The LNER Encyclopedia

Holme & Connington N & S signal boxes

Holme s/box located nearly 70 miles from Kings Cross and 6 miles from Peterborough snd stood beside the Down main line on the mainly double-track section of the main line between Yaxley s/box to the north (across Stilton fen) and Connington North s/box to the south although a third line called 'the Down siding' ran parallel beside the Down fast line between Connington North box and just before Holme box where the Down siding line ran or fed into the Down main line just before the road level crossing and s/box. Holme s/box was a fairly large box with the lever frame in the rear of the box facing away from the running lines outside. A single line once started and ended at Holme on the Up side of the line and was connected to the Up main line at Holme after which on leaving Holme the line swung around and ran in a easterly direction to Ramsey where this single line branch ended although by the 1960s only the occasional goods train would travel over it. This Holme-Ramsey single line branch was still laid in back in the early 1970s although from memory the track was 'lifted' by the summer of 1975. Holme receives a brief mention in the Abbots Ripton accident of 1876 and also of interest were three existing GNR somersault signals that were worked by the box and survived until about 1975 on the Ramsey branch with two of the signals being two stop signals and the third one a lone distant signal with all three signals carried on straight wooden signal posts and all three could be seen from passing trains. When Holme s/box was closed and abolished circa 1976/77(?) the area along with several other boxes to the south were then absorbed into the Peterborough PSB area. Holme s/box also controlled the barriers to a fairly busy road level crossing outside the south end of the box and before the box was abolished a modern replacement box was constructed by British Rail to a similar design as the one built at Everton between Sandy & St Neots to control the level crossing.

A long Down siding line existed between Connington North & Holme s/boxes with the connecting points from the Down siding into the Down main line before the road level crossing and the s/box and also on the approach to Holmes Down main line home signal so obviously if a train was signalled to leave the Down siding line any trains that mite be 'offered on' to the Holme signalman would be 'refused' on the block instrument and possibly some 'local arrangement' in both s/boxes 'special instructions' existed because once a train had passed the Connington North Down main line home signal the next signal was the home signal for Holme that was sited 'beyond' the points exiting the Down siding which was quite unusual??.

Also I vaguely recall noticing from passing trains that the three GNR somersault signal had been removed by the summer of 1975.

In the distant past I have seen an old picture of Holme station which also features the s/box and is dated from memory circa 1880s.

According to a S&T diagram I have of Connington North (box) the Down goods line between Connington North & Holme was marked as a 'siding' although from my memory this 'siding' ran parallel to the Down main line between both boxes and was a 'straight plain line' so I presume the signalling between both boxes was under NO BLOCK REGULATIONS and any trains travelling along this siding road was communicated by the box telephone between both signalmen.

Connington North s/box

Connington North (box) was about 68 miles from Kings Cross and was situated on the Down side of the running lines standing beside the Down siding line. The box was constructed I believe during WW2 and was constructed of bricks and glass with from my memory a flat concrete roof. The box was fairly tall and was situated next to a rarely used country road or farm track with a set of crossing gates either side of the running lines right outside the box protecting any road vehicles approaching the railway line in either direction and also reputedly this 'crossing' was and probably still is suppose to be 'haunted' due to a small number of deaths that had occurred on the railway line at this spot. The box had a 20 lever frame at the rear of the box facing away from the running lines outside and worked with Holme s/box to the north and Connington South s/box to the south. Of interest during the later 1960s and into the first half of the 1970s whole trains of ECS (Empty Coaching Stock) of 'condemned' maroon and blue/grey livered B.R.Mk.1 coaches were often to be seen stabled in the Down sidings between Connington South & Connington North s/boxes from passing trains with these Down sidings being set amongst wide open flat farm land for miles around.

The aforementioned lever frame numbers are from a S&T renewal diagram that I have had in my possession since 1970 that was in amongst a whole bunch of S&T diagrams from one of the offices on Kings Cross west side and were being 'junked' but were saved by a railway friend of mine back then.

CONNINGTON NORTH RENWEAL OF T.C. IN LIEU OF BAR (ON NO. 13 POINTS) dated 07/11/58

The Connington North lever frame nos.-

no.1 Ground disc signal Up main to Down main via no.2 crossover
no.2 Points main to main crossover
no.3 Ground disc signal from the Down sidings to Down shunting spur
no.4 Ground disc signal from the Down sidings to Down siding (towards Holme)
no.5 Down goods line home signal to Down main line
no.6 Points from from Down sidings to Down goods line
no.7 Trap points Down shunting spur outside box
no.8 Ground disc signal for no.7 trap points
no.9 Ground disc signal from the Down goods line to Down shunting spur
no.10 Down goods line distant signal
no.11 Down goods line home signal (with Holme's distant signal beneath)
no.12 FPL (Facing Point Lock) for no.13 points * See the heading of this S&T diagram?.
no.13 Points Down goods line to Down main line
no.14 Ground disc signal from the Down main line to Down sidings or from the Down main line to Up main line via no.2 points
no.15 Down main line outer distant signal (beneath the Connington South home signal)
no.16 Down main line inner distant signal (beneath the Connington South starting signal)
no.17 Down main line home signal (with the Holme Down main line distant signal beneath)
no.18 spare
no.19 spare
no.20 Up main line (colour light) home signal + Auto-distant signal back at Holme

The Connington North Down main line outer distant signal was 'motorised' because I recall seeing it 'come off' from a passing train once while travelling along the Up main line heading south and I recall that the distant arm went to the 'off position' slowly which 'all motorised semaphore signal arms' tended to do but as for the Connington North Down main line inner distant signal that may have been worked 'mechanically' via a signal wire off no.16 lever?.

Connington South s/box

Connington South (box) was about 67 miles from Kings Cross and was situated on the Up side of the running lines but standing back from the Up main line by about 5 yards?. I am not sure when the box opened but assume it was probably sometime during the 1890s although it may have been a decade earlier?. I have a feeling that this box was originally named just 'Connington' and acquired the 'South' part of the name at a later date?. Also I have a feeling that the box may have originally worked with Holme s/box to the north before a Connington North s/box was opened?. To the south the box I assume originally worked with Wood Walton which is mentioned in the Abbots Ripton accident of 1876 anyway by the early 1960s until the 1970s the box was working with Abbots Ripton to the south. From memory the bottom half of the box was built of brick up to the operating floor and box windows also the box held a 28 lever frame in the front of the box facing the running lines outside the box.

The aforementioned lever numbers are from a S&T diagram that I have had in my possession since 1970 that was in amongst a whole bunch of S&T diagrams from one of the offices on Kings Cross west side and were being 'junked' but were saved by a railway friend of mine back then.

CONNINGTON SOUTH P.WAY RENEWALS 1960. T.C. IN LIEU OF F.P.L. BAR (ON NO. 27 POINTS) dated 12/01/60

no.1 Ground disc signal Down sidings to Down goods line
no.2 Points Down sidings to Down goods line
no.3 Ground disc signal Down goods back into Down siding
no.4 Down goods line distant signal
no.5 Down goods line home signal
no.6 Down main to Down goods line home signal (on a bracket post signal from the Down main to the Down goods line)
no.7 Down goods line starting signal (with the Connington North distant signal beneath)
no.8 Spare
no.9 Spare
no.10 Down goods line home signal to Down main line via no.27 points
no.11 Locking bar for no.12 points
no.12 Points from Down goods to Down main line
no.13 Down main line distant signal (a colour light)
no.14 Down main line home signal (with the Connington North outer distant beneath)
no.15 Down main line starting signal (with the Connington North inner distant beneath)
no.16 x2 Ground disc signals in Up goods line. "Route selected by no.20 points". Route one 'Up goods line to Up sidings' with no. 17 points reversed or route two 'Up goods line across to Down to Down goods line' with no.20, no.26 & no.27 points reversed or 'Up goods line across to Down main line' with no.20 & no.26 points reversed
no.17 Points single end points in & out of Up siding
no.18 Ground disc signal Up siding to Up goods line
no.19 FPL for no.27 points Down main to Down goods line *See above heading of the 'renewal of track circuit in lieu of FPL bar on no.27 points'.
no.20 Points Up main to Up goods line
no.21 FPL for no.20 & no.26 points
no.22 Up main line home to Up goods line
no.23 Up main line starting signal (towards Abbots Ripton)
no.24 Up main line home signal
no.25 Up main line distant signal
no.26 Points main to main crossover
no.27 Points Down main to Down goods line
no.28 Ground disc signal along the Down goods line to no.3 ground disc signal and into Down sidings or Down goods line to Up main line via no.26 & no.27 points reversed or Down goods line to Up goods line via no. 20, no.26 & no.27 points reversed.

When I travelled occasionally between Kings Cross & Peterborough during the first half of the 1970s the Connington South Up main line home signal had been replaced by a x3 aspect colour light controlled signal with a position-1 route indicator (feathers) leading onto the Up goods line so I assume no.22 lever may have become redundant by that time and only no.24 lever (with a shortened handle) was being used.

Of interest maybe the derailment in March 1967 of a Down Scottish express from Kings Cross at Connington South that killed 5 people and injured 18 others that can be found on the 'Railway Archive website' along with many other official railway accident reports.

Connington South along with Connington North and Holme and also I am assuming Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon North no.2, Huntingdon North no.1 & Offord either all closed sometime during 1976 or they all made it into 1977 anyway eventually all those former areas were included in the 'Peterborough power box' area of control.

I shall conclude by saying that of all the signal boxes still in existence between Kings Cross & Peterborough during the 1970-1975 period that I became familiar with along with the route between Kings Cross & Peterborough Connington South was probably located in one of the most 'remote and isolated' places of all the signal boxes along that whole 76 miles of railway although a close second may have been Abbots Ripton?. Looking eastwards from Connington South a vast empty panorama of open Fenland at a lower level to the railway that stretched for maybe 5 or 6 miles towards the distant eastern horizon and at dusk the odd farmhouse light could just be glimpsed miles and miles away across that empty landscape amongst the gathering gloom at dusk. On the western side of the railway was from memory open farmland that ended in a range of small hills several miles away and on passing Connington South by train I recall seeing the signalman's car occasionally parked near the bottom of the box staircase on a number of occasions so some sort or dirt track obviously lead to and from the box that a car could be driven along from somewhere out in that vast emptiness..