Question on a TVR signal box

[Celtic Crusader]

A brief question I'm hoping one of you will be able to answer:

Whatever happened to the Walnut Tree Junction signal box?

When I used to volunteer at Barry Island Railway (before they closed), someone mentioned in a conversation that it was saved from Taffs Well station and sealed away in a storage depot somewhere within Barry Docks along with the original footbridge to Barry Town station, awaiting future use. I never bothered to enquire further about it at the time whether it was actually still there or not.

Was this Taff Vale Railway signal box ever saved from destruction? And if so where is it now?

 

[D107]

Walnut Tree Jct box sits in the yard at Lydney Jct awaiting restoration. The old footbridge from Barry Town sits at the former EWS depot at Barry. Incidentally, the next box up the valley from Walnut Tree Jct, Maesmawr, is in operation on the DFR at Parkend.

Hope this helps?

Nick
(also ex-BIR, now at the Garw Valley Railway!)

 

[Celtic Crusader]

Walnut Tree Jct box sits in the yard at Lydney Jct awaiting restoration. The old footbridge from Barry Town sits at the former EWS depot at Barry. Incidentally, the next box up the valley from Walnut Tree Jct, Maesmawr, is in operation on the DFR at Parkend.

Hope this helps?

Nick
(also ex-BIR, now at the Garw Valley Railway!)

You're an encyclopedic star Nick! Thank you very much for setting the record straight there. I remember the conversation I had with Alf McCullen and Mike Fox about that box vaguely, and this was going a few years back, so I couldn't remember what exactly was said about the TVR box.

This intrigues me though as DFR already have a GW signal box in Lydney Jct, or do they plan to replace that?

Now the Barry footbridge was already mentioned by the volunteers up in Blaenavon, who are trying to purchase it for Blaenavon High Level station, hopefully they'll get it but it'll have to be modified. We were on the subject of how they fought tooth and nail to preserve the lovely little box at Lime Kilns Sidings on the Ebbw Vale Line, sadly their efforts failed to secure its safety, and the box was swiftly flattened under the wreckers' ball. >.<

On that subject we discussed what boxes were still around that could be saved for heritage lines, Walnut Tree Jct seems to have already found a good home. ^^

Do you, or anyone else, knows what happened to box in Llandarcy recently by any chance? Only last time I checked it's no longer there!

 

[D107]

I'm not sure what the plans are for Walnut Tree to be honest. As for Llandarcy, I don't have a clue sorry.

 

[Navviboy]

The GWR box at Lydney is NR's and controls the level crossing on the main line. The DFR box is an LMR standard box that came, I believe, from Heysham. I've always felt it was a shame they couldn't get a genuine Midland box. The original boxes on the Forest of Dean line at Lydney were both Midland ones, it being a joint line. Ther eis a Midland railway dummy signal there though, they bought it from the MRT when the installation was going in.

 

[a good off]

LLandarcy box is still in. It hasn't seen a train for approx 18 months however.