I agree, the video would be MUCH better with some sort of narration, either subtitles or a voiceover. A short summary I can give is this: The bells you hear are the result of communications to adjacent signal boxes. Each time the signalman in this video "taps" his instrument, he will cause the bell to ring in the corresponding adjacent signal box. Each bell you hear in this video is the result of an adjacent "tapping" their instrument. The number and rhythm of the bells rang form a code. Its somewhat similar to morse code, but whereas in morse code you have long and short strokes, here you can only ring a bell. So instead, the gaps between the bells make the code unique. For example, a common bell code heard in this video was 3-1-1: 3 beats in quick succession, a pause, then one beat, another pause, and then one beat. I believe this bell code refers to express freight, but I may be wrong. There are many different bell codes, all with different meanings, but arguably the most common and useful bell codes are this: 1 beat (a singular bell) - Call attention 2 beats - train entering section 2-1 (2 beats, pause, one beat) - train out of section. most of the different codes stem from "is line clear for..." This is because each type of train has their own bell code. For example, that express freight bell code mentioned earlier, 3-1-1, means "is line clear for express freight?" As you might expect, the "belling" of these codes become rather quick, and sometimes quite difficult to understand even for qualified signalmen. In this video, the "belling" is somewhat poor, especially 2-1 (train out of section). I doubt an instructor would be very pleased with it! You can probably tell I am rather interested in the subject, but I must disclaim I am merely an enthusiast, and qualified at all. Anyways, I hope that made the video slightly more interesting for you. If you have any questions, I'm sure I could give them a go!

@@j.a.g1291 Yes this video really needs a commentary. Is there anyone left now who really understands what is going on here? There seem to be many additional bell codes from normal operation. At one point the signalman was linking to another signalling system and keying in what I assume was a headcode description.

@@j.a.g1291 This is a very good explanation, but I really don't think you should pass judgement on a skilled professional's belling like that. The belling is fast. It is not poor. (Admittedly a slip of the finger towards the end of the video appears to have resulted in 2 being acknowledged twice but that's all.) You get used to your bells. Bells are being exchanged here with an adjacent box which was busy enough to be exempted from the requirement to record times, not necessarily so enthusiasts can follow along at home. When you watch a skilled chef chop onions you don't go oooh dear, if I tried that I'd chop my fingers off, that can't be very safe. You admire a professional at work. Now for sure clear communication is essential and the bell signals should be distinct, but this is like the difference between a fluent native speaker and a language learner. A learner might wonder how the natives can understand what's being said but if you're fluent it's easy. 3-1-1 is indeed a class 4 train (freight with a maximum speed of 75 mph).

@@paulebberson4884 This video was filmed and edited to be shown as part of a tour of the box that was offered to members of the public shortly after its closure in 2016. Videos of the tour can be found on KZfaq. Of course the tour itself went into a lot more detail about how the box worked. This video was meant to show the box in action. It was meant to be an exciting, attention-grabbing insight into the fast-paced, loud, invigorating, even frenetic nature of a busy box to complement the more detailed explanations of the tour and show visitors to the closed box how it used to be only weeks before. It wasn't meant to be a beginner's guide to absolute block signalling. Of course it could be said that stuck up on KZfaq on its own it doesn't work as well as it might have done as part of the original tour, but I think for the more casual viewer it provides a brief flash of the exhilarating world of mechanical signalling that captures the sounds and energy of a busy shift. For a more interested viewer they will know what's going on or can find out by looking at the many videos explaining absolute block signalling on KZfaq. Or start with The Signal Box website, it'll tell you everything. I don't think it would have been improved with a dry commentary drowning out the sounds of the bells or the trains rushing past. Signal boxes are *loud*! It's great! In any case the only 'additional bell code from normal operation' I heard was 3-5 'cancelling' which is here sent because a train which had terminated in platform 1 had started back in the opposite direction and so wouldn't be continuing through the section. And yes you're right he's typing the train description/headcode into the train describer system so that the signaller at Leamington Spa (now closed) knew what was coming. When Fenny Compton Box fell in 2004 absolute block working was replaced by track circuit block to Leamington Spa, which also lost its NX panel, the whole thing being taken over by a nasty computer system that could drive you nuts with the alarms it constantly sounded off.

⁠@@LUAu101I did not mean to insult the signalman, I apologise if that’s what I have done. When I said it’s “poor”, I did not mean to insinuate I know better, or that he should be ashamed, far from it. I simply meant that the short and long pauses were less distinct than usual. The belling is obviously swift, clear and understandable, and that’s arguably all that matters. If you want to keep up with the tv metaphor, I guess you could say I’m a typical football fan having a go at my club / a player for some small niggle that doesn’t matter. Again, didn’t mean to insult, I apologise.

The signalman uses the bell codes to indicate a train has entered or left a section. The signals (red levers) cannot be cleared unless the signalman in the receiving signalbox has indicated on the 'wooden instruments' that the line is clear.

Thankfully, these systems are mechanically interlocked. You CAN'T pull a wrong switch, the locking bars in the room underneath the upper level will not physically let you.

It's as much about the number of bells as the pattern they're in One bell is to get attention, then a code of bells to ask if the line is clear for a specific train. Three bells is for a freight train per someone else's comment on this thread.

Instablaster...

On the old signalling systems, trains are “offered” and “accepted” between adjoining signal boxes by the use of bell codes, which also denote what kind of train it is; and in the case of a multi-track area the instruments that transmit these bell codes also denote what line it is on. Bell codes are also used to indicate when a train is passing one signal box to the next one, to communicate when a train has arrived complete (or not!) and to pass emergency messages quickly.

@ stops the sweat on the hands for corroding the metal

Agreed. I'm 62, and after seeing the complexity here, I've decided I don't want to be a signaller when I grow up!😂😂

That's when we built them. Before anyone else.

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