Customer Reviews

Railroad Signaling

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

An interesting mixture of 'coffee table' photographs of the usual railroad type but with a text attempting to straighten out the great complexities of (primarily US) railroad signalling. Adequate acknowledgement is given to the UK roots of the subject while the major part of the book focuses, rightly, on the US scene. Does it work ? Brian Solomon makes a valiant attempt and certainly my knowledge has improved greatly however, whether the fault of the author or the editor/publisher, the flow is sometimes confusing, with perhaps too much extraneous railroad history mixed in with the signalling story. A rather odd chapter introduction style is used, leaving one constantly thumbing back to check what the last chapter break looked like. In addition, typos crop up far too regularly, particularly in the photo captions. Also, the track circuit diagrams are electrically incorrect - the misplaced resistors would cause the battery to explode at the passing of the first train ! On the whole it's a book I enjoyed and did learn a great deal from the wide research done by Mr Solomon - perhaps a revised edition would tighten up on the layout and editing (and correct the typos).

Brian Solomon's Railroad Signaling book is one that has been missing from the ranks of books about railroads for many years. There has not been a general publication about the sometimes perplexing and interesting world of railroad signaling aside from GRS's book of many years ago and an article in Trains magazine from 1957. Anyone who really wanted to understand these things, had to either befriend a railroad signaling engineer or maintainer, or become one!

So, while the need was great, and this book could have been a welcome addition to a serious railfan's or modeler's library, there are enough troubling points about this book that make me want to caution you about it.

Mr. Solomon decided to take a historical approach to the development of the art and science of signaling. While that is as good an approach as any, the unfortunate result was that about two thirds of the book discusses things that are seen only occasionaly in museums. Also, he is obviously fascinated by the old semaphore signals as the vast majority of the pictures in the book are of those rather than the newer types that are in use today. He also spends a lot of time developing the history from the 1870's to the 1970's and then has a very brief chapter about the advances that the computer age has brought to bear since then. The is one small subsection on such an important topic as PTC and none on CBTC which are the two main technological deployment of the early 21st century.

Another irritating problem is the frequency of typos throughout the book. At one point I was totally confused as to whether the signal protecting a grade crossing of old was called a wigwaG or wigwaM since both appeared interchangeably in the same paragraph.

The layout of the text was also rather confusing with some concepts being given after descriptions of how they were used. I had to look in advance of my reading for the technical diagrams to try and figure out what he was writing about. Unfortunately, some of his diagrams are incorrect as well.

On the good side, he does cover both American and British practices which therefore explain over 90% of what is used around the world today. Being an American author it is no surprise that he focuses most of his attention on American practice. It would have been nice though, to have more of an explanation of the differnces in, for instance, the use of divergent routes vs American speed routes.

The author does provide many of the rules that are in use in various locations and points out that these are examples as each railroad and transit property essentially following their own preferences.

So my conclusion is that while this was an excellent first effort, it needs to be thoroughly revised and recast to be the premier book explaining the arcane art of railroad signaling.

Brian Solomon does a wonderful job at explaining the complexities of railroad traffic control in his book "Railroad Signaling". Rather than just explain how modern systems function, he starts with a history of how railroad signal systems began and then goes through a step by step process of how the systems evolved in Great Britian and in the United States. As a result, it provides the fundamental principles upon which modern signaling systems are designed today.

Although signaling rules vary across the country (and the world), and not every detail can be discussed, I find the book explains the subject completely.

I found all of this information and the illustrations very helpful in understanding the meanings of modern railroad signals. This book is well-designed and jam-packed with beautiful photographs that any railfan will enjoy. (My book resides on the coffee table!)

I believe this book is also a good resource for model railroaders who intend to duplicate prototype signaling systems on their layouts.

I purchased the book in my capacity primarily as a railroad union officer (BLE&T), and secondarily as an amateur rail historian (former Vice-President, Pacific Region, NRHS). I was hoping to find the book to provide a bit more technical detail than what it contains. Having been involved in several signal related accident investigations, I have found my techicnal expertise to be somewhat lacking when the time comes to interview those railroad employees whose responsibility it is to maintain and repair railroad signalling systems. I don't know that Brian Solomon's book will go a long way towards helping me increase that knowledge; but it does provide a comprehensive bibliography which I am sure I can put to use in reaching my goals in that regard. From a historical perspective, the book is a helpful primer to those who wish to understand the basics of train control methods.

This is a basic overview of all types of railroad signals. It covers the history and development of visual and electrical signaling systems. To get an understanding of how signals work this is an excellent book. Unfortunately no book could cover all signals that you may encounter trackside. Because each railroad has its own signal system, you will have to refer to their timetable to decode local signal aspects and indications.

An easy read with excellent graphics, "Railroad Signaling" is a must for anyone interested in railroads and the technology that goes with them.

I was looking for a reference guide for the signals at the tracks near my house. This book gave me a basic idea (I guess there are too many configurations/railroad) but most of the book covered the early history of signaling. Interesting, but I wanted more of a recent 'field guide' type book. I have 7 signals to look at within a mile bike ride of my house and I still cant figure out 5 of them!

I worked as the BN Roadmaster's Clerk at Northtown for five years and had an excellent working relationship with the Signal Department. By reading this book, I now understand the complexity of signal installations.

This book is written in a way that a lay person can appreciate how the different types of signals operate in relationship to each other. Brian Soloman speaks about the signal systems in various part of the country work (and are different from the BN's) and has pictures of same.

This book is a must for railfans.

Ed Burns of Anoka, Minnesota

This is little more than a photography book. There is little technical content, and some of the diagrams have horrendous errors. You will never learn how a dispatcher knows a block is entered from the north or south, or the dilmenas faced by engineers and dispatchers when cab signaling fails, and why someone would design an electrical relay that is kept spinning like a top. Got a Sprint phone? The connection to Southern Pacific Railroad isn't even mentioned.

An excellent history of railroad signaling in the United States and UK. Text is very clear and very thorough. Photos are A+++. Explains clearly and simply the technology as it developed and how the train crew responds to the various indications.

A very interesting and educative book about railroad signaling. Not only for the text , but for the photos and diagrams as well.