London Underground was one of the world's early adopters of automatic block signalling and many of the principal operating and technical techniques used then are still seen today. This illustrated presentation looks at the development of the early track circuits, signals, power frames, point machines and trainstops designed in the United States and brought to Britain in the early 20th Century. It describes the initial use on the London Underground railways and later development showing how some of the equipment has survived until recent times and how it has shaped signalling development on the Underground.
Piers is a senior international railway professional with wide ranging management expertise and front-line experience in railway system design & planning, project assurance, project management, system integration, maintenance, operations, manufacturing and project development in Europe, North America, South Africa and Asia. Awarded PhD in Railway Systems Engineering by the University of Birmingham. Has professional membership of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and is Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Railway Operators. Piers is a railway engineering systems and operations specialist, project assurance practitioner, system integration specialist, project developer, project manager and facilitator, author of textbooks, has online and in person presenter experience and has acted as expert witness in courtroom conditions. Piers is also a tutor for the Glasgow Caledonian University and Chartered Institution of Railway Operators education and apprentice programmes.