Sorry if this has already been asked but how does a driver know if they’re approaching a double or single yellow with the single aspect (one light) signals such as those on East Coastway?
In real life? It would be down to route knowledge. A significant portion of driver training consists of route learning. Even as a qualified driver moving companies/depots, you will be given an allotted time to learn a route. E.g. You may be given 10 days to learn Brighton to Lewes. Then 7 days to learn Lewes to Seaford, etc... Once you’re competent on the route after being assessed by a manager, you “sign” the route. The second part of the train driving license says the traction and routes you sign.
In real life, what Olaf said. In game, there's no way of knowing unless you just know, but either way if you see that yellow indicator you should be slowing down at least a bit because if you don't know thats a four aspect signal it's likely you don't know the distance between signals either, so even a double yellow to red may be a short(ish) distance compared to braking distance depending on what you're driving.
There’s so much to route learning but just with regard to signals: 1. The type of signalling in an area. E.g. absolute block or track circuit block 2. Extension from the above, the type of signals and what individual signals are- e.g. colour light, semaphore, 3 aspect, 4 aspect, distant, stop signal, flashing yellows, etc... 3. Method of track detection: Track circuit block or axle counters 4. Which signals are high risk Multi-SPAD signals in areas of low adhesion signals with no AWS or AWS ramp is significantly closer than 200m Short signal sections Signals which have “sensitive” TPWS (grids set very low) on the approach Signals that are obscured from view, around a bend, signal on the right hand side, short signal sections, easy to misread/cross read, on a gradient, etc... 5. What indication and routes you can get from each signal, which ones you can accept and which you can’t 6. Where you can do shunts or turn backs (position lights) 7. Which signal box/panel controls which range of signals. In real life, even though you just press a button the GSMR which automatically puts you through to the signaller, it can put you through to the wrong box. A funny example is that if a driver makes an emergency call in the right spot near Willesden (West Coast Mainline), they can end up stopping all trains in the Acton area on the Great Western Mainline! 8. Which signal sections are permissive (allow more than one train into the section- usually platforms at major stations) 9. Of course signals can be used as braking points for station stops or reductions in speed.
Well the Simple answer is... Route learning. Irl there is No HUD, it's just your sheer knowledge of the route
The AWS? The AWS will go off (“warning indication“) once regardless of whether it’s a 3 aspect, 4 aspect, 2 yellows, 1 yellow, or red and it can’t differentiate between any of them. If you had it go off twice for one single ramp, it would be a fault (in fact, I don’t think it’s even possible).
Thanks for explaining Olaf the Snowman. Why not just have the standard two of three aspect signals? Are the one aspects more reliable?
I’ve always assumed that there are no double yellow aspects on routes that don’t have the signals that can show them. Not all routes have double yellows and I would have thought that all single aspect signals only ever show a single yellow preceding a red signal not a yellow preceding another yellow. There’s really no need for a double yellow aspect on routes below a certain speed. Even with route knowledge the driver would need a way to distinguish between the two, so I’d say a single yellow is always a single yellow on ECW because before the single light signals existed it wouldn’t have been equipped with four light signals in those parts of the line.
Whenever there is a double signal ahead, the a W s lights up for the first time, then gives me another beep- if it lights up again then it’s a double yellow
Its not really an issue of reliability but more suitability and effort to change it. For 4 aspect signalling, there are 3 signals (YY, Y, Red) to bring you down to a stop as opposed to 2 signals (Y, Red) in 3 aspect signalling. If you wanted to standardise it to all 4 aspect in an area where signals are quite close together and train traffic isn’t very high, it would take a significant amount of time/effort to change all the signal heads and brief all drivers/signaller for no gain. As it is, there are so many other areas of the network which are in desperate need of resignalling so the above would be given very little priority. And, to be honest, if you work on the railway it won’t take you to long to figure out the railway does not use common sense and is very inefficient. So even if it’s a good idea to improve/upgrade/fix signalling or infrastructure, it will take ages before it gets approved and more ages before it gets done. Even something simple as clearing foliage/branches which are obscuring signals and increasing risk of low adhesion in an area which is already very notorious for seriously bad adhesion, it takes ages before anything gets done even though drivers are complaining to management on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the railway is reactive not proactive so they will only do something once an incident or accident has happened. Even installing banner repeaters or changing 2 stage banner repeaters to 3 stages ones, Network Rail are very slow at installing them and this a much smaller task than resignalling 3 aspect to 4 aspect.
I don’t understand. Do you mean at the double yellow, you get an AWS warning. And then at the single yellow, you get another AWS warning? Or do you mean at the double yellow, you get AWS warning immediately followed by another AWS warning?
4 aspect signalling tends to be on sections of track where the permissable line speed is greater than 75mph. So you have greater warning of being stopped due to the undressed braking distances. You'll also find 4 aspect signalling on approach to busy stations and junctions.
