Signalling.

[R. pike]

I was attacked by a very sleepy signalman once... I knocked the door at about 03:00 to hand back a 3187. I stomped slowly up the stairs in my size 16 boots and knocked loudly.. The signalman unlocked and opened the door and i was faced with a bobby with a broom being waved vigorously with curses and many other short words. Despite me being dressed in orange from top to toe with a white helmet complete with headlight he thought i was a hoodlum and was about to beat him senseless.. Once he'd calmed down he was ok but was still shaking. It did put the wind up me to start with. I checked myself in his mirror just to make sure i wasn't looking too scary..

[Mickey]

[Mickey]

[R. pike]

Strange that he reacted that way to you Richard when you was obviously doing some work on the railway?.

From the look in his eyes I'd say he'd woken from a rather deep sleep..

[Mickey]

[Mickey]

[hq1hitchin]

I will mention the Gospel Oak s/box fire (the L.N.W.R. s/box) only because i was on the area when it occured in 1984 (or was it 1985 i can't remember now?) i am the only person who's currently left on the North London line that would remember it first hand. Roy Bowley the signalman lost his life in that fire but other than that i would rather not say anymore because i wasn't directly involved other than i was at Junction Road Junction on the following morning (a Monday morning) after the night of the fire and everybody was shocked.
I never really heard the exact outcome of the inquest on that fire other then someone once said that it was an 'open verdict' but it was a strange happening all the same?.

I was 'second line' on call for the old Watford Area that night and it was one of the most upsetting incidents I was ever attended. We'll never really know now exactly what happened but the LMR Regional Fire Officer was also called from his home in Stafford and told me that, in his opinion, the body wasn't laying in a position consistent with a person having been overcome by the fire. Strangely enough, he himself died soon afterwards and I'm not sure what the coroner's court decided about Roy's death.

[thesignalman]

I will mention the Gospel Oak s/box fire (the L.N.W.R. s/box) only because i was on the area when it occured in 1984 (or was it 1985 i can't remember now?) i am the only person who's currently left on the North London line that would remember it first hand. Roy Bowley the signalman lost his life in that fire but other than that i would rather not say anymore because i wasn't directly involved other than i was at Junction Road Junction on the following morning (a Monday morning) after the night of the fire and everybody was shocked.
I never really heard the exact outcome of the inquest on that fire other then someone once said that it was an 'open verdict' but it was a strange happening all the same?.

I believe the official conclusion was that there was an electrical fault under the box that caused the fire. There was a lot of talk on other things at the time which may or may not have been relevant but these have not gone on record and are best not raised again. Roy was a good friend of mine and I had worked with him on the Midland Main Line too.

The oddest thing about reading what you have written is that I could have sworn I was early turn at Junction Road Junction that next day which just goes to show how one's memory can play tricks. Perhaps I relieved you at 2 o'clock. I do remember how eerie it felt - not only over the loss of a good friend but it was a strange thought that there was actually no signal box at the other end of your block bells.

John

[Mickey]

[Mickey]

[Mickey]

[hq1hitchin]

I would say one of the most sobering and melancholy sights that has stayed with me for along time was the day of the Seer Green DMU accident the country side of Gerrards Cross station on the Marylebone to High Wycombe line in December 1981 in driving snow (signalman's error). I guess you would have had to been there to know what i am talking about but to see appearing through a driving snow storm that Stratford brake down van train hauled by a Sratford class-31 pulling a few tool & messing vans and the huge black 75 ton crane SLOWLY trundle passed Junction Road Junction s/box at 15mph (line speed through the junction) and being the only one to witness it brought it home to me at that moment that people had been KILLED THAT DAY.

Terribly sad accident, that. When I was at Bletchley, our offices were actually nearer the fire station than the railway station, we were only separated by a wooden fence and got on very well with the firemen. The then Station Commander, Peter Culley, had been in charge of the first appliance to attend the Seer Green collision and told us of the hard time they'd had getting to site and how quiet everything was when they finally arrived at the the trains. Tough guys, those blokes - used always have a lot of time for them.

[Mickey]

[thesignalman]

Your right there hq1hitchin a very sad accident for everyone concerned. The signalman involved in Gerrards Cross s/box that morning was a new fella as a signalman although i think after the accident he wasn't dismissed by B.R. but he was given a railman's job on the station platform somewhere?. As for the accident i believe that he did finally realize that he had done something wrong but by then the second train involved in this rear end accident (two in a section) had just passed his box and he could only stand helplessly at the box window trying in vain to wave at the guard to try and attract his attention but it was all to late to avoid an accident unfortunately...

I knew the signalman and the guard of the first train well. Just like I said for Gospel Oak there were a lot of factors that didn't get published, rightly or wrongly. For instance, I worked in the box between the day of the accident and the day the Ministry Inspectors came, and found and liberated a discarded signal repeater that showed "on" when it was actually "wrong" that had been hastily renewed by the S&T. I still have it. Also, the signalbox diagram was very badly drawn and was renewed with a much clearer one afterwards. So, even if the primary cause was a mistake by the signalman there can always be factors that helped him make that mistake.

John

[Mickey]