Connection to Network Rail
For a description of the network connection signalling, see Kidderminster station signal box.
The Exchange Line is a short length of track just outside Kidderminster terminus allows the through running of trains between the SVRSevern Valley Railway and Network Rail (NRNetwork Rail).
Early preservation history
In the earliest days of preservation the boundary of the SVRSevern Valley Railway's section of the railway was at Alveley Sidings, where a length of rail was normally removed to ensure no unauthorised movements took place. When Railcar 22 was delivered in 1967, for example, platelayers had to temporarily replace the missing rail before it could be propelled onto the SVRSevern Valley Railway's section.[1][2]
In the 1973-1984 period prior to the extension to Kidderminster, the BRBritish Rail or British Railways/SVRSevern Valley Railway boundary was the trap points at Foley Park. When the SVRSevern Valley Railway initially took possession of the former BR Kidderminster goods yard in 1984 there were four connections to BRBritish Rail or British Railways at various points. Three redundant connections were soon recovered, retaining only the exchange line connection.
At its opening in 1987, the SVRSevern Valley Railway's Kidderminster signal box worked to Kidderminster Junction signal box, 'over the fence' and operated successively by BRBritish Rail or British Railways, RailTrack and finally NRNetwork Rail. The operating method was cumbersome, requiring staff on the track for any movement between the two railways. Under this arrangement the SVRSevern Valley Railway's exchange line was designated as a siding.
2012 upgrade and current arrangement
In 2012 NRNetwork Rail upgraded signalling on the adjacent main line, which included the closure of its Kidderminster Junction box and transfer of control to West Midlands Signalling Centre (WMSC) at Saltley.
The SVRSevern Valley Railway took the opportunity to extensively upgrade the connection, with many hundreds of hours of work by NRNetwork Rail and SVRSevern Valley Railway S&TSignals & Telegraph technicians. Commissioned in August 2012, to coincide with the mainline resignalling, it installed a comprehensive connection with the alterations allowing access for passenger- and non-passenger trains coming onto or leaving the SVRSevern Valley Railway.
As part of the resignalling of the network connection, the exchange line was upgraded from a siding to a running line. Movements can be made from the SVRSevern Valley Railway exchange line onto the NRNetwork Rail DownIn reference to the direction of travel means away from the major terminus (i.e. towards Bridgnorth on the present day SVR) Main, and from the NRNetwork Rail UpIn reference to the direction of travel means towards the major terminus (i.e. towards Kidderminster on the present day SVR) & DownIn reference to the direction of travel means away from the major terminus (i.e. towards Bridgnorth on the present day SVR) Mains onto the SVRSevern Valley Railway exchange line. In addition, an incoming or outgoing train may be held on the exchange line awaiting a path, without it affecting trains on the SVRSevern Valley Railway or NRNetwork Rail main lines. All such movements are now locked and signalled, controlled by the WMSC in conjunction with the SVRSevern Valley Railway's Kidderminster signal box, which is now a fringe box of the WMSC. Movements do, therefore, require the SVRSevern Valley Railway's signal box to be manned and open.
Kidderminster signal box diagram 2020, showing the network connection.
The upgrade also saw the first non-GWRGreat Western Railway/BRBritish Rail or British Railways(W) signal installed on the SVRSevern Valley Railway, in the form of a colour light signal leading from the SVRSevern Valley Railway's exchange line onto either the national network or into the SVRSevern Valley Railway's North Star Carriage & Wagon Works.
On Network Rail's open data TRUST timetabling system the SVRSevern Valley Railway is 'Kidderminster S.V.R.' and the Diesel Depot is 'Kidderminster Tmd (Svr)'. Trains across the network connection are shown on independent sources of live realtime running information.
A description of the work with images can also be found in SVR News 180, on S&T Notes online.
See also
- The Severn Valley Railway on the main line
- The development of Kidderminster Town Station
- Kidderminster station signal box
- Kidderminster Junction mainline signal box
References
- ↑ A G Cleaver, "The Early Days Of The 'Severn Valley'", SVRSevern Valley Railway News 190 (2015) p24.
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 6
