BRANCH LINES

An assortment of short articles of signalling interest

This section of the web site has a range of short articles written by a number of contributors on a variety of signalling related subjects.

Please note that all articles about signalling outside the UK can now be found on the Overseas pages.

Contents

1. The Leicester Gap: a selection of photographs provided by Colin Morley
2. GN/LNER Block Huts: an illustrated description of the most basic of signal boxes as found on the Hertford Loop
3. Kuranda: an illustrated description Kuranda signal box in Queensland, Australia, by Peter Richards.
4. Cairns area signalling: an illustrated description of the signalling in the Cairns area, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Richards.
5. Spittal Level Crossing: an illustrated description of this unusual survivor on the east Coast Main Line by Ian Hughes.
6. Drew the Wrong Lever - a poem by Alexander Anderson, submitted by Jack Turner
7. A Tribute to Dave Stenning: photographs boxes in the Ely area - presented by Danny Goodrum.
8. Crow Nest Junction : Then and Now - a comparison of photographs taken of this Lancashire junction in 1956 and 2002, by John Hinson.
9. Great Western Interlocking - a copy of a 1915 document on the subject, by Peter Woodbridge.
10. Hadfield Signalbox - personal recollections by Neil Ferguson-Lee
11. The Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley Railway - by Steve Daly
    1. Accident at Burry Port Dock Junction, 1929
    2. Signalwomen in 1943
12. Signalling equipment at Tower Bridge - a selection of photographs of the equipment before conversion to electric operation.
13. Incident at Boldon Colliery Signal Box 22 April 2000 - an illustrationed description of the arson damage and subsequent repair to Boldon Colliery signal box, by Ian Hughes
14. Accident at Howden Crossing 29/9/00 - personal observations by Ian Hughes
15. Metamorphosis at Craven Arms Crossing - a selection of photographs taken during the rebuilding of this box during 2000 by Simon Matthews.
16. The West Somerset Railway - details of the signalling on this preserved railway, by Kevin Weston.
17. Signalling People - a selection of photographs of railway signalling staff.
18. Locking Frame Testing - a technical but highly informative work of reference on the testing of mechanical interlocking frames, by Peter Woodbridge.
19. Memories - from time to time some interesting tales get told on our email group. The best of these are included here for all to enjoy.
20. South Wales at the turn of the century - a photographic tour by Roger Bailey
21. Signalling around Britain - a collection of photographs taken by Brian Matthews from 1966 to 1990.
22. The York Yard boxes in the 1950s - a selection of photographs taken by Frank Archer in the 1950s.
23. Middleton Junction West - memories of a busy box east of Manchester, by Bob Wright
24. Modernisation of the Cambrian Lines - the Cambrian RETB scheme, by Alan Jones
25. Abstracts of Signalling related Publications, by Matthew J Morley includes:
    1. Semantics of Geographic Data Languages
    2. Safety-level Communication in Railway Interlockings
    3. Safety Assurance in Interlocking Design
    4. Safety in Railway Signalling Data: A Behavioural Analysis
    Only item iii may be viewed on-line here, but the others can be downloaded as post-script printer files, compressed in Tape Archive format (TAR) which, although commonly found only on Unix systems, can be de-compressed by WinZip version 7 on PC systems.
    You will need a Postscript printer to print them, though.
    Please note that this is an old article hosted here with permission of the author to safeguard its future. However, many links from this article are now defunct.
26. The Speaking Telegraph - the history behind 140 years of use, by John Hinson
27. William Cory's Train Set - the story of a curious track layout built during World War 1, by John Hinson
28. Signalling around Derby Station - a history of Derby's signalling, from 1839 to date, by Dave Harris
29. The Longest Pull - the tale of Trehafod Junction's lever 25 (May Quiz), by John Hinson
30. Nafferton - the story of a busy day in 1972, by Alan Colquhoun
31. The Central Wales Line – Bottom End! - recollections of one of the LNWR's remotest outposts, by Bob Wright
32. A day to remember - a visit to Manchester Victoria East Junction box, by Bob Wright
33. Give my regards to Broad Street - the history of the signalling around the North London Railway's city terminus, by John Hinson. In two chapters:
    1. Dalston to New Inn Yard
    2. Skinner Street and the terminus
34. Lake Crossing - the story one of the simplest signalling installations on the Somerset & Dorset, by Chris Osment
35. The Signalman has Always to be on the Alert - some interesting correspondence from the NUR about working of the goods lines at Carlisle, by John Hinson
36. Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway Signals - a comprehensive study of the types of signal found on this interesting joint line, by Chris Osment
37. Bell Jokes - a side-splitting list of alternative bell signals, by Bob Wright
38. Let's wend over to Wendover - a journey into Metroland, by John Hinson
39. The Punny Side of Railways - a non-stop run of railway puns, by Bob Wright
40. Midland Rotary Interlocking Block - probably the safest block system in the world, by John Hinson
41. Mysterious happenings on the Knotty - two strange mishaps in 1882, by Dave Harris
42. Things that go bump in the night - two accidents at Derby, by Dave Harris
43. Standing at the peg, Bobby - a glossary of signalling slang by John Hinson

Would you like to contribute?

Do you have any short stories to tell? Anything to do with signalling would be of interest to somebody, whether it be technical, personal reminiscences or a tale of a restoration or museum project.

New articles are always welcomed, please take a look at the "Conditions of Service" page for more details.