Signallers piease look at this.

[PinzaC55]

I just found these pix of Chathill panel on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/44841559@N03/7024801555/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/llangollen ... 937073541/ Though I saw it and the "bobby" let me operate the barriers I never took any photo's inside , sadly.

[52D]

I never saw inside the cabin with this set up. I remember it from a few years prior to this with a real lever frame and crossing wheel with 3 lines across the crossing. BTW whats the siding on the up side at Chathill is it engineers or whats left of the up relief? I notice the facing/ trailing cross overs that were once a feature every few miles on the ECML that enabled the easy working of wrong line movements. I watched trains using this type of crossing at Littlemill one Sunday in the mid 1960s during a possesion.

[PinzaC55]

As far as I remember the Chathill Up Siding was a Tamper siding formed of the remains of the southward extension of the North Sunderland Railway over the road? I used to have the book on the NSR which would either confirm or deny this.

[52D]

You are correct just checked an old map, although the NSR officially finished at a gate into the NER station yard, the line i asked about was indeed an extension from the NSR platform. The track quality was magically changed from rails dognailed straight to timber sleepers to proper chaired track at the gate.

[PinzaC55]

Just on the subject of Chathill I found a great photo here http://www.davidheyscollection.com/page55.htm (scroll to near bottom of the page) which shows that the NSR bay was in use till at least 1963 for engineers vehicles.