Baker Street Control Center for Jubilee Line in 1989

[samcevoy]

I have been in the USA rail industry since 1965.



In 1989, while working as a consultant for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), I was a member of a technical team that visited rail control centers in England and France. One such control center was at Baker Street for the Jubilee Line.



The Baker Street control room looked like a modern control center with CRTs, automated route setting, etc.



However, in the signal huts, we found something very unexpected. Each local interlocking had an electromechanical interlocking frame (machine), with physical levers, mechanical locking, etc.



When the control center implemented a control, such as lining a route, throwing a switch, clearing a signal, cancelling a signal, etc., the equipment in the field hut would actually move the physical levers of the local interlocking machine. During our visit, we were mesmerized by watching the computer system deftly operate the manual levers.



The intent of this design was that if the central control and/or system failed, the local interlocking machines could be manually operated.

I took photos of the control center, and of these interlocking machines and model boards, but sadly they are buried in 75+ boxes in my basement.



I ask that someone please send me a few photos of these special electromechanical machines so that I can post them (giving full credit) on a few American websites. Any technical papers about the Baker Street Control Center and the remote interlockings would also be appreciated.



Railroad aka railway signaling aka signalling has had many unique technologies, installations and applications, and Baker Street and the Jubilee Line are noteworthy in this regard.



Thanks in advance.



Steve McEvoy

Sr. Signal & Rail Operations Engineer at AECOM

[e-mail]

[Deleted]

Try this for now there is some others just a simple search on Google with IMR will reveal results

www.wbsframe.mste.co.uk/public/Parsons_Green.html

[revupminster]

It was the law, it may still be, that the mechanical locking system had to be close to the points they were responsible for. In ancient days the mechanical locking bars were below the signal box/cabin; but then signal boxes were every few miles where a set of points were.

[samcevoy]

Aug 3, 2020 7:14:48 GMT @aetearlscourt said:

Try this for now there is some others just a simple search on Google with IMR will reveal results

www.wbsframe.mste.co.uk/public/Parsons_Green.html

Thanks. I will get to this as soon as I can.

For everyone's benefit, these were special and very unique electromechanical frames/machines that were designed to facilitate automated robotic control of the physical levers.

Steve

[samcevoy]

Aug 3, 2020 8:04:58 GMT revupminster said:

It was the law, it may still be, that the mechanical locking system had to be close to the points they were responsible for. In ancient days the mechanical locking bars were below the signal box/cabin; but then signal boxes were every few miles where a set of points were.

Thanks for the reply.

I can only speak of the USA. Local interlockings were always what we call vital, regardless of whether electromechanical, all-relay or microprocessor based. Safety was resident in the field. Remote control has almost always been considered non-vital for a host of reasons, necessitating a vital interlocking in the field.

In the USA, when an interlocking was remote controlled, any electromechanical frame was retired and the field interlocking was converted to all-relay or microprocessor based.

What I saw in 1989 on the Jubilee Line was unique in that they didn't want the field interlocking to be changed to all-relay technology. They wanted to keep well-proven electromechanical technology in the field so that in the case of a central-control failure, the interlockings could be locally controlled using the old type of electromechanical technology. However, these interlocking frames were unique and specially designed to facilitate automatic/robotic control of the levers.

In 1989, I saw a cartoon in the Baker Street facility. The cartoon was of a "fire door" cabinet which would normally house an ax with the words on the glass reading "In Case of Fire, Break Glass." However, instead of a ax, behind the glass was a Saxby & Farmer armstrong interlocking machine. The words on the glass were "In Case of Central-Control Failure, Break Glass.

Steve  

 

[Harsig]

Aug 4, 2020 0:37:08 GMT samcevoy said:

What I saw in 1989 on the Jubilee Line was unique in that they didn't want the field interlocking to be changed to all-relay technology. They wanted to keep well-proven electromechanical technology in the field so that in the case of a central-control failure, the interlockings could be locally controlled using the old type of electromechanical technology. However, these interlocking frames were unique and specially designed to facilitate automatic/robotic control of the levers.

What you saw was a Westinghouse V style frame, a design which has been in use on the London Underground since the 1950s. They were still being installed new up to about 1990. They were always remotely controlled but over the long period of their installation, the control method evolved from simple route setting push buttons, through Train Describer controlled route setting and Programme Machine Control (www.metadyne.co.uk/ProgrammeMachines.html) through to computerised control in the 1970s and 80s. The Metropolitan and Jubilee Line Signalling Control Centre at Baker Street (and the slightly later Bakerloo Line Control Centre, also at Baker St) were the last iterations of this evolution.

More information on the V Style frame can be found here: www.tillyweb.biz/crossings/vstyle/odyframe.htm

[samcevoy]

Thanks Harsig.

Any idea where I can obtain a few photos of these interlocking machines/frames to show Americans with full credit given?

Steve

[MoreToJack]

I can’t help with photos of V frames (I’ve only ever seen one in the flesh and didn’t quite realise/think to take photos at the time!), but I can offer this piece of relevance: the Northwood Control Panel. This is one of the earlier methods of control for such frames, with push buttons calling the appropriate routes in the local IMR. In this instance control is with Harrow on the Hill signal box, and the buttons are illuminated red (signal at danger), yellow (route selected but not cleared) and green (route cleared). The principles are much the same come the ‘new’ control centres, with the push buttons replaced by software.

[Tom]

I've taken a few over the years.

Here's Baker Street (Bakerloo and Jubilee Lines):


and here's Baker Street (Metropolitan line):


If you want any more, feel free to drop me a PM.

[Tom]

Aug 3, 2020 8:04:58 GMT revupminster said:

It was the law, it may still be, that the mechanical locking system had to be close to the points they were responsible for. In ancient days the mechanical locking bars were below the signal box/cabin; but then signal boxes were every few miles where a set of points were.

That was more in the days of mechanically operated points, and it was related to the length of the rodding.

[samcevoy]

Tom:

Thank you. They are beautiful photos. When I post them on a Facebook Group (Railroad Interlocking and Signal Towers) for my railroad peers and friends, how should I word the credit?

Tom - Global Moderator of District Dave's London Underground Forum?

Steve

[Tom]

Glad you liked them Steve. You should have a PM from me.