Re-signalling and re-control of the Calder Valley - 20th-22nd October 2018

[4630]

A 72 hour engineering closure of the Calder Valley route from Hebden Bridge to Bradford Interchange via Halifax is taking place from 20th-22nd October 2018.

 

This closure is the culmination of the re-signalling and re-control of the route to York Rail Operating Centre.  The existing signal boxes at Hebden Bridge, Milner Royd Junction (Sowerby Bridge) , Halifax and Mill Lane Junction (Bradford) will close after the last trains on 19th October.

 

I've taken a few photos of the boxes over the years, but thought a final few more right at the end of their working lives would be appropriate.  These were taken on 18th October 2018.

 

Halifax (formerly Halifax East).  Built in 1884 by the Railway Signal Company of Fazakerley, Liverpool under contract to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.

 

Northern 158754 departing Halifax and heading towards Beacon Hill Tunnel with 2E17, 13.58 Manchester Victoria to York.

 

Mill Lane Junction (Bradford).  Built in 1884 by the Railway Signal Company for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.

 

 

 

 

and taken from my train from Bradford Interchange to Hebden Bridge

 

 

 

Milner Royd Junction (Sowerby Bridge).  Built in 1878 by Smith & Yardley and is sited at the divergence of the Halifax line from the main east-west route to Leeds via Brighouse.

 

Photos taken from my train from Bradford Interchange to Hebden Bridge

 

 

 

Hebden Bridge.  Built in 1891 by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway and originally known as Hebden Bridge East.

 

Northern 142089 leads 158843 into Hebden Bridge station with 2M16, 13.18 Leeds to Manchester Victoria.

 

Northern 150270 passes the box with 1J17, 13.20 Leeds to Southport

 

 

 

 

One of the new signals waiting to be commissioned.

 

Platform extension work has recently been completed on the 'down' side.

 

A final look at the signal box from my train to Halifax.

 

 

Hebden Bridge signal box is a listed structure so will not be demolished.  Listing details can be found here;

 

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1412056

 

The other three signal boxes to be closed aren't listed so won't be as fortunate but, thanks to information from beast66606 in post #2 below, should still survive.  In fact I suspect, Mill Lane Junction may be demolished on 21st October as the part of Mill Lane in Bradford where the box is sited is closed from 08.00 to 16.00.

 

Hopefully the Signallers working these boxes will have either been retained on the railway, if that was their wish, or have a future of their own choosing.

 

Edited to delete duplicate text and subsequently also to reference additional information from beast66606.

Edited October 19, 2018 by 4630

[beast66606]

The other three signal boxes to be closed aren't listed so won't be as fortunate.  In fact I suspect, Mill Lane Junction may be demolished on 21st October as the part of Mill Lane in Bradford where the box is sited is closed from 08.00 to 16.00.

 

 

All boxes are apparently staying put as they are being used for other purposes.

[31A]

Thanks for posting these; I used to be very familiar with the Calder Valley line through work, and it will be different without these boxes, but that's progress!

 

Do you know whether there has been (or will be) further track re-modelling at Mill Lane Jn., as this has been proposed to improve workings at Bradford Interchange but last time I went through there (a few months ago) I couldn't see any difference.

[4630]

Do you know whether there has been (or will be) further track re-modelling at Mill Lane Jn., as this has been proposed to improve workings at Bradford Interchange but last time I went through there (a few months ago) I couldn't see any difference.

Some revision to the track layout was done during a weekend engineering possession earlier this year around Mill Lane Junction, but I believe clipped out of use pending completion of the re-control to York ROC.

 

IIRC the changes are to improve flexibility at Bradford Interchange to permit simultaneous arrivals/departures on the two routes that serve the station, ie Leeds & Halifax.

 

I took a photo yesterday looking towards the station. I’ll post it later to see if that helps understand what the changes are.

Edited October 19, 2018 by 4630

[woodenhead]

That first picture of Mill Lane shows the old coal drops in the goods yard behind the box.

[4630]

 

Do you know whether there has been (or will be) further track re-modelling at Mill Lane Jn., as this has been proposed to improve workings at Bradford Interchange but last time I went through there (a few months ago) I couldn't see any difference.

 

 

Further to my earlier post, here's a photo from yesterday looking away from Mill Lane Junction signal box and towards Bradford Interchange showing part of the station throat.

 

The additional pointwork is in the centre of the view leading to platforms 1 and 2.   For reference, the photo was taken from the Caledonia Street overbridge.  By comparison, here's the current view showing on Google Maps;

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.7888007,-1.7486724,113m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

Platforms 3 and 4, which are shorter, are obscured by the signal gantries which I guess will also disappear this weekend as new signal masts have been erected at the platform ends.  In some ways they're as much of a loss to me as the signal boxes. They're a 'signature' of the style of the signalling infrastructure in this part of West Yorkshire dating back to the 1960s and '70s.  Their slender construction is in marked contrast to, in my view, the heavy and almost brutal approach adopted more recently. 

[4630]

That first picture of Mill Lane shows the old coal drops in the goods yard behind the box.

 

 

Unfortunately they're mostly obscured by a car breaking yard, so I didn't bother trying to take a photo of them yesterday.

 

There's a hint of what's still there on Google Streetview;

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.7861864,-1.7492397,3a,75y,225.25h,99.72t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1scVl1JCyVytfGg0QY2iEmkg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

As you probably know there are similar drops still in existence at Halifax and Huddersfield.

[4630]

From information received via another forum, it would seem as though Halifax Signal Box was recently given listed status;

 

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1454364

[4630]

As has happened when other signal boxes have closed, the Signallers have added an appropriate farewell which is displayed via the train describer.

 

 

[62613]

Further to my earlier post, here's a photo from yesterday looking away from Mill Lane Junction signal box and towards Bradford Interchange showing part of the station throat.

Bradford Interchange station throat 18102018 - RMweb.jpg

 

The additional pointwork is in the centre of the view leading to platforms 1 and 2.   For reference, the photo was taken from the Caledonia Street overbridge.  By comparison, here's the current view showing on Google Maps;

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.7888007,-1.7486724,113m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

Platforms 3 and 4, which are shorter, are obscured by the signal gantries which I guess will also disappear this weekend as new signal masts have been erected at the platform ends.  In some ways they're as much of a loss to me as the signal boxes. They're a 'signature' of the style of the signalling infrastructure in this part of West Yorkshire dating back to the 1960s and '70s.  Their slender construction is in marked contrast to, in my view, the heavy and almost brutal approach adopted more recently. 

 

I think those signal structure were fairly common all over the Eastern Region. I'm fairly sure I've seen some on photos around Potters Bar. I think there are still some left between Heaton Lodge and Thornhill Junctions.

[4630]

As a post script to my earlier posts, although buses provided the 'rail replacement service' for the majority of the Calder Valley route during the 72 hour possession, on the 22nd October Northern ran a two trains per hour direct service from Leeds to Brighouse, via Heaton Lodge Junction.

 

Ironically this gave Brighouse a better (i.e. faster) service to Leeds than the usual Northern timetable provides, which although nominally two trains per hour, sees one of the trains routed via Bradford Interchange.  The interesting feature of the service on 22nd October was that trains were required to stop at Bradley Wood Junction to take on a Network Rail 'pilotman', before crossing to the 'Down line' and continuing wrong line for the remaining 1 1/2 miles to terminate at Brighouse.

 

So here is 150145 working wrong line on the approach to Brighouse with 1Z17, 14.43 Leeds to Brighouse on 22nd October 2018...

 

...and later 158753 draws into Brighouse, passed the platform extension work which is ongoing, with 1Z19, 15.43 Leeds to Brighouse.

 

Thumbs up to Northern and Network Rail for organising the service this way and not taking the easy way out.

 

 

Edited to add an additional photo.

Edited October 23, 2018 by 4630