Finsbury Park no.3

[thesignalman]

An interesting recollection Stevie and back then 55-60 years ago that possibly wouldn't have seemed to out of the ordinary but on to todays railways that would seem totally alien to todays railway staff?.

With regards to John mentioning St Albans South working with Cricklewood Junction box I looked up the mileage between both boxes working over the Up & Down fast lines and that would have been a '15 miles block section' but on the Up & Down slow lines and assuming St Albans South was working with Silkstream Junction (this box only worked the Up & Down slow lines north of Hendon and it is where the junction points for the Up & Down goods lines started and finished) the mileage between both boxes was 12 miles but even so it was still a fairly long block section all the same.

Silkstream would have been "out" at Christmas too.

Drifting well off the LNER now, but I remember the last Down on Christmas Eve failed on Christmas Eve one year when Elstree was open, but Elstree had cleared back and Cricklewood Junction had closed - so assistance had to come from somewhere to the North - Leicester I think as Wellingborough wouldn't have been staffed that late with no freight traffic.

Going back to No3 box, the large number of GNR block instruments was commented on above. If I remember rightly there were also bob-to-box telegraph instruments on the shelf between some of those, used to identify the destination of the train signalled.

John

[StevieG]

" .... Going back to No3 box, the large number of GNR block instruments was commented on above. If I remember rightly there were also bob-to-box telegraph instruments on the shelf between some of those, used to identify the destination of the train signalled.

John"

Quite so John. Labelled FK (FP No.1) - GY (No.5), featuring most, or all, of the local boxes.
I always remember the receiving of a 1-3 (light engine for anywhere in the north of Holloway to Bounds Green area) from No.2 ('Clarence Yard') box being swiftly followed by "L" on the telegr., meaning to 'Clarence Yard' (FP Diesel Depot).

[Mickey]

All the Finsbury Park boxes nos.1-7 including Ashburton Grove had a GN 'single needle telegraph instrument' on the Finsbury Park 'single needle circuit' being mounted on there block shelves above there lever frames along with the other 'single needle instruments' that all the GN boxes had usually on the other side of the box near the train register high desk and book anyway with regards to the 'single needle instruments mounted on the block shelves' on the 'Finsbury Park circuit' I recall seeing the one in Finsbury Park no.3, no.4, no.5, no.6 and in Ashburton Grove but I never visited Finsbury Park no.1 & no.2 and I only visited Finsbury Park no.7 after it had recently closed in October of 1970. I visited Finsbury Park no.7 after closure with a railway friend in November of 1970 but the block shelf was empty of block instruments and other electrical equipment and the track diagram was obviously gone all removed by the S&T department.

[Mickey]

During my short spell as a secondman at Kings Cross loco between April 1974 and September 1975 after the 'box lads' position was abolished at Welwyn Garden City in March of 1974 I recall being on Finsbury Park station possibly in October of 1974(?) on one of the Down side platforms on the Monday morning after Finsbury Park no.3 & no.5 and possibly no.2 had all just closed that weekend and seeing a portacabin type building situated on possibly platform no.7 anyway on approaching the portacabin and glancing through one of the small windows I saw the new and long temporary NX panel which had just been commissioned that weekend with several railway staff standing around the panel who were probably a couple of signalmen and S&T staff and then looking at Finsbury Park no.5 with the box door having been left open and looking forlorn and empty with all its semaphore signal arms having been removed that same weekend which looked strange to me after seeing them every time that I passed through the station on a train since 1967.