Links

Before I start with a list of my favorite sites about interlockings (I will mostly include pages in English), I have to single out the most important link that explains German interlocking principles. It is

0. "German Block and Interlocking Principles - An Introduction for the Anglo-Saxon Reader"

and was written by Jörn Pachl, a renowned German interlocking specialist. Austrian interlockings are a little bit different from German ones, especially regarding the "station block" ("Bahnhofsblockung"). But the railways in both countries share the same concepts and mindsets when it comes to signalling, interlockings, and train moves in general.

Here are other important and interesting links:

1. Discussions about this blog are mainly on this thread at the signalbox.org forum 
2. Of course, signalbox.org is the important site for interlocking information in the UK and in countries with similar technologies, like Australia or NZ.
3. Some pictures and text of Austrian interlockings from 1955 can be found at www.signalbox.org - "Austria": Innsbruck (SBW500), Völs (5007, Rank instrument, Wörgl (OES K47 command frame, SBW500). The texts are mostly correct, but there are some misunderstandings about Austrian interlocking principles.
4. John Calvert has written a number of articles about various signalling topics about 15 years ago. A number of them are available behind links on this page.
5. The position-light blog deals with new and old signals and interlockings in North America—which often means the demise of mechanical or electro-mechanical frames.
6. Yes, double wires were also used in UK-dominated countries: Here is Westinghouse's attempt at this, as installed in Australia.
7. www.stellwerke.de has an English section.
8. www.thesignalpage.nl has a "datebase" = link list to many internet sites about signals and interlockings.
9. All Austrian track layouts from the 1970s and 1980s and many from the 1940s are available at  sporenplan.nl (click on "Sporenplannen", then on Austria and finally on "Tekeningen - schaal" = "Layouts by scale". Clicking on a line opens a list of this line's stations).
10. American railroading was quite different from European one—both British and continental. Here is a great website about train order operations (which are no longer existent), and many more pages about SP, among them San Jose—my home for two years in the 1990s. Maybe I'll scan my few photos from that time sometime...
11. For lots of information about American signals, see the comprehensive website http://rrsignalpix.com/.
12. More pictures of US interlockings signals can be found at http://www.rrsignal.com.

A visit to the Netherlands has led me to research Dutch interlockings. Three websites helped me to understand hte philosophy and technology of this country:

13. klassiekebeveiliging.com has pictures of mechanical frames and signals from the Netherlands. The standard mechanical frame type there was the Siemens & Halske 3414 frame, which was also built in Austria, the Czech Republic and even in Germany! All the texts are in Dutch, but they can easily be translated e.g. ith Google-Translator. 
14. nicospilt.com/beveiliging (in Dutch) also has signalling and interlocking pictures from the Netherlands, as has ...
15. ... seinarm.nl (click on one of the three links at the upper left).

On a visit to England I got to see a few interesting signal boxes on heritage railways or in museums that are definitely worth a visit—not only because of the interesting technology shown, but also for the nice people running and explaining them!

16. St.Albans South Signal Box is not only an original signal box at is original location with many trains going by, but also has a lot of explanatory signalling equipment inside and outside the building. They have an intricate simulator connected to the large "tumbler" frame, which allows them to "run" one or up to four trains on the four lines.
17. The Nene Valley Railway has a large signal box at its central Wansford station, with somersault semaphores near the road gates. A short walk along the line towards Peterborough to the home signals shows plenty of other signalling equipment.
18. The Epping Ongar Railway runs on a former part of the London Underground system. It has two lever frames (at North Weald and Ongar), a mix of signals—color light as well as semaphores—, and it is very active in adding more and more equipment (Tyer's instruments for block working, or—if I saw it correctly—a water crane at North Weald).
19. The Mangapps Railway Museum has a complete tappet frame installed in the large museum shed, with some levers connected to the host of signals in there—it's worth to try one's hand at them. Some smaller frames are in the signal box on the south side, and a four-lever frame on the opposite side is used to work a few points and an "indicator" (not a signal) in the yard.

More links will follow!

Last, but not hopefully not least, here is a link to the much more extensive Austrian "original" of this blog: stellwerke.blogspot.co.at.