A very thorough and informative visit to Warrington PSB on the West Coast Main Line took place on a dark and windy evening in early March. A dozen members from the NW Area were met by Jane Owen, Shift Signalling Manager and were treated to a detailed explanation of the working of the box, its equipment and procedures.
Members studying for IRO professional qualifications were able to see at first hand the issues being covered in theory exercises and ask questions to deepen their understanding. Amongst the features Jane explained were route setting process, use individual point switches during failure, hot axle box detectors, train describers, reminder appliances and local working arrangements. The group heard about the change in traffic mix with increased emphasis on passenger trains and fewer larger freight services giving more opportunity for engineering and maintenance work particularly overnight. Under close expert supervision a couple of members were able to experience themselves the setting of routes and observed the process for dealing with train describer failure with an adjacent box. All valuable input to their IRO Continuous Professional Development evidence record. We were made most welcome for our two hour visit by the team on duty in Warrington and would like to record our thanks to Jane and colleagues.
