Trigger signal
A push-off signal (in Germany: Ra 6 - Ra 9 ) is a railroad shunting signal . It regulates the pushing of freight wagons over a mound by a shunting locomotive , which is mainly carried out in shunting yards .
Trigger signals in Germany
Shape signal
The mechanical push-off signal (also form-push-off signal or push-off shape signal) has a round black disk with a white border, in front of which there is a white, black-framed movable bar. The wing is curved and is illuminated in the dark. This signal is called the (Pintsch) Roudolf type.
The round disc could originally also be white and have a black border. Occasionally there were signals with a completely black disk.
In Bavaria there was also the so-called hammer signal; it had a hammer-shaped, white signal wing with a black border, which was illuminated in the dark. This signal existed until the 1970s.
Light signal
With the light push-off signal or push-off light signal, white lights are arranged in three light bars. These lights are attached to an octagonal black signal screen. In the area of the former Deutsche Bundesbahn there are five lights per row (exceptionally also three), in the area of the former Deutsche Reichsbahn there are four lights.
Signal aspects
| designation | meaning | Signal aspect | image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ra 6 | Stop! No prints allowed. | A horizontal white bar with a black border or a horizontal white strip of light. |
|
| Ra 7 | Pull the trigger slowly. | A white bar with a black border or a white strip of light diagonally upwards to the right |
|
| Ra 8 | Pull the trigger moderately quickly. | A vertical white bar with a black border or a vertical white strip of light |
|
| Ra 9 | Withdraw. The signal means that the maneuvering drive should move away from the waste mountain in the opposite direction to the flow direction. | A vertical streak of light, branching off from the top to the right, a horizontal streak of light. |
|
Trigger signals in other countries
In many countries, imprint shape signals have or had considerably different shapes than in Germany, for example in the Netherlands two openwork red signal wings on a mast or in Romania a rotatable black signal wing with a red and white marking at the end.
Trigger light signals are or were, for example , very similar to the German ones in Poland , Switzerland and Italy ; in many other countries, however, they are more similar to the usual other main or shunting signals .
Elimination of pressure signals
In modern automated marshalling yards, due to the operation of the push-off locomotives from the control box by radio remote control or because of the use of shunting radio connections, push-off signals are no longer required. The last mechanical push-off signals in the Deutsche Bahn AG network are in the Aalen (Württemberg) and Oldenburg (Lower Saxony) stations. Status: September 2018. Both signals have not been in operation for years. There are imprint shape signals preserved in museums. a. in Herzberg (Harz) and Vienenburg. Push-off light signals are still in use in 2018. In many cases, they serve as a fallback level.
literature
- Stefan Carstens: Signals. Additional, blocking and light signals, license plates, secondary signals, bell and whistle boards , Volume 3. MIBA REPORT 1/2007.
- Trigger signal for sale in turntable , issue 267, November 2015. Update in turntable 290, Sept./Oct. 2018.
Signal systems : H / V signal system (Hp, Vr) Hl signal system (Hl) Ks signal system (Ks) Sv signal system (Sv) Sk signal system (Sk)
Signal types: Level crossing signal (Bü) · Contact line signal (El) · Vehicle signal (Fz) · Main signal (Hp) · Slow speed signal ( Lf) · Secondary signal ( Ne) · Shunting signal (Ra) · Rottenwarnsignal (Ro) · Protection signal (Sh) · Signals for push locomotives and blocking trips (Ts) Advance signal (Vr) Turnout signal (Wn) Train staff signal (Zp) Train signal (Zg) Additional signal (Zs)
Main signals : Einfahrsignal · intermediate signal · Ausfahrsignal · block signal · cover signal