Dispatching in Gelsenkirchen
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Before you get your approval to run the service on a signal box, you need to find out about the local characteristics. After training as a general trainee signalman, dispatchers were always paired with a person skilled in the signal box. This chapter is the brief introduction to the area. Read it carefully. It contains very important information.
The text is "peer to peer" written as if you are in the signal box, the first day after training.
Have a more detailed look at the Gelsenkirchen Hbf panel here.
Introduction
Hi! Welcome to the heart of the Ruhr District! Gelsenkirchen is the centre of some funky freight operations. Especially with the Torpedo trains. No, nothing to shoot around here. Torpedo cars are very heavy vehicles that can carry up to 200 Tons on fluid iron. And you’ll get a lot of them!
Stations and Sidings
Gelsenkirchen Eastside
Track 908/551 come from Wanne-Eickel Hbf (Central Station), Tracks 420/550 go to Wanne-Eickel Hbf. Both tracks are the passenger line. Track 520/430 is the freight line. All through freight trains that don’t end in Wanne-Eickel go via this line. All freight trains that end in Wanne-Eickel Rbf, go via Pluto Junction via the top left line of the panel.
Also the Nokia commuter train (89300/89400 series) go via the freight line. They turn around on track 025 and return into the direction of Wanne-Eickel. Remember that you need to offer those trains to Wanne-Eickel via the freight line.
Track 310 leads to the Steel Company Rheinstahl AG. (Schalke-Verein) They receive every hour a set of cars from a Duisburg foundry in a couple of Torpedo cars. They go in there and you’ll get some empty cars back. They told me that it took 30 hours for the fluid iron to cool down, but I never took any risk and give those trains always a green signal! The shift manager of the Rheinstahl will ask you if he can send a train. If you want to send him one, you may let him know or simply send the train. They have some extra tracks there.
Track 310 has no OHLE. Routes to this tracks need to be set using the FfrT toets.
Platforms
The platform tracks look longer here, but in real life they just about normal. Track 131 is the parcel freight loading track. The rest are stabling tracks for all kind of stuff. Use them as you like.
Track 002 and 003 you should always keep clear for the torpedo trains. You can’t send them anywhere else!
*) trains to/from Rheinstahl can be activated using the Fax System (
).
*) Extra traffic named Mathilde 2000 should NOT be used!!
Track 7 we use for the trains coming from Essen Kray-North, 4 to go to Essen Kray-North (and onwards towards Essen Hbf). Track 5 and 6 are for the trains from and to Essen-Altenessen.
Middle switch 035 in track 3/103
Switches 035 is a middle switch. Therefor, the signals Ls 003 und Ls 103 have the special blue dot on the signal button. This is very important in the case a train entered from track 2 into track 3 as shunt movement upto P003, and needs to depart as train movement from there. You must set a shunt route upto the main signal, from where the train movement should start.
Westside / Rotthausen
We are lucky to have a second station on the panel: Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen. It’s on the top right of the panel.
Track 724/714 is the old Glass Works. But almost nothing happens there..
Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen is a part of Gelsenkirchen Hbf. This means that trains in between those parts are run as shunt movements. But only if you go to the Glass works.
Track 793/794 lead to Essen Kray-Nord, and continue to Essen Hbf - Mülheim / Bottrop from there. Tracks 099/100 connect us with Essen‐Altenessen. Track 550 leads to Schalke-Süd. Nowadays only a automative company along this line is serviced so now and then. Any movements into that direction are shunt movements.
Control Monitor Sp Dr S 600
Compared to the Sp Dr S60 interlocking system, Sp Dr S600 does not have a number entry panel. For a Sp Dr S 600 system those systems are - simply said - combined into Control Monitor and a data entry keyboard (Dataeingabetastatur=DET). The ZNP system can be operated from the DET as well.
The most important thing here is that for route setting you have to enter the exact signal name, not just its track number. For signals like P005, the zeros are obmitted, so just enter P5 for such signals. Yellow track numbers indicate that the track does not have OHLE. Use FfrT or enter i.e. "F,N2-130I" on the DET for setting routes into such tracks.
| Entry | Memory block | Memory line | Exit | Memory block | Memory line | Train series | |
| F460.P4 | 1 | 4 | P4.P732 | 2 | 2 | 1800 / 10200 / 11200 / 31200 (EE/EMRY) | |
| F460.P5 | 1 | 1 | P5.P621I | 2 | 1 | 130 / 2300 / 2400 / 30200 / 89800 (EDG/EMRY/KD) | |
| G430.P25 EA,430 |
1 4 |
5 5 |
N25.520II |
4 |
3 |
89300 / 89400 (EG->EWAN) Change block direction | |
| A520.N6 | 3 | 1 | N6.420II | 4 | 1 | 130 / 2000 / 2300 / 30200 / 89800 (EWAN) | |
| R731.N7L | 3 | 2 | N7.420II | 4 | 2 | 1800 / 10200 / 11200 / 31200 (EWAN/EDO/EMST/EHLT) | |
| R731.N8 | 6 | 1 | N8.420II | 6 | 2 | 31200 (EDO) | |
| K441.002I EA,441 |
- 5 |
- 5 |
N103.541II |
- |
|
44600 (EWAN <-> Rheinstahl) Change block direction | |
| A520.002II | - | - | P3.621I | - | - | 71100 (EDRU <-> Rheinstahl) |
More detailed information can be found on the Control Monitor Sp Dr S 600 page.
Block Direction Status Indicator
Block direction (GWB) together with Selbstblock 53-59 is installed on the open line between Gelsenkirchen Hbf und Essen-Altenessen. Selbstblock 53-59 has some special additional facilities available. They are designated as monitoring devices, and located at the PSB from where the normal exit route takes place. All the individual track sections of are combined into one common status (entire line unoccupied or occupied) and shown by the Block Direction status indicator (GWBM). When the entire line is unoccupied the GWBM will be in its initial state, and the indicator will lit yellow and the Block Direction Lock indicator (ErlSp = Erlaubnisabgabesperrmelder) will be off (see image).
Changing the Block Direction is possible in this state When the monitoring devices detects that one of the track sections is occupied, the GWBM will be lit red instead of yellow. The block direction can not be changed now.
Once all block section are unoccupied again, the GWBM monitoring device will be in its initial state again, and the indicator will lit yellow again. In case the GWBM blinks red, the monitoring device has a system failure.
Abbreviations
| Short Name | Full Name |
| EG | Gelsenkirchen Hbf |
| EEAL | Essen-Altenessen |
| EEKD | Essen-Kray Nord |
| EEKN | Essen-Katernberg Nord |
| EGRO | Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen |
| EPLU | Abzw. Pluto |
| EWAD | Wanne Osthafen (via 441) |
| EWAN | Wanne-Eickel Hbf |
| EDG | Duisburg Hbf |
| EDO | Dortmund Hbf |
| EDRU | Duisburg-Ruhrort |
| EE | Essen Hbf |
| EENW | Essen West |
| EEST | Essen-Steele |
| EGBW | Gladbeck West |
| EGSS | Gelsenkirchen-Schalke Süd |
| EHLT | Haltern (Westf) |
| EMAF | Abzw. Oberhausen Mathilde |
| EMRY | Mülheim (Ruhr)-Styrum |
| EMST | Münster (Westf) Hbf |
Track lengths
Track lengths Gelsenkirchen Hbf
| Track | Length (m) |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 2 | 430 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 3 | 422 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 4 | 430 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 5 | 430 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 6 | 400 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 7 | 425 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 8 | 450 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 25 | 650 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 26 | 675 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 27 | 450 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 28 | 430 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 30 | 400 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 031 | 250 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 032 | 250 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 033 | 250 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 034 | 250 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 035 | 250 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 036 | 250 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 106 | 100 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 112 | 250 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 113 | 100 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 115 | 100 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 116 | 100 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 117 | 120 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 151 | 150 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 206 | 80 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 226 | 250 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 227 | 231 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 228 | 250 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 229 | 30 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 230 | 50 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 231 | 50 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 232 | 150 |
| Gelsenkirchen Hbf 233 | 150 |
Track lengths Gelsenkirchen Rotthausen
| Track | Length (m) |
| Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen 1 | 250 |
| Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen 2 | 250 |