A question sprang to mind a couple of months back when I played SOS and subsequently noticed on (I think) NTP and Peak Forest Vast majority of the semaphores angle upwards to indicate a clear line ahead, but I noticed the odd one here and there on those routes that are angled down instead. Is there any particular reason for this, as my google-fu couldn't turn up anything; simply that angled up or down means the line is clear
Read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_semaphore_signal GWR and BR(Western Region) have lower quadrant semaphores in TSC and TSW
In Britain, angle up or down means the same thing. Originally all lines in Britain used lower-quadrant signals, but these were gradually supplanted over time - except on the GWR - by upper-quadrant types, because if the cable breaks on an UQ then it will fall to "stop" rather thn to "clear."
Rev. Awdry wrote a Thomas story "The Flying Kipper" that involved a lower quadrant signal being forced into the clear position by heavy snow. His tales were often based on real-life railway incidents, in this case the Abbots Ripton rail disaster of 1876.
