All In A Day's Work...

Over a 24 hour period the signalmen will set approximately 2350 individual routes in the Reading Station area alone, with another 1350 at the adjacent junctions to the South and West of the station. This figure of approx. 3700 routes must then be doubled - as each individual route set must then be cancelled after the train has passed.

The signalmen must identify in excess of 1000 individual train headcodes, and must make approximately 500 headcode inputs into the train describer.

236 trains will pass through Reading Spur Junction, 583 through Reading East Main, 750 through Reading West Main, 494 through Reading West Junction and 316 through Oxford Road and Southcote Junctions.

84 freight trains are scheduled to pass through Reading station with another 61 using the Reading West Curve. The 34 travelling from the Didcot area towards Southcote are fitted in between 81 other trains using the Up Relief Line, and at Reading West Junction must cross over the 58 trains using the Down Relief, 113 on the Up Main, and 129 on the Down Main before reaching Oxford Road Junction where they have to cross a further 128 trains on the Up Westbury Line and finally join the 125 trains on the Down Westbury for the short journey to Southcote Junction. Many of the freight trains are too long to be accommodated on the West Curve and so require a clear run from West Junction through to Southcote if they are not to sit foul of the Up and Down Main Lines.

The First Great Western Link Depot at Reading will dispatch some 21 trains during the day and receive 23 in return.

791 points, a single ended point situated on the Down Main Line at New Junction has some 170 trains passing over them. That's an average of 1 train every 8 minutes over a 24 hour period.

The station staff on platforms 1-3 at Reading will dispatch approximately 87 trains throughout the day, platform 4 155, platforms 4A & 4B 98, platforms 9-10 123 and the middle platforms 5-8 an incredible 248 trains. Another 30 trains will run non-stop via the Through Line. The staff will attend some 30,000 or more passengers over 1½ miles of platforms.

Drivers will make some 2300 brake applications and apply power about 1300 times.

Between 30 and 40 horses will play a game of polo at  Shiplake, a similar number will run round in a circle at Newbury, and the signalmen will drink 5½ gallons of tea.

And it's all in a day's work...