Rob Roeterdink for all his hard work in making Stoke Junction come to live again.
Thanks to PC-Test team for their help in testing this simulation, and as ever to John Dennis for providing the basic program for the heritage simulations.
