Signalbox Safari - Lincoln

A pre-Christmas trip to Lincoln by train gave me the opportunity to snap a couple more signalboxes for my collection.

High Street signalbox, Lincoln, 22/12/14

High Street box is a brick-built Great Northern Railway type 1 structure dating from 1874 that stands by the level crossing at the west end of Lincoln Central station. Disused since Network Rail's resignalling of the area in 2007-2008 the box is now a listed building.

East Holmes signalbox, Lincoln, 22/12/14

East Holmes box stands a few hundred yards to the west of the station and is another GNR type 1 structure, this time of wooden construction dating from 1873, again it is disused and now a listed building.

Being pushed for time I didn't get to do much more exploring and so completely missed the remains of St Marks station that are now incorporated into the shopping centre a little further down High Street… A return trip is on the cards however…

Signalbox Safari - St. Flour - Chaudes Aigues

A signalbox from a bit further afield today…

Poste 1, La gare de St Flour - Chaude Aigues, 13/9/07

'Poste 1' is at the eastern end of La gare de St Flour - Chaude Aigues (St Flour station for those with even less of a grasp of French than I have) on the ligne des Causses that links Béziers in southern France with Neussargues in the Massif Central area.

I spent an hour in the station area on the day I took these photos back in 2007 and apart from a couple of bogie wagons carrying steel coils parked in a siding to the north of the station I saw nothing else on the rails… What I didn't realise at the time was that most of the passenger services in the area are by bus, indeed the current timetable for the line shows a service calling at the station every couple of hours but only two of them per day are trains!

La gare de St Flour - Chaude Aigues, 13/9/07

For anybody with even the slightest interest in French railways I would recommend becoming a member of The SNCF Society, their website and journals are an absolute goldmine of information about every aspect of railways in France, standard and narrow gauge, prototype and model alike.

A South-western Ramble, part 3 - Two Beres please!

Having already travelled over the Royal Albert Bridge linking Devon and Cornwall I decided to travel under it (by rail, not river) with a trip up the 'Tamar Valley Line' to Gunnislake.

The line splits off the West of England main line west of Plymouth at St Budeaux Junction and winds its way up the Tamar estuary to Bere Alston before reversing onto the line to Gunnislake passing over the Calstock Viaduct (and into Cornwall) roughly three miles from Gunnislake station.

150126 at Bere Alston, 6/8/14

I hopped off the train at Bere Alston and snatched a quick photo of 150126 as the guard abandoned his ticket machine on the platform and went off to change the points for the line to Gunnislake completely missing this!

Bere Alston signalbox, 6/8/14

Having swapped sides for the journey back to Plymouth I spotted the signalbox on the now disused island platform as the train pulled back into Bere Alston and I detrained once more to investigate. A London & South Western Railway type 3b box dating from 1890 it was closed in 1970 and is now apparently used by the owner of the former station-master's house… I'm not sure what for but wouldn't it make a superb summer house?

Bere Ferrers is the last station before the line re-enters the Plymouth suburbs and is home to The Tamar Belle, a small railway heritage centre that also offers overnight accommodation in a pair of London & North Eastern Railway carriages! Sadly, a lack of time prevented a visit but I managed to take a photo of a couple of the centre's locomotives before continuing on my way.

Hunslet Engine Co Ltd 0-4-0DM (works no.3133 of 1944) and Peckett & Sons Ltd 0-4-0ST 'Hilda' (works no.1963 of 1938) at the Tamar Belle Railway Heritage Centre, Bere Ferrers, 6/8/14

Information on this pair is sketchy but the diesel is a Hunslet Engine Co Ltd product, an 0-4-0DM and believed to be works no.3133 of 1944, supplied new to the Admiralty's Lodge Hill & Upnor Railway in Kent and subsequently moved to the Admiralty depot at Bullpoint, Plymouth in 1962. The 0-4-0ST was built by Peckett & Sons Ltd in 1938 as works no.1963 and I would welcome any details as to its history.

A South-western Ramble, part 1

31 years after I last stood on Truro station during my first visit to Cornwall on a family holiday I made a return visit a few weeks ago while travelling on a Freedom of Devon & Cornwall (3 in 7 days) Rover ticket.

I'd wanted to travel on the Falmouth branch train (marketed as the 'Maritime Line') that begins its 12 mile journey at Truro and just had time to do so before continuing my journey down to Penzance.

150238 prepares to depart from Truro with the 15.51 FGW service to Falmouth Docks, 4/8/14

I made the return trip to Falmouth Docks on 150238, passing 153373 and 153329 at Penryn travelling in the opposite direction on both the outward and return journeys.

Truro signalbox and GWR/WR lower quadrant signal, 4/8/14

Upon arriving back at Truro I had time to take a few photographs before catching 'The Royal Duchy' for the short hop to Penzance, Truro still being blessed with a traditional Great Western Railway signalbox and semaphore signals not to mention some lovely GWR platform benches (although these are more than likely reproductions), now if only First Great Western would adopt a more traditional GWR-style 'chocolate and cream' paint scheme!

Signalbox Safari - Leeming Bar

Time for another signalbox…

Just over a year ago I wrote about Dersingham signalbox on the former line between King's Lynn and Hunstanton in Norfolk and a recent visit to Leeming Bar on the Wensleydale Railway gave me the opportunity to photograph another signalbox from that line, albeit one transplanted to Yorkshire.

The former North Wootton signalbox now restored at Leeming Bar on the Wensleydale Railway, 11/7/14

North Wootton was the first station out of King's Lynn and like Dersingham a number of its buildings outlived the line itself with the station buildings now forming a private residence. The signalbox, another Great Eastern Railway 'type 7' structure, this time dating from 1901 survived as a scout hut until 2007 when the 14th Woottons Scout Group, unable to afford its restoration (or even insurance) decided to give it away.

The former North Wootton signalbox before restoration, 2/6/08

The Wensleydale Railway took the project on, carefully moving the box to its Leeming Bar headquarters in September 2007 and in 2009, after a painstaking restoration supported by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant it was reopened and apparently now forms the WR's control office.

Signalbox Safari - Glenfinnan

Having mentioned the state of my traditional photographic archives here it would appear that my early digital archives aren't any better organised as this image cropped up today while I was looking for something else entirely, from the other end of the country and a totally different year!

Glenfinnan signalbox, 8/9/05

Built by the Railway Signal Company (RSCo) in 1901, Glenfinnan signalbox closed in 1987 when the West Highland line between Fort William and Mallaig switched over the the Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) signalling system.

Now part of the Glenfinnan Station Museum (and with a new staircase installed!) the box is apparently home to a heritage film studio, something that probably interests the legions of Harry Potter fans that visit the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct (used in at least one of the Harry Potter films) more than a heritage signalbox would do…

Signalbox Safari - Postland

Postland signalbox (Lincolnshire), 3/8/13

I was tipped off to this particular signalbox by a tweet on the Railways Illustrated twitter feed a few weeks ago and decided to pay a visit.

Postland was a station on the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway line between Spalding in Lincolnshire and Whitemoor Jn. north of March in Cambridgeshire that opened in 1867. Named Crowland until 1871, Postland station closed in September 1961 but the line remained open until 27 November 1982 after which all traffic was diverted via Peterborough. I'm not sure when local services between Spalding and March ceased but the line was in use by long-distance trains linking East Anglia and the north right up until the end.

The Signalbox itself is a Great Northern Railway 'type 1' dating from 1882 and amazingly still contains it's original 35-lever frame. I can only assume that the cut-off rear corner of the box is to provide extra clearance for the road which curves sharply at this point.

Postland signalbox lever frame, 3/8/13

I should point out here (before somebody else does) that strictly the section of line between Whitemoor Jn. and Spalding wasn't 'Joint' at all, being opened solely by the Great Northern Railway but is regarded as being part of the GN&GE.

Other boxes on the line also survive, notably at Cowbit and French Drove & Gedney Hill but have been (or are being) converted into private homes and as such enthusiasts may not be able (or welcome) to view them.

Signalbox Safari - Dersingham

I have a liking for Signalboxes… I don't think there can be any other building that shouts 'RAILWAY!' quite as loudly as a signalbox and I try to photograph them wherever they crop up.

Dersingham signalbox (Norfolk), 11/7/13

Dersingham was a station on the Lynn & Hunstanton Railway, half way between (funnily enough) King's Lynn and Hunstanton that opened in 1862 and although the line closed in 1969 most of the buildings have survived (relatively) intact.

The line became part of the Great Eastern Railway in 1890 and the signalbox, dating from 1891, is a GER 'type 7' now in use as a store for a builder's merchant (who kindly allowed me onto the site to take photographs).

I particularly like the way the building has been modified to suit its new role with removable panels at ground level allowing access to the former locking room.