Photograph by Dr J W F Scrimgeour, 22/9/67
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THE SIGNAL BOX |
OVERSEAS |
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Photograph by Dr J W F Scrimgeour, 22/9/67 |
At Ipswich, the double track main line between Brisbane and Toowoomba was broken to pass through the station which only had one through platform face. Historically, the line between here and Towoomba was Queensland's first main line railway. This signal cabin opened in 1895 and replaced an earlier cabin dating from 1882.
 Photograph by Dr J W F Scrimgeour, 22/9/67 |
A view from the signal cabin window shows more detail of the station area. To the right, a suburban train has been abandoned in Platform 1 (right), which is the through platform.
Opposite this platform, a railmotor train stands in Platform 3, one of
two dead-end bays at this end of the station (there was another at the Brisbane
end). Dr Scrimgeour later boarded this train to travel to Toowoomba,
photographing Yarongmulu box from the train.
 Photograph by Dr J W F Scrimgeour, 22/9/67 |
This picture, taken as Dr Scrimgeour was about to board the train, looks towards the junction controlled by Ipswich box. Running parallel with the through platform is the Up Loop, used by freight and non-stop passenger trains from the Brisbane direction. This line, the through platform and the bays all have starting signals with two arms. These apply to the junction ahead, but (according to the captions that accompanied the photograph) unlike British practice the upper arm applies to the main line route which in this case is the right-hand choice (Toowoomba), and the lower arm applies to the Mumbilla branch, which diverges left. However, I have subsequently been advised this was not the case, and that the signals read "top to bottom, left to right" as commonly found elsewhere.
The junction itself is just beyond the Ellenborough Street overbridge,
and some freight lines from the far side of the River Bremer join from the
right here too. Work started on a new station with island platform beyond the
junction in what would have been a more operationally convenient place, but
this was abandoned in 1915.
 Photograph by Dr J W F Scrimgeour, 22/9/67 |
A view of the interior of the box shows the McKenzie & Holland frame (No.11 with T-bar locking), with hand-painted description plates. These aren't as helpful as they might be - several simply describe the function as "Xover" without further qualification!
Above are a pair of Tyer & Co one-wire three-position blocks signalling the main line. Ipswich was one of only a few boxes on this line not provided with a closing switch - owing to the track layout.
Ipswich closed in 1996, but in 2002 the box was still standing and
securely boarded up. The area where the Railmotor was photographed (the bay
platforms) is now part of a large shopping complex.
Additional notes by Frank Archer, Phil Barker and Anthony Koch
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Comments about this article should be addressed to John Hinson |