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TCB : Break or Block ?

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Bonjour,

Being currently writing an advtrains tutorial in french, I have a doubt 
about the actual meaning of the "TCB" acronym (and how to translate it).

The most common full name I read in advtrains docs is "Track Circuit Break".

But a search on internet for this acronym leads to, for example, :

https://safety.networkrail.co.uk/jargon-buster/tcb/

in which the B is for Block.

I understand that one "Track Circuit Block" is defined by two "Track 
Circuit Breaks" but I am chagrined by the unique acronym for two 
different things.

Should we change TCB to TCBB (Track Circuit Bloc Border) ?

Should I precise I am not a native English speaker ?

Cordialement.

-- 
Tanavit
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<2f03e1c2-c81a-c7db-8717-89ff5da300c4@posto.ovh> (view parent)
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> Being currently writing an advtrains tutorial in french, I have a
> doubt about the actual meaning of the "TCB" acronym (and how to
> translate it).
>
> The most common full name I read in advtrains docs is "Track Circuit Break".

Yes, this is the device that marks the border of a track section.

Perhaps "track section border marker" would make more sense for l10n.

> But a search on internet for this acronym leads to, for example, :
>
> https://safety.networkrail.co.uk/jargon-buster/tcb/
>
> in which the B is for Block.
>
> I understand that one "Track Circuit Block" is defined by two "Track
> Circuit Breaks" but I am chagrined by the unique acronym for two
> different things.

I think the name "track circuit break" was chosen because it was
(somehow) considered a good description; this is somewhat understandable
as I can not find much about how the particular device is called in real
life. The fact that it has the same acronym as "track circuit block" was
likely not noticed when the name was chosen.

> Should we change TCB to TCBB (Track Circuit Bloc Border) ?

I prefer not renaming it.

Track circuit blocks are referred to as (in most contexts) "track
sections", so it should IMO not cause too much confusion. However,
renaming it would cause some confusion, as there would be places
(e.g. documentation, mods, and the internal API) where the acronym "TCB"
would still be used.

I do not have any experience with real-life rail operation in
English-speaking countries, however, so some other people's suggestions
are likely more helpful than mine.
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On 2022-05-23 22:39, Tanavit wrote:
> Bonjour,
>
> Being currently writing an advtrains tutorial in french, I have a 
> doubt about the actual meaning of the "TCB" acronym (and how to 
> translate it).
>
> The most common full name I read in advtrains docs is "Track Circuit 
> Break".
>
> But a search on internet for this acronym leads to, for example, :
>
> https://safety.networkrail.co.uk/jargon-buster/tcb/
>
> in which the B is for Block.
>
> I understand that one "Track Circuit Block" is defined by two "Track 
> Circuit Breaks" but I am chagrined by the unique acronym for two 
> different things.
>
> Should we change TCB to TCBB (Track Circuit Bloc Border) ?
>
> Should I precise I am not a native English speaker ?
>
> Cordialement.
>

As Y. Wang said, I doubt anyone was aware of online dictionaries that 
list TCB as short for "Track Circuit Block", and it's a term I don't 
recall ever reading in any English-language railway literature.


The term is quite intuitive to me as a native speaker. The Track Circuit 
Break is a 'break', a gap, a border, between two different track 
circuits, or a track circuit and tracks without a track circuit. A track 
circuit is an electrical device for detecting if a section is occupied 
with a train, which the advtrains TCBs simulate.


I leave the translation of Break at your discretion when it comes to a 
translation into French, but hopefully this explains it. At best there 
is a cognate in French that also starts with b and is understood in the 
same way; at worst, it's not that bad as other foreign-language terms 
are used in Advtrains like the German "LZB" (the part of interlocking 
that designate points on a track for signals and signs, and rules for 
obeying those). It is probably best not to translate the acronym TCB 
because it is used in many places and it would probably add more 
confusion than help.


Thanks for your contributions,
Blockhead
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Bonsoir,

Le 23/05/2022 à 20:19, Y. Wang a écrit :
 > I can not find much about how the particular device is called in real
 > life.

The advtrains TCB is a concept. The device does not exists in real life 
or is just a piece of insulator.

The actual TCB is the assembly of two insulated rails, an electrical 
powersource and a relay to switch on an off the red and green lights of 
the signals
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_circuit#The_basic_circuit).


Le 24/05/2022 à 20:04, Blockhead a écrit :
It is probably best not to translate the acronym TCB
> because it is used in many places and it would probably add more 
> confusion than help.

I will keep the acronym in the french translations files of advtrains, 
but problably use "Isolateur de Circuit de Voie" in my tutorial.
I work in the computer science field and am upset by the use of English 
words when a french one exists.



Cordialement.

-- 
Tanavit
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