Signalmen with Crossed Legs

[Catkins]

Hi folks,
I have got the Dapol (nee Airfix) kit of Oakham signalbox, which I am planing to use on a layout set Circa 1985-2000 ish.

Can anyone guide me in the way that toilets and kitchen facilities could have been provided for the signaller?
 

Cheers.

[Phatbob]

A kettle and a line-side bush.

[Nearholmer]

Oakham box is on a station, so toilets there, but for truly rural boxes, see above.

[eastglosmog]

In this photo of Ascott under Wychwood taken in 2013, you can see from the vent pipe that the toilet is under the entrance landing.  I don't believe it was an original feature, though!  As far as I know, there would have been a stove internally for cooking breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Certainly by 2000, enclosed toilet facilities would have been fitted, otherwise the Health and Safety Executive would have been calling with some very harsh words (muttering about closing the box until they were fitted)!

[Wheatley]

Privy outside if not under the box or part of the porch. Quite often an earth or later chemical toilet if outside and quite a long walk to the nearest station might have been an option (you got paid to walk after all) but the NUR would have been on the case long before the HSE was if there was nothing at all. Cooking facilities were minimal - gas ring, kettle, Baby Belling if the box had electricity. 

[TheSignalEngineer]

In a Midland box in BR days there would be an electric kettle and Baby Belling cooker. If no electricity there may be a gas ring or last option would be putting the kettle on a coal stove. There would probably be a Belfast sink  or in later days a cheap sink unit if there was mains water. In remote places with no mains water there was sometimes just an enamel bowl on the table

At old Midland boxes the toilet would be in a wooden or concrete hut at the bottom of the stairs. If the was no mains drainage it could be a chemical toilet or even a slop bucket.

At Halesowen Junction the the corrugared lamp hut was at the bottom of the stairs and the toilet was behind the box, to the right of it in this picture.

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/mrhj1624.htm

Edited April 17, 2020 by TheSignalEngineer

[TheSignalEngineer]

Arley Colliry Sidings had a concrete toilet and a sleeper built coal bunker.

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/mracs1067.htm

Edited April 17, 2020 by TheSignalEngineer

[TheSignalEngineer]

There are a lot of Midland boxes here.

http://www.tillyweb.biz/pmc/odyframe.htm

They include some with a brick s---house and the asbestos lamp hut as modelled by Hornby.

This is a nice example from the collection.

Edited April 17, 2020 by TheSignalEngineer

[johnofwessex]

I once did what you should not do when the train is in the station in Worcester Shrub Hill Station box.

 

The toilet is in the frame room which is a hard hat area so - technically I should have put a hard hat on before using it!

[great central]

To add another dimension to this, the current 'waiting room' at Havenhouse near Skegness used to be the signal box toilet. The station is very little used, might just get two people in the waiting room with no social distancing!

[iands]

A selection of work photos from my Railtrack days during a Telecoms survey of Lincolnshire signal boxes (what a delightful two weeks that was). Any hoo, the following pics show some of the items the OP is enquiring about. Bear in mind that all the signal boxes depicted were built decades before what we call "modern living trappings" were even conceived (cookers, fridges, microwaves, electric kettles etc) let alone being commonplace. All these items, when provided, at a great number of 'boxes, had to be shoe-horned into limited space alongside all the necessary "operational" equipment required ......

 

Barkeston East. The original external toilet at the top of the stairs, and the modern equivalent "portaloo" under the bridge.

 

Mill Green. A small box with not a lot of space for modern conveniences (the toilet was somewhere outside), the kitchen sink behind the door, the fax machine on top of the fridge.

 

Newark Castle. Again somewhat cramped but with every available space put to good use.

 

Scopwick. The luxury of space with the Baby Belling having its own space and table.

 

Sleaford East. A bit less cramped for the fridge and kettle.

 

Spalding. Microwave and fan on a "home made" table.

 

Hope these are of some use as typical(?) examples of what was provided at signal boxes, although admittedly none have anything to do with Oakham. Basically, it depends on the "operational" layout of the signal box (frame, block shelf, concentrator, etc.) with the "kitchen items" required fitted where space allowed. Suffice to say, there was no set plan and no two signal boxes were the same in this respect.

[PaulRhB]

Fairly typical of the boxes I worked and looked after were either baby belling or simple cooker with an oven and hob plus a kettle, you did get microwaves too in most by 2000. At Wool the senior man banned electric kettles, wouldn’t have them in the box, and the new man who burnt through the teapot on the gas hob was most unpopular much to the amusement of the rest of us. He still cringes nearly 20yrs later when it’s brought up  

The toilet was either under the box, so you went outside to get to it, at the end of the locking room or in Marchwood part of the operating floor as the frame was in the station building. Yeovil Jn had it grafted onto the end on the upper floor but we were all taking bets who’d be in it when it fell off as there was daylight in places.  Templecombe had and Yeovil Penn Mill has it down the internal stairs by the front door. 
Even today in our 1981 panel the toilet is ‘compact’, you can’t swing anything let alone a cat in there and we usually tell visitors to go in the way round they intend to use it  
 

[Chris M]

If you look through working timetables for the 50s and early 60s (maybe later but I haven't looked) you will sometimes find one freight working each day was scheduled to stop at very rural signal boxes to drop off fresh water. Could be a good reason for stopping a freight train in the middle of nowhere so long as you have a signalbox there.

[Wheatley]

Further to last, from what I can remember from 1987-94:

 

Huddersfield Jcn - concrete privy under the steps, very popular with the S&T for beasting apprentices by dropping a point clip off the balcony loaded with an out of date det. 

 

Dodworth - flush toilet in what was left of the station building across the road.

 

Clayton West Jcn  - cant remember if it was downstairs or off the operating floor but everything in it except the pan was painted locking bar blue.

 

Barnsley Stn Jcn - off the operating floor with original LYR etched glass in the door. 

 

Jumble Lane - brick outbuilding next to the box, Belling was on the (very wide) windowsill on the back wall. 

 

All had a Baby Belling and either an electric kettle or hot water geyser and a Belfast sink. Jumble and Dodworth had Romesse stoves, the others were gas or electric. 

 

 

 

[The Johnster]

4 hours ago, johnofwessex said:

I once did what you should not do when the train is in the station in Worcester Shrub Hill Station box.

 

The toilet is in the frame room which is a hard hat area so - technically I should have put a hard hat on before using it!

A hard hat is advisable whenever I use a toilet...

[Phil Bullock]

1 hour ago, Chris M said:

If you look through working timetables for the 50s and early 60s (maybe later but I haven't looked) you will sometimes find one freight working each day was scheduled to stop at very rural signal boxes to drop off fresh water. Could be a good reason for stopping a freight train in the middle of nowhere so long as you have a signalbox there.

 

Not always a freight - Abbotswood Junction box had its water churns dropped off by a DMU on a local until it closed in 1969.

 

Whatever is provided elsewhere is hopefully more reliable than this....

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-21410006

 

 

[PaulRhB]

7 hours ago, Catkins said:

I am planing to use on a layout set Circa 1985-2000 ish.

 

Note the period in the original post  

Gillingham was like this in 2000 up to the end

https://photos.signalling.org/picture?/2964/category/41-gillingham

 

Have a look through these there are assorted shots and usually a couple show them overall interior

https://photos.signalling.org/index?/category/40-south_west_main_line

 

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by PaulRhB

[TheSignalEngineer]

3 hours ago, Phil Bullock said:

 

Not always a freight - Abbotswood Junction box had its water churns dropped off by a DMU on a local until it closed in 1969.

 

Whatever is provided elsewhere is hopefully more reliable than this....

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-21410006

 

 

Aynho Junction had the water dropped of by a DMU around lunch time. 

[kevinlms]

6 hours ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

Aynho Junction had the water dropped of by a DMU around lunch time. 

Did the signalman ensure the water delivery arrived, by keeping the signals at danger until he had possession of the water?

[TheSignalEngineer]

At least one signalman I knew would leave the Distant on then stand at the trackside with a red flag. He would signal the driver to draw forward and stop with the brake at the bottom of the box steps then would be shown a green flag when the water cans  were on the ground and the empties on the train.

In another instance the cans would be in the front cab with the driver and the guard would come forward at the previous stop.

[The Stationmaster]

15 hours ago, Phil Bullock said:

 

Not always a freight - Abbotswood Junction box had its water churns dropped off by a DMU on a local until it closed in 1969.

 

Whatever is provided elsewhere is hopefully more reliable than this....

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-21410006

 

 

Standard arrangement at many Western 'boxes on lines with a passenger service - during my time at Westbury the 05.05 Bristol to Weymouth called at Fairwood Jcn and Clink Road Jcn to drop water cans and collect the empty cans.  The empty cans were returned from Frome to Westbury, for cleaning and refilling,  later in the day on another passenger train.  The reason passenger trains were used was because they were more reliable runners than freights

[SM42]

Hartlebury Station Box has a little brick lean to  building at the Kidderminster end of the box. Literally three walls and a door, break the ice in winter style.

 

It was out of the box, down the steps along the front wall and turn  left. Great fun  just after the shower of freezing rain when there was an inch of ice on everything, steps handrail, ballast the lot. .  It is just visible in the 2009 Google Streetview of the box.

 

Henwick I think has  separate brick built affair at the Malvern end.

 

Blakedown was in cubicle built at the top of the box steps. Out the door, sharp right

 

Three Spires Jn was the same I believe.

 

Kidderminster had an internal toilet near the top of the internal stairs on the back wall at the north end of the box.

 

Aston SCC, or Vauxhall Shunt frame if you prefer,  is similar, but no internal staircase in this instance.

 

Meaford Crossing had a seperate brick outhouse at the north end

 

Brereton Sidings a portaloo at the bottom of the box steps

 

Bringing it back to wooden style Midland boxes

 

Now Oakham, it appears has a little separate brick building, just about big enough for a toilet and maybe a sink, between the box and the platform.

 

Whissendine the same. Ketton possibly as well but hard to tell from Streetview

 

Frisby has a sort of plywood portacabin looking thing at the bottom of the box steps

 

Lichfileld TV Jn's toilet was built on next to door. Sort of floating in mid air  held up by thin legs and luck it seemed. A very Heath Robinson looking thing

 

There are mutiple solutions to this problem as can be seen. The little brick outhouse seems the most likely though with a wooden construction Midland box.

Easy enough to knock up with some embossed platsicard. Flat concrete slab roof sloping away from the door will do.

 

In terms of catering, a sink with  hot and cold tap, normally on the  back wall at one end, Maybe a kitchen type unit underneath, maybe not. Some had drainers true kitchen sink style some  did not. Hartlebury had a  hand basin style sink under the window at the crossing end of the box on the rear wall.

 

Then of course there was the ever present baby belling oven. In fact I don't think I have ever been in a signal box without one.

 

Somewhwere there will be a fridge shoe horned in, either a mini or standard sized one.  Hartlebury's was between the chip shop style panel and the front windows

Kettle, fridge or anything else involving making tea  / food could be on any available flat surface designated by the resident staff for the job.

 

Over the fire / gas / electric heater a piece of string between two nails  for drying tea towells and used tea bags for making tea for visiting managers.  You kept the unused ones for yourself hidden away in your locker.

 

Judging by the pipework on the outside of the real Oakham box visible in Streetview, the sink was  just inside the door on the left and appears to have kitchen units underneath as can be seen through the conveniently open door, which suggests a stainless drainer sink

 

 

The below  view of the interior of Meaford Crossing around 1993 shows the ingenious home made kettle shelf, the edge of the cooker on the table and the grey staff lockers behind the levers on the right. The tea bag washing line was on the left of this view  above the gas fire on the back wall, directly opposite the train desciber VDU seen in the centre of the picture

 

 

 

(one on from Colwich, time to get Church Road CCTV crossing closed (camera's already on), pull 23, move to the pedastal and close the crossing outside, pull 25. check for slot from Stoke PSB, ask for slot from Stoke PSB and pull 22. )

 

Andy

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by SM42

[Phil Bullock]

9 hours ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

At least one signalman I knew would leave the Distant on then stand at the trackside with a red flag. He would signal the driver to draw forward and stop with the brake at the bottom of the box steps then would be shown a green flag when the water cans  were on the ground and the empties on the train.

In another instance the cans would be in the front cab with the driver and the guard would come forward at the previous stop.

 

At Abbotswood according to the WTT the cans came out from Worcester on a down train but the box was on the Up side - so the bobby would have had to cart them across the tracks. 

[iands]

IIRC it wasn't until the late Railtrack era (but could have been early NR era) that Blea Moor SB was connected to mains water supply. 

[Gwiwer]

23 hours ago, Chris M said:

If you look through working timetables for the 50s and early 60s (maybe later but I haven't looked) you will sometimes find one freight working each day was scheduled to stop at very rural signal boxes to drop off fresh water. Could be a good reason for stopping a freight train in the middle of nowhere so long as you have a signalbox there.

 

Largin 'box in Cornwall was as remote as it got in that area.  One passenger train each way was booked "Stops at Largin SB to pick up and set down water cans" which were refilled at Plymouth IIRC.  The same train was I believe also responsible for providing coal - at one time maybe from the bunker but latterly by the sack-load.  

 

Facilities were a chemical receptacle in a tiny room.  If you filled it you took the shovel up the bank and buried the contents.  Warmth was from the coal-stove which also provided your hot water and cooking.  

 

Other 'boxes were located at or within a very short distance of stations but most had / have internal toilet facilities rather than making use of those on the platform.  Coal heating has given way to electricity and you now simply turn the kettle on for a brew and heat your croust in the microwave.  

 

More than one train register has carried a note explaining a delay - either in responding to block bells or clearing the road.  "Signaller in toilet" would almost always be accepted without question provided you hadn't been caught out of the 'box on other business.