Ex-LNER Neasden south & north junction s/boxes in 1971

[Mickey]

I attended the 'End of steam' event on the London Underground in June 1971 at Neasden depot in the north west of London the event commemorated the final withdrawal of LTs handful of ex-GWR 'red painted' pannier tank engines which two locomotives were 'in steam' and a good day was had by all. While walking around Neasden depot i noticed Neasden south junction s/box which stood on the down side of the line out of Marylebone just nearly under the huge north circular road iron bridge and was quite close across the Metropolitan lines nearby. A quarter of a mile or so further on down the Northolt branch stood the equally interesting Neasden north junction s/box which could be seen quite clearly from the depot from where i was standing (today the same view is very restricted not like it was in 1971) standing in a vast empty open space of an area. At Neasden south junction the s/box was a 'fair size' s/box of GCR design and obviously built around 1898/99 when the London extention of the GCR into Marylebone opened. Neasden south junction s/box i would guess may have contained a 70-80 lever frame?, and was a s/box that i did have a chance to visit just before it closed in 1989 but passed the opportunity up!. The two lines leading into and out of Marylebone passed Neasden south junction s/box and continued passed and onwards towards Harrow on the Hill and on into metroland of the north west London suburbs and beyond. At Neasden south junction a double track line lead around a curve towards Neasden midland s/box and the midland freight only line coming up from Acton wells junction or continuing passed Neasden midland junction s/box northwards towards the midland main line out of st Pancras at Dudding Hill junction s/box. Also at Neasden south junction four running lines started outside the south junction s/box and continued on passed Neasden north junction s/box and on through Wembley Hill station to Blind lane s/box where the four running lines went into two lines onwards towards Northolt east junction s/box on the former GW & GC joint line. At Neasden south junction there was still several ex-GCR lower quadrant signals one of which coming out of a group of sidings on a small wooden post that curved around from a scrap yard from Neasden midland junction and the other two being two home signals on a bracket post coming up the slow line from Neasden north junction. The other running line signals at Neasden south junction were of the upper quadrant type with midland region disc signals where provided (the route by the 1960s/70s being part of the London Midland region). Neasden north junction s/box was like the south junction s/box not so much in design that i can recall although it was a GCR s/box but more in so far as it was a 'fair size' box again it contained a 77 lever frame. Outside near the north junction s/box on both down lines stood two tall white straight wooden signal posts carrying Neasden north junction's home signals that were both co-acting and upper quadrants that both stood in the 'off position' all afternoon which (i would presume?) indicated that Neasden north junction s/box was 'switched out' at weekends?. The only other thing that i can remember about the Neasden north junction layout was that i think that there was a crossing that started on the up slow line and crossed all running lines over into the down slow line with slips in it but i only recall seeing it once on a ride up from Northolt around the sametime in 1971. At onetime i believe that Neasden north junction s/box controlled the leads/points leading onto the Wembley exhibition line which obviously by 1971 i think had been closed and lifted?.

[Andy W]

If you go onto The Signal Box website, you can access hand drawn diagrams of the layouts for these two boxes. There is a section on layouts and, by using the search engine, you can see if the box you want is there. Just under 500 boxes are currently listed and more are being added all the time.

This site is run by John Hinson who, as an LM relief signalman, worked Neasden South. It is an absolute mine of info. on UK signalling and my colleagues at GB Railfreight regularly use it to get training material!!

[Mickey]

Thanks Andy for the infomation, i know John Hinson personally from his time as a relief-signalman around the North London lines from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, John's an ex-GN guy like me and like me spent all his time as a signalman on the London Midland region. Micky

[R. pike]

This one will take a little time to post a picture of the box diagram... Watch this space..