LOCAL SECTION REPORTS (UK)

The following reports were prepared for the purposes of providing a permanent record as part of

the Proceedings 2015 – 2016.

The UK Sections in existence in 2015-16 were:

Midland and North-Western Plymouth Section Scottish Section Western Section York Section Minor Railways Section

IRSE MIDLAND & NORTH WESTERN SECTION CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

First of all on behalf of the IRSE I would like to thank all those members of the MNW committee who, in-spite of their busy schedule, have been able to attend and contribute to this year committee. I would like to thank Bill Redfern and Clive Williams especially for their constant presence at meetings and events across the region.

As Chairman, overall I was happy and satisfied that the section achieved the target of delivering a programme of lectures at various locations, a couple of technical visits and a joint meeting with the IMechE.

THEME FOR THE 2015-2016 SESSIONS

During 2015-2016 the committee arranged to deliver key lectures on some of the most recent developments within the rail industry and couple of technical visits. These included areas of new technology, latest developments, the progress of major projects and security within the Rail Industry.

OVERVIEW OF THE 2015-2016 PROGRAMME

The Programme started with a technical visit on 29th September to the Norton Bridge Project. Luckily, our Chairman was part of the engineering management team on this impressive project and 12 enthusiastic signal engineers were treated to a fantastic site visit taking in the construction site where the new Norton Bridge Chord line was under construction. David Lawrance, Alliance Engineering Manager then took the attendees through a presentation of the project back at the Norton Bridge site offices.

The first technical session was held on 13th October in Derby where Jon Elphick of Thales presented a talk on the ‘Thales TMS’ systems. Jon gave a thought-provoking presentation of many of the initiatives and developments on TMS to a very enthusiastic audience who questioned the many aspects of this emerging technology.

In November, Headquarters ventured into the section with the centre’s main paper ‘Next Generation Railway Information Systems and their impact on Railway Signalling and Control’ being given by Professor Clive Roberts (Birmingham University) at the IET's Austin Court. Accordingly we did not hold our own local meeting that month.

The December meeting was held in Manchester, where Ian Fury and Steve Dare presented the Liverpool Lime Street project. The excellent presentation was very informative and the scale of the challenges faced by this scheme, with difficult access and minimal works that can be done before the Blockade, was explained. An audience of up to 35 engineers enjoyed the presentation preceded by ARUP’s delicious Christmas buffet.

In January we headed to Crewe. The turnout was much better than in previous years and Graeme Anderson covered the ‘HS2 Project’ and its latest developments. The talk was of particular interest in terms of the interfaces to the existing Network Rail fringes and the challenges of integrating those projects into the Network Rail portfolio of works.

In February we were in Stoke where in the afternoon we undertook a technical visit to Stoke TEC followed by a talk from Paul Darlington on ‘Cyber Security’ and the its current status in the industry. This was the Section’s first visit to Stoke and there was a very pleasing turnout.

The following week a group of interested Signal Engineers joined forces with the IMechE Railway Division North Western Centre in Manchester. The talk given by Malcolm Pearce was on the ‘Evolution of On-Track Machines’, a very interesting history lesson on how the Railway has evolved and what enormous strides have been made in machinery in the last 20 years.

March brought us back to Derby and a lecture by Miki Morifuji and Mohammed Sekanderzada from Hitachi on ‘Hitachi ERTMS and Traffic Management’. This was another excellent thought-provoking presentation describing the future aspiration of our railways and was attended by 50 interested Signal Engineers. We were pleased that the President attend this meeting and chaired a probing question and answer session.

In April the session of technical meetings concluded with the AGM and the talk ‘Birmingham Tram network past, present and future’ given by Peter Adams of Centro. This gave a very interesting history of the Tram network and its future aspirations to enhance the economy of Birmingham.

Chairman’s Trophy

I was very pleased to award the Chairman’s Trophy to Clive Williams for his contribution to the IRSE as our Treasurer and his long-standing and continuing Signalling and Telecommunication engineering contribution to the Rail Industry.

Annual Steam Luncheon

The year’s Annual Steam Luncheon took place on 2nd July when we returned to the East Lancs Railway at Bury. 46 delegates were shown around Bury South Signal Box and given a presentation on the ELR before joining the train to enjoy a three-course lunch of Farmhouse Vegetable Soup and Traditional Roast Chicken, finishing with Apple Strudel. While the engine ran round at Heywood the presentation of the Chairman’s Trophy took place.

IRSE Midland and North Western Section 2015-2016

The committee for the 2015-16 session was:-

Ian Allison Steve Barge Ian Bridges Buddhadev Dutta Chowdhury Ian Fury Tapas Haldar Peter Halliwell Graham Hill Ian Mitchell Melvyn Nash Bill Redfern (Hon. Secretary) Paul Toole (Chairman) Clive Williams (Hon. Treasurer).

Paul Toole, Chairman 2015 – 16 IRSE Midland and North Western Section

PLYMOUTH SECTION

INTRODUCTION

The first event for the Plymouth Section for the 2015-2016 session was held on the 5th September 2015 with the final item being the Annual General Meeting held on Monday 16th May 2016.

The committee for the period of the session was as follows:-

Chairman - Dave Biss Vice Chair - Andrew Jones Committee - John Lovick, Tom McClarnon, Allan Morgan. Secretary / Treasurer - Dave Came

At the 2014-2015 Annual General Meeting, the above committee was tasked with arranging a programme of events for 2015-2016 based around a number of possibilities put forward by members.

SUMMARY OF EVENTS

The programme of events for the period September 2015 to May 2016 arranged by the committee comprised seven functions, including social meets, a technical visit and technical meetings. Unfortunately one of the functions, an event where teams from various institutions take part in a ‘pub quiz’ type of competition, but where all the questions are technical covering a range of disciplines and arranged by the young members of the IMechE, did not take place. This was disappointing as the IRSE scored highly the previous year.

The other programmed events took place as follows:

TECHNICAL MEETINGS Meeting One

The first technical meeting of the session took place on Wednesday 18th November 2015, at the Crownhill, Plymouth premises of hosts Hitachi Information Control Systems Europe Ltd.

The meeting was entitled ‘A Simulation Workshop for Various Interlockings’

Hitachi had assembled a number of working demonstrations ready for the meeting, which served to show the process of development of the Interlocking Test Facility that was being evolved, to operate in conjunction with their Control Centre Operator Training Facility that had been previously developed. The system is being designed to simulate various interlocking types, such that interlocking designs or modifications may be proven without the need to interface to an actual interlocking.

A total of 14 attended this meeting.

Meeting Two

The second technical meeting to take place was a ‘soapbox’ evening, held at the Boringdon Park Golf Club on Tuesday 8th March 2016. This followed the success of the first soapbox meeting which took place the previous year. Sixteen members and visitors attended this event.

As before, a number of contentious topics plus potential protagonists were identified prior to the meeting, and as many as could be entertained were selected to speak. Immediately after each speaker the floor was opened to general debate, followed by a show of hands vote to determine agreement with the speaker or otherwise.

Topics which were selected on the night were:

ERTMS - will it ever happen in the UK? Presented by Paul Foulkes.

Paul gave an excellent detailed explanation as to where things were at present, both generally and in the

UK, including Network Rail plans and timescales. Following a lively discussion the vote was that ETRMS in the UK would happen sometime, but not within the currently planned timescales.

HS2. Presented by Mick South.

Mick gave a presentation very much in favour of HS2, to the extent of suggesting the UK in terms of high speed lines was a third world country. Not surprisingly, bearing in mind the location of the Plymouth Section, the following discussion centred around the high cost of HS2 when compared to the lack of investment in the south west, especially the Plymouth side of Exeter. A vote showed the meeting to be narrowly in favour of HS2.

IRSE Licensing procedure. This topic was selected from the remaining choices by a show of hands, thus becoming more of a discussion topic than a presentation.

There was a view held by many of the younger members present that they were confused as to where the Licensing process was taking their careers, with it seeming to be all process and little experience. Following a long discussion it was generally agreed that Licensing was necessary but maybe it was time that the process was reviewed.

TECHNICAL VISIT

Wednesday 20th April saw the section undertake a technical visit to the South Devon Railway, meeting at Buckfastleigh Station before embarking on the journey to Totnes Littlehempston on a diesel railcar. The original objective of the section in arranging this visit was to give the younger members the opportunity to view some elderly mechanical interlocking signalling locations.

As the party departed Buckfastleigh the pre-ordered fish and chip suppers were distributed, which everyone found to be of excellent quality.

At Totnes a new ground frame, currently under construction, and the signal box were visited. On the return journey the railcar stopped at Staverton where the two signal boxes were visited, although one of the two controls only the ground frame adjacent to the road crossing. The SDR staff, assisted by one of our members, were on hand at all locations where they gave an overview of the equipment and answered any questions that arose.

A total of 41 members and guests attended this very successful event.

SOCIAL MEETINGS

Saturday 5th September 2015 was the date on which a ‘dinner night with partners’ was held at the Wet Wok Chinese restaurant, which is on the waterfront below Plymouth Hoe. A small but sociable group had an enjoyable evening of food and conversation.

Following the success of earlier years, a further ‘Beer and Curry’ night took place on Friday 12th February 2016, with members gathering at the locally well-known Thistle Park Brewhouse (formerly Tavern) to ‘whet’ appetites, before crossing the road to the Mombay Brasserie to partake of an Indian feast. As well as being a social event for members, it is open to all working colleagues, with the aim of promoting the IRSE and increasing local membership numbers.

2015-2016 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting was held at the date stated in the introduction above.

AGM business is limited to approval of the previous minutes, matters arising, secretary's report, financial report, election of officers and discussion of potential topics for meetings for the coming session.

OBITUARY - GEOFFREY DENNIS MILLER

The section was saddened to learn of the death of Geoff Miller who passed away on Friday 28th August 2015, aged 86. He died in Plymouth's Derriford hospital with his family at his side.

During his working life he was a keen supporter of the Institution to the extent he initiated the formation of the Plymouth Section in 1970, after joining ML Engineering from Westinghouse.

On the work front Geoff developed the product manufacturing capability of ML, with the most notable being jointless track circuits. Originally he obtained a licence to manufacture the French Aster track circuit equipment in the UK until such time as a modulated version was necessary when ML's own TI21 was developed. He also drove the development of many telemetry products, all prefixed by the well known TEML logo.

Dave Came, Secretary/Treasurer, Plymouth Section

SCOTTISH SECTION

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

On behalf of the committee, I would like to extend a warm Thank You to all of the members and guests who have supported the section this year. In addition I’d also like to thank the committee for their hard work and support in setting up the events in my first year as Chair.

The 2015-16 Session has been yet another very successful period for the Scottish Section. Through last summer, the committee continued the good work from previous years and set up a varied and interesting calendar of lectures which were well attended in what now looks like our settled home of the Iron Horse. It was regrettable that our Technical Visit to Prestwick ATC had to be cancelled; this is, however, an event that we may try to resurrect in the future.

The pinnacle of the year, as always, was our Annual Dinner and this year saw record attendances at 352 members and guests. We were thrilled to welcome Patrick Bossert of the NR Digital Railway team and Phil Verster of ScotRail Alliance to speak at the event. Joining us at the top table was Robin Nelson, invited to honour his continued efforts with the IRSE Exams in Scotland along with Paul Humphries and the IRSE’s outgoing Chief Executive Colin Porter as a thank-you for their longstanding support of the Section. The event was kindly sponsored by Gioconda and we would also like to thank Peter Allan again for running this event out of the kindness of his own heart.

Once again we held a collection for the Railway Children and this year we raised a staggering £2,828, which was doubled by the government (plus GiftAid) giving a total of £6,363. This continued generosity is now making this event not only one of the largest local industry dinners but also one of the biggest fundraising events in the rail industry in Glasgow. It is a trend that we wish to continue well into the future.

Throughout the year the committee has been pushing hard to engage and welcome new members particularly from the younger sections of the industry. Over the year we have noted a small increase in membership numbers in this area and have seen a few new faces at some of our lectures, but there is still a way to go. We are planning lunchtime lectures, continuing to pursue group training, and have partnered with the Younger Members Section at HQ to run the 2016 Younger Members Seminar in Glasgow in November.

In 2015 we had six members sitting the IRSE Exams, a number consistent with recent years (mixed fortunes with three of the six passing their papers). Congratulations to those who passed and hopefully we will see a similar number back this year with the study group starting in in earnest.

Another success for the session was a third place finish for member Frazer Howie in the Railway Engineers’ Forum (REF) Younger Engineers Presentation Competition. This event is co-hosted by the IRSE through REF so it was great to have a successful participant from the Section.

Looking forward to next session, we already have most of our schedule in place and will be publishing this in due course. We still have a gap for our Family Day so if anyone should have any ideas for this, or any future lecture topics, please contact a member of the committee. We sit on the Committee to represent all of you so, if there is anything you think we could do better, opportunities you think we have missed, please let us know. Likewise if you would like to help out with any aspect of the committee we will gratefully accept.

I hope you have enjoyed this past session and the rest of this evening and thank you very much for attending our AGM.

Secretary’s Report

This year’s session has been an improvement on last, with all lectures that were arranged being well-attended at the recent Iron Horse function room venue.

With the cost savings accrued from moving the lecture venue, the committee has discussed providing

funding for training session days for younger members, as well as bursaries to allow members to attend the IRSE Exam study groups organised at Derby.

Our 2016 provisional Dinner sponsor has been put forward as Amey. Confirmation of sponsorship is however required before ascertaining whether or not they wish to present a topic prior to the Dinner. If not, we have potential presentations from either Abellio or NR that the section can progress with.

A summary of the 2015/16 session’s activities is as follows:

September Lecture: ‘WSSC Signallers’ Assistant’, Peter Treble, TRE

The session kicked off with an informative lecture from Peter Treble of TRE at the Iron Horse, with a look into the delivery of the Signallers’ Assistant ARS system at WSSC and covered the system concept, benefits and experiences to date.

The numbers could have been better for the programme opening lecture, although the people who attended spoke very highly of the topic and the Q&A session lasted until the refreshments downstairs.

(Attendance: Members 9, Guests 4)

October Lecture: ‘Taking Reasonable Opportunity – Proportionate Design’, Graeme Christmas, Network Rail

Our second lecture of this year’s programme was well attended with Graeme Christmas from Network Rail providing a very thought-provoking lecture on being proportionate with design.

Graeme offered reflection on the use of current rules and regulations, and the introduction of the Common Safety Method (CSM). He then discussed various project examples of where cost and time savings could have been made if more attention was given during the design process, with reference to PAN0041 and NB123.

(Attendance: Members 10, Guests 3)

November Lecture: ‘Digital Railways’, Patrick Bossert, Network Rail

Patrick Bossert of Network Rail agreed to present the lecture preceding the Dinner, and discussed the aspect of Digital Railways becoming a reality within our already congested infrastructure and the challenges carrying out digital modernisation of the railway with competition for investment being intense.

The topic was very well received and attended, with different companies being represented during the question and answer session following the presentation.

The lecture was followed by the Annual Dinner which was kindly sponsored by Gioconda.

(Attendance: Members 48, Guests 68 – Dinner 352)

January Lecture: ‘Borders Railway’, Andy Munro, Siemens

The most popular presentation of the 2015-16 programme (apart from the pre-dinner lecture) was given by Andy Munro of Siemens with a strong local attendance.

Andy discussed key points of interest from the recent opening of Britain's longest stretch of new railway for over 100 years, along with the successes (and otherwise) of decisions made and actions taken during development, design, construction and commissioning.

Andy has since been asked to present this topic to other sections within the IRSE.

(Attendance: Members 29, Guests 20)

February Lecture: ‘RETB: Next Generation’, Gordon Pringle, Network Rail

Our Telecoms lecture of the session was delivered by Gordon Pringle of Network Rail who detailed the background of the original RETB system, the two existing RETB systems in the UK and the implementation of the ‘Next Gen’ equipment devised by Comms Design Ltd. Part of the presentation included hands on familiarity with the existing CDU and the new Cab Display Radio (CDR), and this was followed ith an intense

Q&A session.

(Attendance: Members 16, Guests 7)

March – Technical Visit – Prestwick ATC – Cancelled

The section had attempted to freshen up the annual technical visit by attempting to secure a visit to Prestwick ATC through local committee channels, but unfortunately we were unable to confirm availability with the airport and this event had to be cancelled.

May – Annual General Meeting

Due to dates clashing with committee members, the usual AGM and Quiz Night date of April had to be postponed until May.

This event was held in O’Neills, with a buffet supplied.

Scottish Section Officers and Committee 2015 - 16:

Chairman: Neil Thomson Vice Chairmen: Ricky Scarff and Stephen Wright Secretary: Gerry Loughran Treasurer: Brian McKendrick Publicity: Barry Young YM/CPD Co-ordinator: Frazer Howie

Committee: Simon Lowe, Craig Hourston.

Gerry Loughran, Secretary, Scottish Section

WESTERN SECTION

TECHNICAL MEETINGS

The following Technical Meetings were held during the year:

7th October 2015 – AGM and the ETCS integration facility

The Western section held its AGM, which was followed by the first of the season’s presentations, the subject of which was the ETCS integration facility ‘ENIF’, which is located on the Hertford loop section of the Great Northern line.

The speaker was Antonio Bravo from Siemens and the meeting was held at Network Rail’s Swindon offices.

4th November 2015

The subject of this presentation was the Thameslink project. This is a complex multi-disciplinary project, which includes the modernisation of London Bridge station, while it remains open, and the provision of ETCS, including ATO through the core section.

The speakers were Mark Ferrer and Steve Chatfield from Siemens and the meeting was held in Siemens’ Chippenham offices.

2nd December 2015

The subject of this presentation was Cyber Security. This is a complex subject which is becoming increasingly important as technology shifts from traditional relay circuits to network-based communication systems and radio-based train control systems, requiring an understanding of how these systems are vulnerable to electromagnetic attack.

The speaker was Dr Richard Hoad from Qinetiq and the meeting was held in Amey Rail’s Bristol offices.

6th January 2016

The subject of this presentation was the electrification immunisation of the Great Western. This was a follow-on presentation from one held during the previous season, and went on to discuss progress made since the previous seminar, and challenges and issues still being faced. The speaker was Mark Williams from Network Rail and the meeting was held in Network Rail’s Swindon offices.

3rd February 2016

The subject of this presentation was how Britain’s railways are the safest in Europe and how privatisation has helped to achieve this. The speaker was Clifford Perry, former Managing Director for AEA Rail Technology.

The meeting was held in Siemens’ Chippenham offices and was a joint IRSE/IET seminar.

2nd March 2016

This was the final presentation of the season and was attended by IRSE President Andrew Simmons. The subject was the diagnostics and the challenges faced by the technician when undertaking faulting and maintenance activities, especially on more modern systems.

The speaker was Adam Allen from AECOM and the meeting was held in AECOM’s Swindon offices.

Section Officers

The following officers and committee members were in post on 25th April 2016:

Chairman – Peter Martel

Vice Chairman – Simon Cooper

Committee members Adam Allen Martin Beard Peter Duggan Andy Scarisbrick

Hon. Secretary – Tug Wilson

Tug Wilson, Honorary Secretary, Western Section

YORK SECTION

Chairman’s Report

I am pleased to report that during the last year we again had a full programme of technical meetings. We began in October with a paper on the evolving technology of railway telecommunications by Simon Prins (Atkins) who of course reminded the signalling fraternity that telecommunications (telegraph) was first applied on the railways in 1837, four years before semaphore signals were invented.

In November Keith Paling (formerly Atkins) addressed us on the interesting world of international railway consultancy with a wealth of entertaining stories about clients who have no idea of what they are trying to do or how to go about doing it!

December’s paper was given by Bruce MacDougall (KWVR) who spoke about the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. It has been operating as a heritage railway for almost 50 years since 29 June 1968. They have been taking stock at the KWVR as they plan how to keep going for the next 50 years. Bruce told us about the problems they face and their future plans.

January’s paper saw Ian Puckrin (NR) and his maintenance team telling us about a further step on the path to achieving Intelligent Infrastructure – this time with a paper on Signalling Power Supplies. We have noticed that Ian’s papers seem to come complete with demonstrations of real kit which always livens up the evening.

In February Rod Price (TICS (Global) Ltd) tackled the subject of ‘How Testing has changed’. He began by telling us that in some ways it hasn’t changed at all. In other ways it has changed. Privatisation has certainly made testing more difficult to plan and execute although the basics of testing remain a black art but now with ETCS and ATO added.

The paper at our last meeting, in March, was by Steve Chatfield and Pete Ratcliffe (both Siemens). The subject was the Thameslink Programme which is really three projects in one; the remodelling of London Bridge, the delivery of a 24 trains per hour ETCS/ATO system and the construction of a new fleet of class 700 trains. It was a very interesting paper indeed.

The York Section Dinner was held on 11th March 2016 when 80+ members and guests again enjoyed dinner at the Marriott Hotel.

There have also been changes to the committee during the year. Owing to work commitments, both Keith Yews and Martin Marsden found that attending committee meetings had become very difficult and both decided to stand down. I put on record the committee’s thanks for their contribution to the work of the committee. In their place, the committee co-opted Simon Prins, Richard Storer and Ian Puckrin. There is no absolute number of places set by the constitution so three have replaced two.

I have enjoyed my year as Chairman and hope that members feel that the section remains in ‘good heart.’ I hand over the reins to Doug Gillanders in the knowledge that he has a ‘safe pair of hands.’

Quentin Macdonald, Chairman, York Section 2015-2016

York Section Officers and Committee 2015-16:

Chairman: Doug Gillanders Secretary: Tony Pinkstone Treasurer: Tony Kornas.

MINOR RAILWAYS SECTION

The Section had yet another busy year and continues to attract new members to the Institution as a result of the interesting and varied activities that are undertaken.

Annual General Meeting

The 2015 AGM was held on Saturday 13th June at George Stephenson House, York, followed by a visit to York Regional Operations Centre (ROC). A detailed and comprehensive guide to the visit was delivered by Andy Graham, the Lead Control Manager. Members and guests were afforded the rare opportunity to view the operating floor and the modern signalling control arrangements across the London and North Eastern region of Network Rail.

The visit then continued at the National Railway Museum close by. Within the museum, members and guests were given the opportunity to operate the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway’s Signalling School model railway layout, under instruction.

Cable Maintenance and Testing Course

Following on from the Section’s successful Signalling Maintenance and Inspection Technical Workshops run at Signet Solutions in Derby, a change in direction was taken on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th October 2015, when the second Cable Maintenance and Testing Course was held at the same location. Eight students from minor railways across the country attended the event. On Saturday, the group were taken through the basic good practice for jointing and termination, stripping wires and cables, followed by termination techniques, how to make a proper wire loop and how to check terminal block arrangements and crimp integrity.

On Saturday evening the students, committee members and instructor assembled for a convivial meal in a local restaurant, where the intricacies of testing were discussed and the woes of the world put to rights.

Sunday saw the students re-assembled in the classroom for the theory of continuity, insulation, core-to-core, core-to-earth and time domain reflectometer (TDR) testing, followed up with a test on a 10-core cable from a location to a ground frame. All students had the opportunity to complete the full range of test including using the ‘bunch’ method with the Megger and TDR, with students alternating between ‘tester’ and ‘assistant’ functions. After lunch, it was time for a quick session on risk reduction delivered by Major Ian Hughes on behalf of the section, then it was on to the assessment phase and all the students were individually assessed by the instructor at the location.

Additionally, a committee meeting took place on 17th October 2015.

Biennial Technical Seminar

The 4th Minor Railways Section Biennial Technical Seminar was held at the Kidderminster Railway Museum, next to the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) station in Worcestershire, on Saturday 7th November 2015. The theme of the event was ‘Projects and their Safe Application to Minor Railways’. Seven technical papers were presented during the course of the day and the event was well attended, with 58 delegates.

The winner of the Technician of the Year Award was Geoff Harris of the Bluebell Railway. The panel described him as a ‘respected team member who passes knowledge to other volunteers and travels a long distance to his chosen railway to do so. The results of his endeavours are reported to work well in service’.

January Committee Meeting

The first committee meeting of 2016 took place in Birmingham on Saturday 9th January at the Staybridge Hotel in Birmingham.

Visit to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway

On Saturday 16th April 2016, some 34 members and guests of the Minor Railway Section arrived at a sunny

Whitby station, terminus of the Esk Valley line from Middlesbrough, in the county of North Yorkshire. This was in order to view the new signalling arrangements provided to allow the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) to operate an improved train service from a new and dedicated platform 2, over the national rail network to the NYMR heritage line at Grosmont and on to Pickering. The NYMR carries more passengers than any other heritage railway in the UK and may be the busiest steam heritage line in the world, having carried 355,000 passengers in 2010. The 18-mile (29 km) railway is also the third-longest standard gauge heritage line in the United Kingdom

Upon arrival at Whitby, members and guests were met by Craig Donald (NYMR S&T Maintenance Manager) and Charles Weightman (NYMR Signalling Design Engineer and Minor Railway Section committee member) and the group was split into three in order to view the site by rotation (all in heavy rain).

At lunchtime, members and guests boarded a service train from the new Platform 2 to Grosmont, and upon arrival the visitors were again split into three groups. Craig Donald was again on hand to explain the operation of the signalling interfaces between the NYMR and Network Rail at the north end of Grosmont station, which included the sequence of events required in order to release/restore the key token from/to the intermediate token instrument, and the operation of the Network Rail and NYMR No. 1 and No. 2 ground frames for train movements on and off the Esk Valley line. Craig also discussed the background and details regarding the recovery of the signalling gantry from Scarborough Falsgrave signal box and how it was adjusted and restored for installation at Grosmont.

Charles Weightman was again on hand to explain the operation of Grosmont Crossing Signal Box next to the station. The signal box itself was built and commissioned by the NYMR in the 1990s using signalling equipment collected from all over the North East of England. The third site visit was a briefing/presentation in the nearby Crossing Club by Past President Philip Wiltshire, who is the Professional Head of Signalling and Telecommunications for the NYMR. Philip explained about the recently commissioned Electric Key Token working using broadband internet between Goathland, Levisham and New Bridge, developed with assistance and support of Siemens in the UK. Upon conclusion of the site visits at Grosmont, members and guests awaited the departure of the class 101 unit diesel multiple unit in the late afternoon ride to Pickering.

Acknowledgments

The Minor Railways Section would like to thank the many sponsors that have supported the section during the year, along with the many staff and volunteers of the various railways that the section has visited and to all those who attended the events.

For further information and regular updates regarding the activities of the Minor Railways Section, please refer to ‘@irseminorrailwayssection’ on Facebook or send an e-mail to ‘mrsvisits@irse.org’.

Officers and Committee Members

Chairman – Mike Tyrrell FIRSE Deputy Chairman – Rom Whalley MIRSE Secretary – Ian Allison FIRSE Treasurer – Martijn Huibers FIRSE Visits Secretary – Mike Tyrrell FIRSE

Ian James Allison FIRSE, Secretary, Minor Railways Section