Welcome to RailForums Scotland

[RETB]

The very warmest of welcomes to RailForums Scotland - a new, modern and Scotland focused community for all with a connection to or interest in Scotland's Railways.

Whether you're a regular commuter, an occasional rail traveller, a future visitor to Scotland looking for information on travelling around by rail, work in the industry or any other interest in rail here in Scotland this is your community.

We're not going to layout a big set of rules, just ask that you please participate in a courteous and respectful manner to others in our community and keep forum threads broadly on their actual original topic.

All participants in the rail industry are welcome to become active members on this forum, thus we will permit a certain degree of commercial posting, particularly on behalf of preserved railways and railtour operators. However we will not permit blatant spamming of the forum.

Finally I'd like to say a very big thank you to the guys at Scottish Ski website www.winterhighland.info for helping get this forum set up in short order.

Please introduce yourself below.

 

[Jamie]

Testing and posting from Queen Street!

 

[RETB]

As one of the founding admin here at RailForums Scotland - a little bit about my username for those who’ve not heard of RETB!

RETB - Radio Electronic Token Block - is the radio based in-cab signalling system used on several long distance rural lines in Scotland. The West Highland Lines from Helensburgh Upper North to Oban, Fort William and Mallaig is controlled from Banavie Signal Box which was retained due to the need for local operation of the swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal near the foot of Neptune’s Staircase. The RETB signalling system on the WHL was commissioned in 1987 and underwent a modernisation over several years to next-gen RETB because of required frequency changes in 2016.

The other Scottish lines operated by RETB are the Far North Line and Kyle Lines, the genesis of the system was the need to bridge substantial gaps in telegraph wires that previously connected physical token machines on the Far North Line after storm damage in the exceptional blizzard of ‘78 brought down many miles of pole line.

Next Gen RETB Development:

Low Cost Railway Signalling for Network Rail in the United Kingdom

Comms Design's low cost signalling is successfully operating on over 700km of remote Network Rail routes in the United Kingdom.

commsdesign.net

The RETB system uses a chain of radio links, and includes the highest piece of UK mainline rail infrastructure (as seen in my profile picture) - an RETB radio station mast just shy of the Summit of Meall a’ Bhuiridh at Glencoe Mountain Resort at approximately 3600ft above sea level. During the installation work of the next gen signalling, a major storm destroyed one of the summit huts and severed the power supply above mid-mountain - the last recorded wind speed by the ski area weather station that evening was 144mph.

As a consequence until the snow retreated and new power cables could be installed on the mountain, every few days batteries had to be swapped out to maintain the signalling system North of Crianlarich. This continuous task has to be achieved on schedule regardless of weather conditions on the mountain and was thus carried out by a mixture of Kassbohrer over snow vehicles belonging to Glencoe Mountain Resort and use of the ski areas Access Chairlift when weather ruled out helicopter lifts.