Hertford North IFS

[S&T]

Found this video on YouTube…….and the memories came flooding back. One of the places I visited regularly between ‘82 and ‘90.

https://youtu.be/0JqKJ89Ni4M

S&T

[Mickey]

The box always reminded me of a smaller version (in height at least) as Welwyn Garden City plus it looked similar to Langley (Junction) as well so I presume all three boxes were built possibly around the same time during the 1920s and possibly by a local contractor?.

I believe I read many years ago on another railway signalling site that Hertford North's Up line semaphore distant signal was reputed to be the 'longest pull' for a distant signal either on the Eastern Region or in the country I can't remember which(?) and was not surprising as I presume the gradient was possibly 'falling' on the approach to Hertford North on the Up road from Langley Junction.

I was at Welwyn Garden City box between 1972-1974 as a 'box lad' and during the time that the box lost it's lever frame in September 1973 and received a new NX panel which I believe was relocated to the WGC relay room after the box finally closed in September 1976 and is still situated in that building some 50 years on?

Dave Cockle knows about Hertford North having once worked the box during the 1970s

[StevieG]

" .... I believe I read many years ago on another railway signalling site that Hertford North's Up line semaphore distant signal was reputed to be the 'longest pull' for a distant signal either on the Eastern Region or in the country I can't remember which(?) and was not surprising as I presume the gradient was possibly 'falling' on the approach to Hertford North on the Up road from Langley Junction. .... "

I recall very well what was shown on Hertford North box's diagram Mickey : -
- the Up First Home (No. 50) was quoted as 890 yards from the box, with Distant 51 as 2,367 yards from the box.

[Mickey]

" .... I believe I read many years ago on another railway signalling site that Hertford North's Up line semaphore distant signal was reputed to be the 'longest pull' for a distant signal either on the Eastern Region or in the country I can't remember which(?) and was not surprising as I presume the gradient was possibly 'falling' on the approach to Hertford North on the Up road from Langley Junction. .... "

I recall very well what was shown on Hertford North box's diagram Mickey : -
- the Up First Home (No. 50) was quoted as 890 yards from the box, with Distant 51 as 2,367 yards from the box.

That was well over a mile Stevie blimey that was some pull if however that distant signal was ever pulled off(?) because by the later 1960s and early 1970s very few trains when further north of Hertford North station and likewise that came Up road from Langley Junction except for the odd freight and light engine I assume and I presume some of the 'signal wire run' from the box to the signal post was broken up with 'counter weights' (would they have been called?). Probably if the Hertford loop hadn't been re-signalled until the 1980s that Up semaphore distant would possibly had been 'motorised' during the 1970s?.

[StevieG]

" .... I believe I read many years ago on another railway signalling site that Hertford North's Up line semaphore distant signal was reputed to be the 'longest pull' for a distant signal either on the Eastern Region or in the country I can't remember which(?) and was not surprising as I presume the gradient was possibly 'falling' on the approach to Hertford North on the Up road from Langley Junction. .... "

I recall very well what was shown on Hertford North box's diagram Mickey : -
- the Up First Home (No. 50) was quoted as 890 yards from the box, with Distant 51 as 2,367 yards from the box.

That was well over a mile Stevie blimey that was some pull if however that distant signal was ever pulled off(?) because by the later 1960s and early 1970s very few trains when further north of Hertford North station and likewise that came Up road from Langley Junction except for the odd freight and light engine I assume and I presume some of the 'signal wire run' from the box to the signal post was broken up with 'counter weights' (would they have been called?). Probably if the Hertford loop hadn't been re-signalled until the 1980s that Up semaphore distant would possibly had been 'motorised' during the 1970s?.

I saw the Distant pulled for freight a few times Mickey (e.g. there was a train of 100T tanks which ran that way), and even performed with it myself on a couple of them. It was an evenly smooth pull, and surprisingly not too difficult, maybe thanks to the line having only straight and gently curving parts (Harringay's 1400-yard UF Distant was worse; probably due to the line's big S-bend along the way).
'Counter weights' ? - very possibly; also what I think were called 'gainstroke levers' along the way to assist.
Would it have been motorised ? - who can say ? Not being on the main line, it could have been an 'It's not broke, why 'fix' it'.

[Mickey]

I recall very well what was shown on Hertford North box's diagram Mickey : -
- the Up First Home (No. 50) was quoted as 890 yards from the box, with Distant 51 as 2,367 yards from the box.

That was well over a mile Stevie blimey that was some pull if however that distant signal was ever pulled off(?) because by the later 1960s and early 1970s very few trains when further north of Hertford North station and likewise that came Up road from Langley Junction except for the odd freight and light engine I assume and I presume some of the 'signal wire run' from the box to the signal post was broken up with 'counter weights' (would they have been called?). Probably if the Hertford loop hadn't been re-signalled until the 1980s that Up semaphore distant would possibly had been 'motorised' during the 1970s?.

I saw the Distant pulled for freight a few times Mickey (e.g. there was a train of 100T tanks which ran that way), and even performed with it myself on a couple of them. It was an evenly smooth pull, and surprisingly not too difficult, maybe thanks to the line having only straight and gently curving parts (Harringay's 1400-yard UF Distant was worse; probably due to the line's big S-bend along the way).
'Counter weights' ? - very possibly; also what I think were called 'gainstroke levers' along the way to assist.
Would it have been motorised ? - who can say ? Not being on the main line, it could have been an 'It's not broke, why 'fix' it'.

With regards to the extreme length of the distance between the lever and that distant signal I just presumed that the signal wire would have had 'gainstroke levers' I do recall seeing them at a few other locations, but I can't recall where some 50 plus years later?

As for that distant signal being 'motorised' at some stage during the 1970s yeah you are probably right Stevie being with it not being on the main line and on a 'back water' secondary route it probably wouldn't have been thought worthy of spending the few thousand pounds during the 1970s of converting it to a motorised distant?

With regards to the Harringay (passenger) Up fast line semaphore distant signal beneath the Hornsey no.2 Up fast line home signal on the lattice post gantry outside Hornsey no.2 box yeah that was some pull and I did try it myself a couple of times while on a visit to the box early in 1973 about 6 months before the box closed which obviously was due to the signal wire traversing a large sweeping 'S' or a reverse curve between Harringay and Hornsey plus it was also quite a distance between Harringay box and Hornsey no.2 as well.