Signal box farewell

[Welly]

^^^

It's very difficult to photograph the back walls of many signal boxes as usually the only places to get clear shots are from either railway or private property. Saxilby signal box has a small window on the back of the locking room and I have not managed to get a clear shot of that wall at all.

[Oldddudders]

If you are getting your cameras out, don't forget to capture the back wall if you can. Nothing more frustrating of trying to model somewhere or something with only detail for two or three sides. Its surprising sometimes how many signalbox back walls are not just plain old walls.

Too true. When trying to get details of Halwill box for my talented Swiss scratchbuilder, we had zilch idea how it looked, or even exactly where the loo carbuncle was located - we could see it in end pics, but how far along might it have been?

 

Glad beast didn't get disembowelled for our cause, though!

[TheSignalEngineer]

When mass re-signalling was first talked about in the Midlands and I was a boy signaller at Blakedown (mid 90s) it seemed a long way off, ...........................

 

I did my first outline plans for transfer to three boxes for the West Midlands about 20 years before that. I even did plans and cardboard mock-ups of NX panels controlling Aynho Junction - Lapworth, Stratford - Shirley and the Nuneaton line from Coventry, transferring New Street to Saltley and adding Aston - Wichnor Junction, and finally transferring Walsall to Wolverhampton and adding Hartlebury - Wednesbury/Langley Green, Ryecroft - Rugeley/Lichfield and Oxley - Wellington

[SM42]

I know it's not easy getting that elusive shot. The fun of trying to peek between houses,hanging over fences and striding across muddy fields. The level crossing box is your friend. The digital camera also helps now as you don't have to look through the viewfinder to line up that shot. Hands and camera wrong side of fence, rest of me perfectly legal.

 

Perhaps this is were RM web may be able to help. I'm sure there are some of you out there that can legally and safely take those hard to get shots. I'm not suggesting that we create a gallery of random photos of obsure bits of signabox on RMweb or indeed that we have a photo to order service, but there must be some way of making this type of info available to those that find it useful..

 

My first taste of W Mids resignalling was in late 94 ( I think the end of Stratford East SB may have been on the cards then) when the manager arrived and proudly announced that I wouldn't have a job in 6 months as it would all be resignalled. Nice that! My trainee was a little surprised as were the S&T.

 

150yrs or so of history now all controlled by what look like half a dozen filing cabinets. Still it's progress (I think) I wonder if in 100 years time we will be sentimental about these anonymous grey cabinets.

 

Andy