We are very fortunate in the South Downs Light railway Society to have among our membership a wealth of railway and engineering experience; however it occurs to me that we sometimes fall a little way short in passing our knowledge on to our newer working members.

In particular, I have in mind communication itself – absolutely critical where people are operating large moving machinery in the vicinity of other people, and especially the public. Perhaps I may be allowed the space to explain, and endeavour to redress the balance.

          Most of the “low numbers” members met at The Lavender Line in East Sussex, a small full size railway, which was privately owned when we first got involved. In common with the practice of most, if not all full size railways, no new member was allowed near trains without understanding the basic shunting signals, but I regret we have not passed this knowledge on to our new members so assiduously. These comprise of six clearly defined hand/arm signals, which when correctly used enable a guard or shunter to give precise instructions to the crew of a locomotive without the need for spoken instructions, or where voice communication is not possible. These hand signals are equally valid on a miniature railway, and indeed are essential for safe operation and universal across the UK (except the Ravenglass and Eskdale – you can ask me about that!)

Many of our members will be familiar with the illustrations, which are from the 1950’s BR rulebook, but for our newer members they are explained below.

1/ The most important signal – ALL STOP. This is given with both arms straight up, palms forward, and requires a full and immediate brake application under ALL circumstances. If the reason is not clear, the driver should make the train safe and then seek clarification. On a moving train it may not be possible to raise both arms, so an alternative is to raise and lower rapidly from the shoulder, an outstretched arm, palm facing down.

2/ ALL CLEAR. This is given with one arm vertical or nearly vertical, palm facing forward, and is the signal a guard might give the driver in the absence of a whistle, or by staff working lineside to indicate to the driver that they are aware of the train/the line is clear.

3/ MOVE TOWARDS. Stand facing the driver, and move an arm horizontally across the body, from the elbow, palm facing down. This indicates to the driver to move towards the signal. As the train passes the signal changes to –

4/ MOVE AWAY. The arm is rotated from the elbow in such a fashion as to inscribe a circle in front of the body, with the finger tips. Again, it is important to face the driver at all times so that the movement is distinct. The signal instructs the driver to move away from the shunter.

5/ MOVE SLOWLY. This signal follows directly after either 3/ or 4/ above, at the end of the manoeuvre, and indicates to the driver that the movement is almost complete and he should be prepared to stop. The signal consists of an arm outstretched to the side, palm down, with the hand moved up and down from the wrist only.

6/ Of less use to us is the last signal, the correct meaning of which is PLEASE CREATE A VACUUM. For our purposes, its usual meaning would be an instruction to release the brake. A fist held vertically by the shoulder is pumped up and down steadily.

I commend these signals to all our operating staff. Please be aware of them, and be aware of the need for the driver to see the shunter (the person giving the signals), so don’t stand and watch in the driver’s line of sight. If you see somebody operating a train that appears not to understand a correctly given signal, please explain to them or advise one of our experienced members. It is only by everyone’s attention to safety and safe practice that we will preserve our reputation as a professionally run railway. Please enjoy what we are doing and take a pride in it!

Aidan F Favell

Member No 9

P.S. Thanks to Roy for his help importing and separating the scanned illustrations.