Beer Heights Light Railway Works

Unlike on our national rail system, we are dedicated to continually improving the Pecorama experience, yet without any disruption to our guests service.

Here are just some of the recent undertakings carried out over the winter months:

Signalling

All train movements on the Beer Heights Light Railway running lines are controlled by automatic, fail-safe track circuit based signalling.  This system is very similar in principal to that used in full-size railway practice, except here we have no signalmen!  Once a train is dispatched from the terminus, all signals and points work automatically to ensure there is no possibility of two trains meeting each other on any single line.

To achieve this, the track is divided into a number of 'block sections' (sections between signals) and only one train at a time may occupy each of these sections.  This is known as ‘absolute block working’.  A low voltage electric current is passed, via a resistor, through one rail of each track section, the other rail acting as a 'common' return (connected to the negative side of the same power supply).  After passing through the track section concerned, the positive voltage is fed back to the signal box to energise a relay coil, this relay is an electrically operated switch known as the 'track relay'.  When a train enters, or occupies each track section, the wheels of each vehicle act as a 'short circuit' across the rails causing the track relay to de-energise, thereby breaking its switch contacts and cutting off an electrical signal to other relays within the signal 'interlocking'.  Thus the interlocking (a series of electrically interlocked relays) knows that a section of track is occupied by a train and will keep any signals protecting that section at 'danger'. Additionally, no automatic signal will show 'clear' until the track section prior to it is occupied by a train.

Signals, of course, need to be observed by drivers who are only human and can be distracted.  So, on some stretches of single line where trains can run in either direction, such as through the tunnel, we also have ‘SPAD’ (signal passed at danger) alarms.  Should a train pass a stop signal, a loud alarm sounds warning the driver of his mistake!

To allow as much operational flexibility as possible, drivers can select 'alternative' routes, such as diverting down the Beer Mine Branch or into the engine shed sidings. This is done by pressing a plunger mounted on a signal post ahead of the junction concerned.  Once the engine has passed the signal concerned the plungers become isolated to avoid any possibility of a train being sent the wrong way by a miscreant passenger!

The signalling system was designed by Mike Hanscomb who spent much of his life working on signalling for British Railways.  Installation was carried out by the railway's small team of paid and volunteer staff.

There is a new Track Indicator Panel at Much Natter Station that indicates with coloured lights to staff and visitors alike which section of the railway each train is in at any given moment. 

Winter Works

During the winter a great deal of maintenance is carried out on the Beer Heights Light Railway, and many improvements are made to enhance the experience of future visitors.

All steam locomotive boilers need to be thoroughly cleaned internally and examined each winter both by our own, and insurance company engineers.  Every seven to ten years the boiler must be removed from the frames for an even more comprehensive inspection and 'cold' pressure testing.

Then in spring, prior to the start of the running season, the engines are tested in steam in order for our boiler to witness the safety valves and other important fittings working correctly.

Some of our more frequently used loco's can travel up to 1,000 miles each year during the season and therfore can require considerable mechanical maintenance during the winter.  Virtually all the mechanical parts have to be made or repaired in our workshop.

The passenger coaches also travel well over a thousand miles each year and need frequent maintenance as well as paintwork touching up or even repainting and varnishing.

 Track, signalling and structures around the railway, such as bridges, all need a lot of maintenance and there is usually a new project on the go. Currently under construction in our workshop is a new internal combustion locomotive which when completed will replace ''Jimmy'' the diesel.

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