1962 Uniform Code of Operating Rules – Interlocking Rules

INTERLOCKING RULES

Note: Whenever the word “signalman” appears herein, it applies to the employee performing the duties.

605. Interlocking signals govern the use of the routes of an interlocking, and as to the movements of trains within interlockings, their indications supersede the superiority of trains but do not dispense with the use or observance of other signals whenever and wherever they may be required.

605A. Unless otherwise specified in special instructions, rear flag protection is not required within interlocking limits.

611. Unless otherwise provided, signals must be kept in the position displaying the most restrictive indication, except when displayed for an immediate movement.

612. Appliances must be operated carefully and only by those charged with the duty. If any irregularity affecting their operation is detected, the signals must be displayed to give their most restrictive indication until repairs are made. Any defects must be promptly reported to the superintendent.

613. When a route is set, signals must be operated sufficiently in advance of approaching trains or engines to avoid delay.

615. When necessary to change any route for which the signals have been cleared for an approaching train or engine, switches, moveable point frogs or derails must not be changed or signals cleared for a conflicting route until the train or engine for which the route was first cleared has been brought to a stop.

616. The lever operating a switch, derail, moveable point frog, detector bar or lock must not be moved when any portion of a train or engine is standing on or closely approaching the switch, moveable point frog or derail.

617. Operating levers must be blocked or marked and should not be used when a track, switch or signal is undergoing repairs or when a track is obstructed.

618. During cold weather the operating levers must be moved as often as may be necessary to keep connections from freezing. The use of salt is forbidden.

619. If the force whose duty it is to keep switches clear when snow or sand is drifting is not on hand when required, the fact must be reported to the superintendent.

621. Signalmen must observe, as far as practicable whether the indications of the signals correspond with the positions of the levers.

622. Signalmen must not make nor permit any unauthorized repairs, alterations or additions to the interlocking.

623. If there is a derailment, or if a switch, moveable point frog or derail is run through, or if any damage occurs to the track or interlocking, the signals must be restored to display their most restrictive indication and no movement permitted until all parts of the interlocking and track liable to consequent damage have been examined and are known to be in safe condition.

624. When necessary to disconnect a switch, moveable point frog, derail, facing point lock, detector bar or electric locking circuit, all switches, moveable point frogs and derails affected must be securely spiked or fastened in the required position and the levers locked or marked in such a manner that they cannot be operated before any train or engine is permitted to pass over them.

625. When switches, moveable point frogs, derails or signals are undergoing repairs, Stop indication must be displayed for any movement which may be affected by such repairs until it has been ascertained from those in charge of the repairs that the switches, moveable point frogs and derails are properly lined and secured for such movement.

626. Signalmen must , as far as practicable, observe all passing trains and note whether they are complete and in order. Should there be any indications of conditions endangering the train, or any other train or engine, the signalman must take such measures for the protections of other trains as may be practicable.

628. Hand signals must not be used when the proper indication can be displayed on interlocking signals.

631. Lights in interlocking stations must be so placed that they cannot be seen from approaching trains.

633. If a train or engine overruns a signal indicating STOP, the fact must be immediately reported to the superintendent. In case of apparent disregard of signals by trains or engines, signalmen must, if practicable, see if proper indication was displayed.

634. Signalmen must not permit unauthorized persons to enter the interlocking station.

When a signalman is relieved, he must transfer all necessary information.

637. A running switch movement must not be made within interlocking limits.

661. If a signal indication permitting a train or engine to proceed, after being accepted, is changed to a STOP indication before it is reached, the stop must be made at once. Such occurance must be reported to the superintendent.

663. A train or engine must not pass an interlocking signal indicating STOP until conductor or engineman has been fully informed of the situation, or hand signal has been received from the signalman. Movement may then be made at restricted speed. Yellow flags by day and yellow lights by night will be used by signalmen giving hand signals. Such occurance must be reported to the superintendent.

667. Sand must not be used, nor water allowed to run from engine appliances within interlocking limits.

669. Trains or engines stopped by signalman in making a movement through an interlocking must not move in either direction until they have received the proper signal from him.

670. A reverse movement within interlocking limits, or a forward movement after making a reverse movment, must not be made without the proper interlocking signal indication, or permission is received from the signalman.

670A. When a train or engine having accepted an indication of an interlocking signal permitting it to proceed stops within thirty feet after passing such signal it must not again proceed without permission from the signalman or under the provision of Rule 672.

671. When an interlocking station is closed, should a signal for an open route indicate STOP, train and engine crews must know that the route for their train is properly lined and be assured they are protected against movements on conflicting routes, after which train may proceed at restricted speed. The fact must be reported to the superintendent from the first available point of communication.

672. When a train or engine is stopped by the STOP indication of an automatic interlocking signal, and no immediate conflicting movement is evident, a member of the crew must proceed to the crossing and unlock box marked switches and be governed by instructions posted in the box. In boxes where lights are provided to indicate the approach of trains, if those of the opposing railway are lighted and no train is seen approaching, he will open the switch and give proceed hand signal to his train. If lights are not provided, or if those of the opposing railway are not lighted, such employee, after opening the switch, must wait three minutes before giving his train signal to proceed. After his train has occupied the crossing, he will close the switch and lock box.

At automatic interlocking where push buttons are provided on signals to enable a return movement to be made over the crossing while switching, trainman will unlock box and push button. If signal does not clear, he must comply with instructions in preceding paragraph.

Special instructions will be issued as may be necessary.

673. When a train is running against current of traffic it must approach interlocking limits under such control as to be able to stop at a dwarf signal indicating stop.

Recent Posts

State of the Layout – Doubleheaders Tour 2024

It has been a while since our last blog post, so we thought a quick status update may be in order to show some of the exciting projects we’ve been working on over the winter. Also with the 2024 Doubleheaders Tour date quickly approaching, this will serve to advertise some of the new things you can expect to see if you make the trip to Maryhill.

Victoria Mine Spur (INCO – Crean Hill)

Located approximately 45km west of Sudbury, this area is situated on the southern-most end of the Sudbury Igneous Complex. The original Victoria Mine was opened in 1906 after a vein of copper-nickel ore was discovered here near the newly completed CPR line to Sault Ste Marie (the present day Webbwood Sub). A town of over 1000 residents sprang up here quickly, and thrived until the mine closed in 1930. Though Victoria Mine became a ghost town, the CPR maintained a siding here and the name lived on in employee timetables.

But as is usually the case in the Sudbury Basin, after one digging pays out another mine will usually spring up years later. And sure enough just three and a half miles away from Victoria Mine, another ore discovery was made which caused INCO to open a new mine in 1965 called Crean Hill. This caused the CPR to construct a whole new spur to service the facility, and to erect a train order station at Victoria Mine where the spur joined with the Webbwood Sub.

Crean Hill Mine

INCO’s Crean Hill Mine rock loader facility, as it appeared in 1991.

Our club actually built the spur down from Victoria Mine very early in layout development, as the helix that carried the Webbwood Sub between Copper Cliff and Nairn had to be built immediately, and the Victoria Mine spur ran along within the same helix. The Crean Hill mine trackage was laid early too, sometime around 2002 as best we can tell. Some rudimentary scenery sprang up, and construction of a rock loader had even begun. However the whole project sat for decades until we could re-create a large enough fleet of ore gondolas. That was the stumbling block as these ore gondolas were only used in one place on earth, Sudbury, with Canadian Pacific and INCO being the only operators. We had managed to build a small fleet of 1970-built CP cars that were produced by Sylvan Scale Models (the only correct Sudbury gondola kit ever produced) but these are craftsman resin kits that require time to build en masse. They are also long out of production.

CP 375837

3D printed car from series CP 375800-375999, which was a conglomeration of cars originally built between 1926 and 1942 (ex CP 376350-376849) that were rebuilt with solid floors in the mid-1970s after INCO installed a rotary dumper at Clarabelle Mill.

But time and technology march on, and present-day modellers now have the benefit of the 3D-Printer. Through the purchase of a machine and many hours of research and CAD work, our own Chris V. has been going through the whole fleet of Sudbury ore gon types, and has been very busy printing, assembling, painting and decalling the large fleet we require.

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CP RS-18s 8766 and 8765 bring in the first train of empty ore gondolas to open the WRMRC’s miniature re-creation of the Crean Hill mine. The small GE 43-tonner is on loan from a member, and is substituting for INCO 65-tonner #201 that was once assigned here.

With around 50 ore gondolas now in service on the Sudbury Division, we installed all the remaining track feeders, a Tortoise switch machine on the junction switch at Victoria Mine, and cleaned all the trackage that’s been mothballed for all these years. As the photos show, the first “INCO Job-2” Crean Hill ore train has operated over the spur, exchanging 20 empties for 20 loaded gons bound for INCO’s Clarabelle mill.

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The first loaded INCO-2 ore train is ready to leave Crean Hill mine. If you didn’t notice from the photos there is a real-life puzzle to switching the mine, because as the CPR Employee Timetables directly state; “Diesel units and equipment higher than ore cars must not enter rock house at Crean Hill.”

All these new 3D-printed ore gondolas, and the Crean Hill mine operation will be there for you to see if you take the 2024 Doubleheaders Tour on Saturday April the 6th. It will also gives you the chance to see how the crews running INCO-2 get around that rock house switching puzzle.

Victoria Mine Station

This project goes part and parcel with the Victoria Mine Spur entering service. With the ore trains soon becoming a reality, member Julius O. took on the task of scratch-building the diminutive Victoria Mine train order station and tool shed which stood guard over the junction switch.

Victoria+Mine+1970

Victoria Mine train order station, tool shed, and station name sign, as they appeared in 1970.

Even though the structures are small and Julius is a seasoned structure builder, there were enough outstanding questions that he required consultations with the real-life experiences of fellow WRMRC member Robin A.. As it just so happens, Robin used to be a former CPR train order agent on the Sudbury Division in the early 1970s, and had worked at Victoria Mine many a time.

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Our 1:87 scale recreation of the Victoria Mine structures.

One of the more colourful anecdotes that Robin shared was of the bathroom situation at Victoria Mine, in that there was none. The station was remote and not manned 24 hours a day, so instead the CPR provided the agents with an outhouse should (more like when) the need arouse. The INCO-2 job was a night train, and so the walk to relieve yourself was dark, long, and one that could potentially cross paths with a black bear. So agents had to light a standard railway fusee to scare away any potential bruins that may have been near.

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The inaugural run of the first loaded INCO-2 Crean Hill job approaching Victoria Mine.

After the tour as we turn our attention to finishing off the scenery in Victoria Mine and hide this helix for good, Robin’s story has us thinking of 3D-printing a much younger 1:87 scale version of him running from the outhouse with a lighted fusee in his hand. Apparently reddish-coloured flickering mini-LEDs exist, so this silly idea may be a thing. Stay tuned.

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The INCO-2 crew stop at the Victoria Mine station to pick up orders from Agent Robin A. to return to Sudbury Yard. The infamous outhouse was moved closer to view in this photo.

Sudbury Station & Division HQ Building

The CPR station and Sudbury Division headquarters building were off-site over the past year and had a lot more work done to them. Both are now nearing completion, and are back on the layout again for the public to view on the Doubleheaders Tour.

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CPR train station and Sudbury Division Headquarters buildings on the WRMRC layout.

Aside from adding the roofing shingles, the station building is pretty much completed.

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Back view of the station building and division HQ.

The basic structure of the division headquarters and roof profile are now complete. The remaining windows and assorted details are still required.

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Still a work in progress, but the overall division HQ structure is now completed.

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The second floor on this corner of the division HQ building once housed the Sudbury Division’s dispatch offices.

Good as these photos may be, they don’t do justice to how truly impressive these structures are when you see them in person. If you can’t visit us on April 6th you’re missing out.

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The combination of the station building plus nickel ore gondolas leaves no doubt as to the only place this could be; Sudbury, Ontario.

Miscellaneous Items

In addition to everything highlighted thus far there has also been a new structure completed in Sudbury, in addition to scenery expansion to Coniston (the next town east of Romford). However we’re keeping everyone online in suspense, so for now you’ll need to visit us on the tour to see what else we’ve been up to over the past while.

However one thing we’ll leave you with is something the average person will probably not see on the tour. Our signalling/electronics staff have been busy over the past months as well, and one of the more visible projects (for those of us working behind the scenes) they’ve completed is the Romford operator’s local control panel. If it looks to you like a CTC interlocking panel, that’s because the real one did too.

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The local control Operator’s panel, mounted within the Parry Sound Sub staging yard / Romford Operator ‘mole’ position. It is located under the layout by the Romford junction scene.

The panel is not operational at the moment, as it and our signals are waiting on quite a bit of work before CTC can be fully implemented. But we are getting closer.

We’re looking forward to opening our doors to the public again, showing off all our latest efforts, and sharing ideas and stories with fellow modellers. That is really what our hobby is about after all. If you can’t make it, there is always our own Fall Open House to look towards, or next year’s Doubleheaders Tour. However if you plan on making it out this April the 6th, all that we’ve shown here will be there for you to see. That and around 30 other layouts to tour. Hope to see you then.

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