The LNER Encyclopedia

Is this at Kings Cross
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/the-f ... -sidelight

Bryan wrote:Is this at Kings Cross
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/the-f ... -sidelight

As long as your "...at Kings Cross" includes about 0.5 - 0.75 miles northwards, I feel sure you are right Bryan.

The opening cine footage is, I am sure, at what is mostly called 'Belle Isle', the area between the first two tunnels (called Gasworks and Copenhagen), with the scene being the north end of the former and showing a Down train heading away from King's Cross on the Down Main No.1, at a time which pre-dates the 1932 complete resignalling of King's Cross using Siemens power-operated equipment worked from the 232-miniature-lever signal box built next to West box at the end of platforms 5/6 (renumbered 4/5 in the '70s), and with which many of us will have been familiar until its circa 1976/7 demolition.

The visible signals to the left being an upper-quadrant (UQ) subsidiary signal, which would have had above it, out-of-shot, one of the very rare (in the UK) full-size UQ 3-position signal arms: Both being Kings Cross West box's signals (power-worked) applying to the Up Relief line, the Up line in the centre bore of Gasworks, and which were only provided in, I think, 1923 when this line was converted from its former Up Carriage line status.
To the centre and right, the lower-quadrant arms which we see the back of, on gantry-mounted 'suspended' dolls, are Belle Isle Down box's Home signals with Distant arms beneath for Copenhagen Junction/Goods & Mineral boxes.

A short distance behind the cameraman when filming the above, stood Belle Isle Up box (BIU), with its four 'splitting' Home signals (unseen in this film clip; 2 per line) for the Up Fast and Up Slow on a gantry not many feet south of the box (and note the brief close-up scene of two fogman's signal repeating indicators bearing the line-names "UP SLOW" and "UP FAST").

From about 1.11 in the video, we appear to see a north-facing view of the 'Fog Fellow' 'fogging' for those BIU Homes (with what would fit as part of the bottom of BIU box behind him), plus, the far background, through the overbridge (which would be the North London railway viaduct ; and including lines curving correctly for this being 'Belle Isle') includes what appears to be a signal box, with an adjacent gantry of four closely-spaced signals: These features would fit for being Copenhagen box with BIU's 'splitting' Inner Distants (also 2 per line).
When we see 'Fog Fellow' pulling his lever (I think there's only the one), with two lower objects just nearer the camera which I suspect are those two fogman's repeaters, it would make sense for that to be his operating a magazine detonator-placer for the Up Slow (the further away of 'his' two tracks), with him being expected to carry on placing detonators for the near road (Up Fast) by hand - quite normal for those times.

Hope that's not too much analysis for you !

The first and last time that i ever saw fogsignalmen being called out was when i was a Welwyn Garden City box in the winter of 1972/73.

One weekday evening at around 8:35pm the fog came in quite thickly during a misty evening so the signalman on duty (Cecil White) called out the fogsignalmen for duty at several of Welwyn Garden City's main running line semaphore signals (i think three fogsignalmen were 'called out' but only two actually arrived at the box to report for fogging duties before i finished duty and left the box at 10:pm).

At around 9:25pm the two P.Way men who had been 'called out' and who were acting as fogsignalmen arrived at the box both carrying a bardic lamp and several boxes of detonators each, both men then signed on duty under a pre-written entry in the s/box train register book and then both men were appointed to there respective signal posts under the signalman's instructions after a brief chat with Cecil about what was the 'best signals to fog' in the area?, So after agreement between Cecil and the two P.Way men about which signals both men would fog signal both men then left the box to take up there respective fogging posts.

I believe one fogsignalman was appointed at the Down fast & Down slow lines outter home signals (nos.22 & 8 signals respectively just north of the 20th mile bridge) and the other fogsignalman was appointed at the Down main line starting signal towards Welwyn north (no.24).

Thinking about the above post again i have a vague feeling that i arrived at the box one morning at 6:00am for an early turn some weeks after the above occasion when the fogsignalmen had been called out and the fogsignalmen had been called out again during the night because i have a vague feeling that there was a fogsignalman out all night 'fogging' at the Up fast line outter home signal (no.34 co-acting arms on a tall latice post) and he wasn't 'called in' again at until about 9:30am that morning when the fog started to lift.