In and out of Control

Our December meeting was “In and out of Control”, presented by Jim Summers. Jim never worked in Control but worked very much with Control during his railway career, always being fascinated by it. Jim outlined the reasoning for the existence of Railway Control, commenting what do they look like and who are they?

The origins of Railway Control in the UK were described. The methods employed over the years were explained in depth, graphing and computer based systems both being mentioned. Photographs of some Control office interiors were shown and incidents known to have occurred within Control were related by the speaker. During WW2, Control offices were moved to safer locations. A train enabling Control to function during WW2 was based at Carstairs. Scottish Control is now located in Buchanan House following closure of pre-existing local Control offices in Kilmarnock, Burntisland and Aberdeen: WCML Control is located in Edinburgh. Currently, Rail Operating Centres (ROCs) are being developed at various locations around the UK: Signallers, Train Controllers, Traffic Controllers & engineers are based in one location.

A most interesting and enlightening afternoon for our attendees, we thank Jim for providing such an excellent presentation.