Signalbox register

[Mickey]

How are mistakes dealt with in train register books?.

If a signalman makes a mistake when writing in the book which was always written in ball point pen and not pencil the correct way of correcting the mistake was o is to draw a line through the mistake and write ERROR beside the entry. Signalling Inspectors & managers didn't like 'crossing outs' and if they found one they would red ring it!.

About 25 years ago one 'old hand' who had been on the job since the 1950s used 'tipex' to correct a mistake he had written in the book but was quickly told to don't use tipex anymore if you make a mistake.

On the older books from the B.R. days they would have written on the front of the book that when making a 'time entry' and if for example the entry was made any time between :00 & :29 seconds it would be written as 11:00hrs but if it was made any time between :30 & 59 seconds it would be written as 11:01hrs. Also only the hour needed to be shown once only with all subsequent entries for that hour only needing to show the minutes for that hour for example-
11:05
-- :25
-- :48
12:10


If a fairly seriously or serious 'operating incident' took place at a signal box it was the usual practice for the book to be withdrawn by a Ops Manager and taken back to the office for possible use in any future enquiry. At onetime 'train register extracts' which were pieces of paper with seven or eight lines on them with all the train acceptance and forwarding columns printed on them as well were kept in boxes so a copy of the train register could be made by a Ops Manager instead of withdrawing the whole book and having to start a new book but I haven't seen any of them for over 30 years?.

When starting a new book the name of the signal box would be written in ball point pen on the front cover of the new book plus the day and date that it was opened on. Sometimes if the previous book had been withdrawn early before it was properly completed or finished for any reason it would be written on the front cover the book was closed on the day and date and under the last entry "The book has been was withdrawn." When starting a new book after the previous book had been withdrawn before it was completed usually it would have written on the top of the first page of the new book by either the Ops Manager who was withdrawing the book or the signalman-"The previous book has been withdrawn." otherwise if the previous book had been completed 'naturally' because the signalman had come to the last page in the book no comment was written at the start of the new book. Completed books would have written on the front cover by the signalman the day and date the book was closed below the day and date that the book was originally opened which at most boxes would have been several months earlier or at 'quiet boxes' that saw little traffic or may have closed during certain times during the 24 hours a book at those boxes could last as long as a year before the old book was completed and a new book was opened?.

Finally ever night at midnight the new day and date would be written in the book across the last entry of the previous day on both the UP LINE and DOWN LINE page of the train register.