The LNER Encyclopedia

Posted: **Wed Apr 06, 2022 3:38 pm**

Started a new thread rather than hijacking Stuart's!

Interesting Brian that you implied in your post that the three s/boxes at Hertford East, Ware & St Margret's were all staffed on nights at onetime because I do remember hearing possibly around the late 1990s that the 'night turns' in those three boxes on the Hertford East branch were 'done away with' and that the early turn signalmen would sign on maybe about 5:00-5:30am and then work through until maybe 3:00pm and then the late turn signalmen would relieve the early turn signalman maybe at 3:00pm and work through until about 12:45-1:00am the following morning before closing out the boxes thus avoiding rostering three signalmen on 'night turns' (10:00pm-6:00am) at those three s/boxes.

I left the Broxbourne District in 1987 to go to Colchester and I lost track of what was happening there.
However, management were never happy having boxes open when there was no traffic from midnight to 5am. It was probably why the concrete sleeper traffic started to run on nights. They did have several attempts to bring in overnight closures but couldn't work it in around 8 hour shifts.
However, I'm sure the 1994 changes to the conditions of service would've made management quite happy as 'flexible rostering' was introduced. Didn't save them much though as it was only a few years later that all the boxes closed and control went to the IECC.
Of course the freight traffic had gone many years ago; Printars stopped receiving rail traffic around 1979ish, Spencer Chapman at St Margarets around 1984 and Costains very soon after that leaving no branch freight workings at all.

Posted: **Thu Apr 07, 2022 11:20 am**

WTTReprinter wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 3:38 pm Started a new thread rather than hijacking Stuart's!
Interesting Brian that you implied in your post that the three s/boxes at Hertford East, Ware & St Margret's were all staffed on nights at onetime because I do remember hearing possibly around the late 1990s that the 'night turns' in those three boxes on the Hertford East branch were 'done away with and that the early turn signalmen would sign on maybe about 5:00-5:30 am and then work through until maybe 3:00 pm and then the late turn signalmen would relieve the early turn signalman maybe at 3:00 pm and work through until about 12:45-1:00 am the following morning before closing out the boxes thus avoiding rostering three signalmen on 'night turns' (10:00n pm-6:00 am) at those three s/boxes.
I left the Broxbourne District in 1987 to go to Colchester and I lost track of what was happening there.
However, management were never happy having boxes open when there was no traffic from midnight to 5am. It was probably why the concrete sleeper traffic started to run on nights. They did have several attempts to bring in overnight closures but couldn't work it in around 8 hour shifts.
However, I'm sure the 1994 changes to the conditions of service would've made management quite happy as 'flexible rostering' was introduced. Didn't save them much though as it was only a few years later that all the boxes closed and control went to the IECC.
Of course the freight traffic had gone many years ago; Printars stopped receiving rail traffic around 1979ish, Spencer Chapman at St Margarets around 1984 and Costains very soon after that leaving no branch freight workings at all.

I believe Brian that those three s/boxes on the Hertford East branch Hertford East, Ware & St Margret's possibly went onto a 10 hours roster from sometime during the late-1990s onwards until all three boxes were finally closed around 2002 under the WARM resignalling project because I vaguely remember a signaller telling me that they had done that back around 2000. I assume WARM stood for West Anglia Route Modernisation which sounds quite likely?.

I presume the 'box hours' on the 10 hours roster were possibly 5:00 am to 3:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 1:00 am with the three individual boxes being closed between 1:00 am and 5:00 am

Posted: **Tue Apr 12, 2022 10:48 am**

Back in the 1960s I presume and definitely during the early 1970s you could 'smell' when you was on GE electrified lines by the smell of the stations which appeared to all use a standard issued B.R. disinfectant(?) plus the distinct smell off the overhead wires believe it or not especially during certain climatic conditions such as during damp or foggy weather and where also the constant 'buzzing' of the overheard wires was another give away because we didn't obviously have any of that on the GN in the late 1960s & early 1970s.

That Hertford East s/box was a nice little box I vaguely recall seeing it being painted in it's old GE colours of creamy white and green back in the early 1970s?.

The LNER Encyclopedia

Hertford East branch

Hertford East branch

Re: Hertford East branch

Re: Hertford East branch