The LNER Encyclopedia

"Wot do ya wanna be a signalman for son?. Signalling these days is finished theres no future in it." P.J.Cleverley Hitchin relief signalman in 1970.

So said a railway signalman to me as a 13 year old 'railway signalling nut' one afternoon back in the summer of 1970 in Woolmer Green signal box (situated midway between Welwyn North & Knebworth signal boxes on the GN main line) and in a way he was right signalling on the GN by 1970 was in it's 'twilight years' with only another 5 or 6 years left before the last remaining mehcanical & NX panel boxes between Kings Cross & Peterborough were all swept away.

And he was right signalling was never as good as it was from that time onwards...


Mickey

Just goes to show. That when the "press" put their mind to it, they can produce a sensible and serious feature about railways. Without resorting to the usual jibes about anoraks and trainspotters etc.

2392 wrote:Just goes to show. That when the "press" put their mind to it, they can produce a sensible and serious feature about railways. Without resorting to the usual jibes about anoraks and trainspotters etc.

... A pity though that the 'Victorian' boxes still around to be replaced are represented in this piece by a photo of one of the Kings Cross signal boxes which, although basically of the right type, the photo looks rather ancient, probably because both boxes were replaced by a more modern installation in 1932 in the form of the 232-miniature-lever power-operated box, which was, in turn, superseded 39 years ago (1977) by the present signalling.

I have been watching Paul Mertons secret stations on Channel 4, he mentioned that at one time their were 10,000 signal boxes on the rail system in this country, and now it is down to around 800 with approx. 50 closing a year, we now know that the grand plan is to run the system from just 12 rail operating centres which is now expected to take until 2056 to complete, but as its been shown Network Rail is rushing as has been proved with the resignalling of the North Kent main line through Rochester that should have taken place over Easter 2015 and was cancelled two weeks beforehand and took place over Easter 2016, the route from Strood to Paddock Wood should have been dealt with this year but no date has been given as to when this will take place. The route has nine level crossings, one AHB and another cctv controlled from another signal box, one at East Fairleigh is still opened manually and recently the gate keeper was badly injured because of a dead head motorist could not wait until the gates were fully across the railway, I am aware that there are many other crossings of this nature in other parts of the country that also pose the same risks. Councils no doubt will say yes or no to AHB or cctv control and if its no then it won't happen. Did I say 2056 could yet be 2156. Might a longer farewell.

With the demise and disappearance of the railway signal box comes an interesting new phenomenon in recent years that of the rise of the 'garden signal box' around the country?. The garden signal box can range from a small garden shed that has been turned into a small signal box to a former old signal box that has been dismantled and moved to a new site in someone's back garden and then has been reassembled.

One particular 'garden signal box' that did impress me when i saw a picture of it about a year ago was a authentic copy of a full size LNWR signal box built from scratch in a garden!. The box it's self was quite an accurate copy of a large'ish and tall'ish LNWR box which incorporated quite a large (long) lever frame and block shelf inside it, i reckon many hours of fun could be had 'playing' in that box, if i can find it again i'll try and post a link to it.

Mickey

this would have been nice In my back garden....

Just above the portal of the north end Molewood Tunnel at Hertford North there was a small signal cabin and a semaphore signal in a back garden, whether the cabin was original or scratch built I have no idea, but it did look good, whether its still there I don't know.

sandwhich wrote:Just above the portal of the north end Molewood Tunnel at Hertford North there was a small signal cabin and a semaphore signal in a back garden, whether the cabin was original or scratch built I have no idea, but it did look good, whether its still there I don't know.

That was Jack Waldock's collection, I think Jack was a S&T man at Hitchin at some point probably during the 1950s & 1960s and I did read somewhere on line in the last year that Jack had sold all his railway collection that he had above Molewood tunnel and had possibly moved but i can't recall when this had happened if it was just a few years ago or if it was a decade or two ago?.

Mickey

The entire collection at Molewood was moved to Knebworth House many years ago when Jack died but that museum also closed and the collection was split up. Much of it continues to appear and reappear on Ebay at inflated prices - I suppose everyone wants to sell things for whatever people will pay for them but I find it sad to see so much money being made out of the collection of such a nice, charitable and helpful man.
Photograph 26/3/78 Copyright N L Cadge/John Hinson collection
Photograph 28/5/78 Copyright N L Cadge/John Hinson collection

The "signal box" had actually been a covered ground frame with the levers from a small box on the Huntingdon-Kettering line. If I remember rightly there was a second, smaller, "signal box" on site too.

John

thesignalman wrote: " .... If I remember rightly there was a second, smaller, "signal box" on site too.

John "

There was John. - The former Harringay covered ground frame [worked the Up Goods No.2 / Up Sidings points and discs (5 levers, 1 & 5 Spare) ], which, in its Knebworth House grounds period was the "Knebworth & Wintergreen" narrow gauge railway's tiny second signal box there, called "Nup End", which I once recall seeing our mutual friend GH in charge of.

Just found a picture of it too . . .
Photo 28/5/78, copyright N L Cadge/John Hinson collection

John

Molewood box was switched in and working nicely last Saturday. Now containing a McKenzie and Holland lever frame controlling a single to double line with miniature staff in one direction and absolute block in the other.

Jack had a nice collection I could have spent hours 'playing signalman' in that Molewood s/box.

Several interesting nameboards on display amongst those on view are Ayot (box) on the GN single line branch between Welwyn Garden City & Harpenden East, Redhall (box) on the GN main line between Hatfield No.1 & Marshmoor s/boxes & Wood Green Up Box No.? (either No.2 or No.4 box?) and also wot looks like a British Railways blue enamel Eastern Region Denham station sign off the GW & GC Jt line between West Ruislip & Denham Golf Course.

Mickey

http://www.londonremembers.com/memorial ... enovations