Upgrading the Railway Network

by The Stainmore Phoenix

Chapter 29

With two counts of broken rules ending with justice being served, things settled down. However, a connection was opened to a large, undersea state called Equilantis, which was a large Aquatic Changeling state, where Changelings and Ponies could live without any form of judgement. However, it was their advancements to their own Railway Network that made them an impressive force.

Using paraffin lamps to communicate, they had codes for everything. It could be considered confusing, but their crews spend four years in training before even making the rank of cleaner. Some of the codes, aside from the usual codes, are as follows:

Blue, Front left lamp iron on brake van-Mechanical brake failure on two or more coal wagons
Blue, Front right lamp iron on brake van-mechanical brake failure on two or more flatbeds
Blue, Rear left lamp iron on brake van-mechanical brake failure on two or more vans
Blue, Rear right lamp iron on brake van-mechanical brake failure on two or more specialty wagons

Umber, left front lamp iron on loco-Last minute post train
Umber, middle front lamp iron on loco-Last minute passenger train
Umber, Right front lamp iron on loco-Last minute excursion train
Umber, smokebox door lamp iron-Last minute freight train

Teal, Left tender lamp iron: Market goods (Tender first)
Teal, Center tender lamp iron: Oil train (Tender first)
Teal, Right tender lamp iron: Timber train (Train First)
Teal, top tender lamp iron: track maintenance (tender first)

Cyan, Left front lamp iron: Market goods (smokebox first)
Cyan, Center front lamp iron: Oil train (smokebox first)
Cyan: Right front lamp iron: Timber train (smokebox first)
Cyan: Smokebox door top lamp iron: Track Maintenance (smokebox first)

As for signalbox lamp codes:

Purple (Bottom), Orange (Middle), Maroon (Top): Train through, signal failure, flag next train
Double Purple: Electrics failure, manual crankscolt out
Triple Maroon: Runaway, driver has slight control
Triple Orange: Runaway, Driver has no control, train derailment eminent
Double Opal, Vermillion (Top): Breakaway, 45 wagons, guardless brake van.

With communication the way it is, paraffin lamps and color coordination can be relaid in short order to allow actions to be taken to prevent things from getting out of control. Crews are grateful for the system, which gives tons more information.

As for signalstaff, they were fitted with portable radios, so they could communicate without having to be drawn to a phone that was attached to a wall. The tunnel had a signalbox placed in the most ventilated section of the tunnel, where the signalstaff could keep sight of the train to the portals at each end of the tunnel.

It was a system that worked well. It kept trains from colliding with each other and even put trains ahead of schedule. To those who worked the Equilantis Main Line, they thought the color coded lamps were too much.

“Don't they think this is overkill?” one Driverling asked.

“No,” the guard said. “It's in addition to the bells, as it provides visual information.”

The crew of Ex-NSR K class 4-4-2T fitted a single lamp to the loco's top lamp iron and climbed into the cab and waited. Fifteen minutes later, the fireling looked back. He saw the green flag.

“You've got the road!” he called over to the driverling.

That called for the advancement of the regulator. The loco responded and made it's way up the line, to the long tunnel. The tunnel was 15 miles in length, ventilated properly, with signalboxes inside to allow extra protection. The reason for the length is that, when measured, from the bridge just after the Equilantis-Horseshoe Bay to Equliantis Deep Bank station is 19 miles, but the main climb is a 15 mile bank from the base to the top flats.

With such a grade, being that it's mainstay at 1-185% with spikes of 1-50%, bankers were placed at the base. Crews ascending had to really thrash their locos to get the most out of them. Descending crews had it worse, as they had to try to control trains weighing up to and often in excess of 2,200 tons. It was customary, before leaving Horseshoe Bay's goods yard to have the shunters pin the wagon brakes on the necessary wagons to prevent runaways.

Even then, trains still ran away. To make sure that they mitigated the damage a runaway did, a set of express points were constructed, as well as a stretch of track that lead to a large, open field some several miles out of the large state, where the runaway could derail with minimal damage to houses or two life itself.

“Over protective much?” a mare asked her husband one day.

“I know, I know, but you must understand my dear Roseluck, that our Queen doesn't want us to be taken away by a freak accident,” her husband, a large Aquatic Changeling said.

“But....King's Ransom....you're her top spy! Your on the front lines!” Roseluck protested.

“I'm protected in that field and she wants to apply protection methods here too,” he said. “You don't want to end up pinned in a coach when a runaway slams into the station, do you?”

“No,” Roseluck said. “I couldn't bare to leave you to raise the family and hold a job alone.”

He gently kissed her, and she cooed softly. King's Ransom smiled softly.

“Our kids are due back from school tonight,” he said. “Cheerilee saw them to the train home.”

Roseluck smiled softly. King's Ransom bid her goodbye, then made his way to the terminal station. There, he met up with the stationmaster.

“Right there, Ted,” King's Ransom said.”How's been your day? Long and tiring I assume.”

“Your right, it has. Also, I have some bad news, the Ponyville school train's been held to allow a goods to overtake,” Ted said.

“Great,” King's Ransom huffed. “What time's it due in now?”

“About 8pm,” came the reply.

King's Ransom found a bench to sit down. What was to be a 30 minute wait was now shaping up to be a 2 hour, 45 minute wait. He wasn't best pleased, but what could they do? Nothing.

Half an hour later, a long, slow and heavy goods train rattled through and into the goods yard. A swarm of tank engine descended upon the train and began breaking it down. After what was an hour of movements and bangings, clashings and clankings, King's Ransom noticed the signals come off and the points connected to the signals change to platform 9. At 8 pm exact, the hissings and clanking of the passenger train, hauled by a former NSR K class 4-4-2T.

Once the brakes were firmly on, the doors were opened and school children poured out, to the hooves of their waiting parents. Now, being that Equilantis Deep Bank was a busy station, seeing as many as 15 trains a day, sometimes triple that number in the summer, tunnels were built to allow passengers and tourists to safely get to their required platforms and to their required exits so they could go home.

But the station's layout did have a drawback. The yard's main access was cut in front of the platforms, at a point where all the lines bottlenecked down to two tracks. Often times, passenger trains were held up as goods trains left, despite passenger trains having priority on the line. To readjust the pointwork would be impossible, unless it was winter and the number of trains was reduced. Crews complained about it, but nothing could be done.

However, one night, things went wrong, but in the best way possible. After the students were out and the coaches were being shunted out, a train of wagons was being shunted at the same time. As they reached the crossing, the brake-van smacked into the brake coach and they were lifted from the rails, causing damage to the crossovers and points.

“Cor blimey!” yelped the on duty Signalling and threw all signals to danger, then arranged the lamps in the order of Gold on the bottom, Crimson in the middle, and Blue on the top, meaning “Derailment during shunting maneuvers”, then sent messages to Horseshoe Bay station, where the stationmaster managed to hold all trains.

Work crews were called out and while the station was closed to traffic, they worked fast and managed to move the yard's access lines a couple hundred yards up from the station “throat”. Due to their position, however, the station signalling had no control over them, so a specialty signalbox was built to accommodate them and two holding loops, which were added to hold trains that needed to get in the yard, so as to keep the main line clear.

The arrangements worked nicely, as this allowed for the goods to be held until the appropriate time. The holding loop on the up line to Canterlot allowed for a second goods train to be in readiness and for the allowance of an express freight to overtake it.

The new system did take time to get used to, but they did and the changes gave the timetable great amounts of relief. Trains were in on time and the school train was no longer delayed,, meaning everyone could be together sooner.

As for the station itself, it was still busy, but trains are vast vehicles of innumerable wishes and a station is a setting for arrivals, departures and other activities. Main stations, like Canterlot, are a hive for lots of emotions-upset, hurt, joy, hellos, goodbyes, and the anxiety that comes with those emotions.

The Aquatic Changelings who ran the station were used to them and often gave out little hints that they'll come back with the words- “They maybe gone now, but who says they're gone forever?”