Friends of the Rail Forum

A classic British railway shot? It should be - the weather's right, but the track gauge isn't.
Backing the train out from the FOTR Hermanstad depot into a cold, miserable Hercules station early one winter's morning, August 1st, 2009. Picture: Steve G Appleton, 20090801.

How are you allowed to push back in a CTC section? Certainly, not allowed down here.

Yes, but like all movements, only if authorised by CTC. In a section, that would only be authorised under exceptional circumstances - a driver cannot take it upon himself to "set back". Nonetheless there are rules, contained in the manuals, that if authorised by CTC there must be at least two clear blocks protected by signals at danger (from memory -- books are at home) in the rear before it can be allowed.
In the case of FOTR's setting-back out of the Hercules yard, although the train is being propelled, we are essentially carrying out a normal train movement authorised by CTC (in conjuntion with the yard control point shunter) in the form of a single or double yellow signal operated at the yard exit. We are not setting back in a section. As you can see, the signal in the rear is set to green for us to pass it. We push back until the loco has passed the position-light shunt signal you see down between the tracks, before pulling off loco-first towards Cullinan, which is authorised by the operation of that shunt signal when the points have been operated and the track towards Capital Park is clear. To be able to pass that shunt signal on push-back usually means that the rear of the train has to pass that green signal at the left. I will shortly post a few more pics here showing the sequence that day.
We use that same shunt signal (HER 2460) and one more further back after the cross-over to push-back into the yard on returning.

The sequence out of Hercules (FOTR's Hermanstad station) as promised - pictures: a shivering, damp Steve G Appleton, August 1, 2009.