Just wanting to learn what is meant by diverging route?
And, facing points?
-Ron
A diverging route on a turnout are the curved rails including the points of the turnout. Facing points are turnouts that the train can enter the siding without backing up.
The Lone Geep
That definition is not necessarily correct.
A diverging route is usually the alternate route other than the main route normally traveled. The main route COULD be taking the curved route through the turnout.
Diverging route thru a turnout, is the “unstraight” route. Turnouts have one route the goes straight thru and one route that curves or diverges off to one side or the other.
Facing point and trailing point refer to the direction of the points relative to the direction of the train. A peddler freight prefers trailing point turnouts to pick up and set out cars on spurs. With a trailing point turnout, the train can back into the spur, and drop or pickup cars.
A facing point turnout is requires more work. The locomotive goes first into the facing point turnout. To get the locomotive back out of the spur, it must push all the cars out too. It cannot leave any cars on the spur track. To service a facing point spur the engine must uncouple and run around to the rear of the train, or turn the entire train around.
this is a great question and answers ,thanks Jerry
And in the case of a curved turnout, it’s the route with the tighter radius.
The easy way to recall what a facing point is is to think of yourself in the cab of a loco moving along. If you come to a switch and you are faced with a choice of ways to go it is a facing switch/point. If you come to a switch at which you can only go past a second track coming in from one side then it is a trailing switch.
If you go past/through a trailing switch, stop and go back you will be faced with a choice of routes: the switch is then facing for your direction of travel.
Direction of travel is the critical element in whether a switch is facing or trailing.
When a movement goes through a crossover to get from one line to another the first switch will be facing while the second will be trailing.
Similarly when a movement goes through a slip switch (puzzle switch) it will go through a facing set of blades and then a trailing set of blades.
There are some sources of confusion in the way things are named but on the ground the direction of movement always determines whether a switch is facing or trailing.
One source of complication is the practice of designating the normal direction of travel of a track. When all the normal traffic goes one way all the switches that give a choice of diverging from the track are facing points in practice for normal direction movements and tend to get called facing points (and even facing junctions). All the others are trailing points (and trailing junctions). BUT any movement that goes against the normal flow will reverse all the definitions for itself (and only itself).
Three way switch? Most three way switches are tandem switches so that in either direction a movement will get one switch to run through followed directly by another. So everything in the first paragraph just happens twice. For the rare
Excellent and meaniful responses. I appreciate the help this forum always gives.
Are there any pictures, diagrams, or other articles for further learning?
Thanks,
-Ron
Kalmbach has some good books you could check into. John Armstrong’s “Track Planning for Realistic Operation” starts with a couple of chapters on how the real railroads work that has a lot of good info.
Put yourself in the cab of a locomotive. Ahead is a signal mast with three lights or semaphores on it governing a facing point switch.
The top signal is green or clear, the bottom two are red. That means the main route is clear, proceed.
The top signal is red, the center one is clear or yellow, the bottom signal is red. If the center signal is clear or green, the diverging route is clear, proceed on the diverging route, (branch line?) If it is yellow you may proceed on the diverging route prepared to stop at the next signal. This is the indications you will get if you are entering a siding for a meet with an opposing train. You will enter the siding via a facing point switch, you will leave the siding via a trailing point switch. If you should back out of the siding via the same switch you entered, that is a trailing point movement.
If the bottom signal is yellow or lunar, and the top two are red, you have a restricting or permissive indication. You may be lined for either route and may proceed at restricted speed. There may be cars on the main or the diverging route or you may be entering a track against the current of traffic. (Going the wrong way down a one way street.)
Hope this helps.
Dan S, retired conductor