Three Position Signals
REPEATING SIGNALS
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Repeating signals were first used for trains going from a 2 position area into a 3 position area. They give advance warning of the first signal in the 3 position area. It is important to note that repeating signals cannot show "stop" A later use for repeating signals was to give an advance warning for a distant signal. As trains got longer and heavier some existing distant signals were too close to the home signals. |
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Although never made official in the rulebook until 1994, in later years some repeaters could show "reduce to medium speed". A repeater at "warning" told the driver to be prepared to find the next 3 position signal at "stop", in the case of a repeater prior to a distant it told the driver to expect the distant signal to be at "caution" |
Up repeater for Castlemaine from the Maldon line circa 1940 |
There were very few semaphore repeating signals and photos of them are almost unheard of. This 2 arm repeating signal was the first signal a driver saw when arriving Castlemaine off the Maldon line. The reason for the two arms is that it appears that this repeating signal could show reduce to medium even though the rulebook did not provide for this aspect on a repeating signal. |
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Down repeater for Somerton 1982 |
Somerton was a three position location with 2 position locations both sides of it. The last signal a driver saw leaving Broadmedows was a 2 position starting signal, this was the first signal he saw approaching Somerton and the next signal was a 3 position home signal, the repeating signal shown here is at "proceed" Note that the bottom light is a fixed yellow light. |
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Up repeater for Horsham 1981 |
Like Somerton, Horsham was a three position location with 2 position signals either side of it. This repeater could show "reduce to medium" as Horsham had an outer home that could show a medium speed aspect, even though, at the time, the rulebook did not provide for this aspect on repeaters. |
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The first signal that up trains arriving Wodonga from the Cudgewa line was this searchlight style repeating signal, EC 9958, which took you towards a 3 position home signal. Photo date circa 1980
Photo courtesy Rob O'Regan |
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Up repeating signal X1044 (style R) from the Korrumburra line approaching Dandenong. Another situation of a repeating signal taking you from a two position area to a 3 position area. circa 1980.
Photo courtesy Rob O'Regan. |