wrote in message
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"Peter Corser" wrote in message
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This was taken out of use whilst I was in the LUL Signalling drawing
office.

I think there were several reasons why it was taken oos - one practical
one was that the points were very "heavy" and difficult to set (and be
kept set) correctly causing regular rush hour failures. There were
numerous attemmpts to correct them and they never seemed to succeed!
IIRC most of the fast Amershams were booked to turn there in the evening
peak and there were regular problems getting from Harrow to Rickmansworth
(the BR diesel service was non-stop Ricky and most BR drivers seemed to
refuse an LUL stop order!).
Another was far more controversial - at that time the area was controlled
by a signal cabin (before the computer control from Baker Street) and the
signalmen were having an industrial dispute about being regraded to
regulators (a higher & better paid job). If the remote control of LS was
removed they would remain as signalmen! We understood this was internal
politics within the Operating Department of the time!

IIRC the bay was due to be taken oos to allow space for building works
elsewhere on the station and was never reinstated. Ppermanent buildings
were placed on the trackbed which results in it not being long enough to
accept any current train length.

Peter
--
Peter & Elizabeth Corser
Leighton Buzzard, UK

When exactly was this track taken out of service?

What also is going on with the signal box at Liverpool Street? When were
all of its operations moved to Baker Street and what are its prospects?
Can it be brought back into service in emergency situations?

The original Liverpool St box (Bishopsgate Junction) was superseded by a new
cabin with a power frame in 1954. The power frame (type unknown, but
pobably an N or N2) was converted to air working (similar, but not identical
to later interlocking machines) remote controlled form Farringdon (quite
common LUL practice) in 1956 and the cabin became an interlocking machine
room.

There was also an IMR at Barbican. Farringdon Box had two push button
control desks - one for Farringdon and Barbican, one for Moorgate ( inc CWL)
and Liverpool Street. The old electromechanical signal cabin at Farrindon
was stripped out in late 1956 and converted to this push button arrangement.
Barbican was a "true" IMR with a V type interlocking machine. Algate had its
own box.

The CWL control was transferred to temporary cabin for eventual control by
BR in 1965 and various layout simplifications occurred during 60s & 70s.
The logic usewd was that decommissioning the bay and associated pointwork
and then classing the remaining east to west crossover as am emergency
crossover (not normally used for timetabled passenger routes. The remaining
siding and connection between the Circle & CWL were abolished and Farringdon
became an automatic site.

This allowed the number of controlled routes at Farringdon to be reduced
below the number required for higher grading of the signallers!

Barbican was abolished on 20th October 1979, Liverpool Street IMR remained
open. The LS bay was taken oos with this changeover, but I have no details
of when the building work started. I was one of the DO team who did the
design work for the signalling changes, but had always (as a railway
enthusiast) expected that it would be recommissioned one day and was most
surprised to find one one of my later forays through the station that the
bay was being used for building works!

Politics and Senior Operating staff moved on and Farringdon was given
control of the new Aldgate IMR on 25th Jan 1988. Transfer to Baker Street
SCC was 25th March 2001

As others have stated the building works now mean that it is impossible to
reinstate the bay to accomadate any useful train length and it would,
obviously, be uneconomic to even envisage the works required to make it
usable!

Peter
PS Details of all LUL signal cabins can be found at
www.metadyne.co.uk/LTSB.pdf (a very useful site all round! - not my site)
--
Peter & Elizabeth Corser
Leighton Buzzard, UK

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