Trivia: Manual staffed signalboxes with few trains?

[Ducatist4]

Yes, its only manned when they have movements along that line - think there were two yesterday.

 

[O L Leigh]

Trinity Lane box must be up there (near Cheshunt). It was never busy before the footbridge was built, but now must be almost dormant.

Really...?! You must have been there on a very quiet day.

Given that it's on the Lea Valley route* it gets rather a lot of trains. Of course it may be that it's quiet for road traffic, but given that Trinity Lane is an access point for the Lea Valley Country Park and appears to be the only vehicle access for the Trinity North and Trinity South allotments I'm not even sure that's true either.

* Please can we stop referring to the Lea Valley route as the WAML. It really isn't a mainline.

 

[Bald Rick]

Really...?! You must have been there on a very quiet day.

Given that it's on the Lea Valley route* it gets rather a lot of trains. Of course it may be that it's quiet for road traffic, but given that Trinity Lane is an access point for the Lea Valley Country Park and appears to be the only vehicle access for the Trinity North and Trinity South allotments I'm not even sure that's true either.

* Please can we stop referring to the Lea Valley route as the WAML. It really isn't a mainline.

Sorry, yes, a busy line, but not many gate operations. Not easy to get a margin to get people over, so the allotment holders typically park on the west side and used wheelbarrows on the footpath part of the crossing. There is also access from the white water centre.

Also agree with you about WAML. Even worse is an annoyingly increasing number of people who pronounce it as one word “Wammul”. Drives me mad.

 

[stantheman]

Neath & Brecon, they’ll be lucky to see one train a week on occasion!

Is that the box at the start of the Onllywn branch which currently has I think one train a week ?

10 Passenger trains per day and occasional freight to/from Gwaun-cae-Gurwen

I thought the Gwaun car Gurwen had finished a while ago

 

[Meerkat]

My obvious follow up question is....what are signallers allowed to do whilst they are on shift?
Are they subject to the mobile phone ban like train crew? Do they have to remain inside, or can they work on their tan?
Are the bells loud enough to wake you up or do you have to set an alarm for the next timetabled train if you think there is a risk of dozing off?

 

[PHILIPE]

Is that the box at the start of the Onllywn branch which currently has I think one train a week ?

I thought the Gwaun car Gurwen had finished a while ago

Not yet although very few movements:-

Realtime Trains - 496U 0022 Hope (Earles Sidings) Dbs to Gwaun-cae-gurwen Opencast

Realtime Trains provides live realtime running information for the Great British railway network using open data.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Tom Quinne]

Is that the box at the start of the Onllywn branch which currently has I think one train a week ?

I thought the Gwaun car Gurwen had finished a while ago

N&B, yes.

 

[Serathor]

Blea Moor on the S&C.

 

[Llanigraham]

My obvious follow up question is....what are signallers allowed to do whilst they are on shift?
Are they subject to the mobile phone ban like train crew? Do they have to remain inside, or can they work on their tan?
Are the bells loud enough to wake you up or do you have to set an alarm for the next timetabled train if you think there is a risk of dozing off?

Yes, officially a mobile should be turned off..........................
Not sure if it has changed but a Grade 2 Box was allowed to have a radio on but no television or similar.
The Box computer was able to get limited internet access so things could be done on that. I used it it write questions for our local pub quizzes on nights.
Depending on the layout of the Box it is not uncommon to be able to sit outside and the bells and phone were quite loud enough to hear when sat on the veranda, and of course no signaller ever went to sleep on shift..................
My Box was quiet at night so I read lots of books (Kindles were officially banned, but..........). Another resident did lots of railway modelling. I know of another signaller who was an author and who researched and wrote his books on nights, and have heard of several who did Open Uni courses.
And of course you cook yourself meals, make tea, keep the Rule Book and Box Notices up to date, and keep the Box clean and polished.

 

[PHILIPE]

Blea Moor on the S&C.

Blea(k) Moor is quite buay

 

[DB]

Blea Moor on the S&C.

That's every train going over the S&C - plus the stone trains from Arcow quarry which go up to Blea Moor to run the loco round. It's certainly not one of the quietest lines.

 

[Tomnick]

Beighton Station SB (between Beighton Jn and Woodhouse) has always struck me as a bit of a curiosity along similar lines to Alrewas (as already mentioned). It only has a handful of scheduled services each day, with several hours of inactivity in between, but it’s on an important diversionary route and can suddenly find itself handling several trains per hour in each direction!

My obvious follow up question is....what are signallers allowed to do whilst they are on shift?
Are they subject to the mobile phone ban like train crew? Do they have to remain inside, or can they work on their tan?
Are the bells loud enough to wake you up or do you have to set an alarm for the next timetabled train if you think there is a risk of dozing off?

Officially, personal mobile phones and other electronic devices aren’t allowed. Sleeping on duty isn’t officially allowed either. I can confirm that the block bells at most boxes are loud enough to wake you up though, and if they don’t (e.g. one box that had rather feeble bells built into the panel), the subsequent phone call will

No problem at all with sitting outside on the balcony or wherever, as long as you can hear what you need to hear still!

 

[Meerkat]

Officially, personal mobile phones and other electronic devices aren’t allowed. Sleeping on duty isn’t officially allowed either. I can confirm that the block bells at most boxes are loud enough to wake you up though, and if they don’t (e.g. one box that had rather feeble bells built into the panel), the subsequent phone call will

No problem at all with sitting outside on the balcony or wherever, as long as you can hear what you need to hear still!

Cheers - so officially what are they expecting the signaller to do all day?!

 

[jopsuk]

Given that it's on the Lea Valley route*

* Please can we stop referring to the Lea Valley route as the WAML. It really isn't a mainline.

It's one we've got Network SouthEast to blame for isn't it? But yes, an awful name. Lea Valley is certainly more appropriate, though the "main line" part of it only up as far as Broxbourne- it's the Stort from there to Stansted Mountfichet, and the Cam (Granta) fromAudley End northwards


more on topic- went to check how many services through Dullingham a day- over 30

 

[Elecman]

Fiddlers Ferry and the other boxes on that line now

 

[MarkyT]

Does the box next to Pantyffynnon Station on the Heart of wales see much traffic ?

10 Passenger trains per day and occasional freight to/from Gwaun-cae-Gurwen

In addition to dealing with those 10 daily passenger trains at Pantyffynnon itself, the signalbox also oversees their token exchanges at the five intermediate NSTR passing loops over the nearly 80 miles of single track between there and Craven Arms, so the workload is rather more than might at first be imagined. The signaller doesn't press a button to release a token but must give authority for a traincrew to do so verbally by telephone for each withdrawal. The token instruments for a particular block section automatically allow release when required, and when safe of course. They are located in secure cabinets on the station platforms accessible using a standard crew key. A magnetic reminder board with a track diagram is provided at the signal box to help the signaller to keep track of the trains, and train register log entries are made for each block section event as usual. The system is simple and reliable, but token exchange is time-consuming and the key tokens need to be periodically balanced by technical or operations staff moving them between the instruments as they inevitably accumulate in the receiving instruments at each loop.

 

[Signalmans Eye]

Cheers - so officially what are they expecting the signaller to do all day?!

Signalmen used to have pride in there box in my day, therefore cleaning dusting mopping floors cleaning windows polishing lever tops, brass work perhaps a little gardening oh and lets not forget the thunder bucket? I used to work with signalmen brought up on LNWR one day in 1961 I was lucky enough to be on duty as the train recorder when the Royal Train was to be signalled through the Signalman had me clean the box top to bottom dustin moppin polishin windows etc now then lad were ready for the Queen,I think he had in mind if the train broke down and the Queen had to be detrained the box was spick n span for her Majesty.Happy days.

 

[O L Leigh]

It's one we've got Network SouthEast to blame for isn't it? But yes, an awful name. Lea Valley is certainly more appropriate, though the "main line" part of it only up as far as Broxbourne- it's the Stort from there to Stansted Mountfichet, and the Cam (Granta) fromAudley End northwards

Not really. NSE simply called it the West Anglia route, not mainline. As to the Lea Valley, this is the proper name given to the route from Cheshunt to Coppermill Jn via Tottenham Hale to differentiate it from the Southbury route.

 

[Ken H]

That's every train going over the S&C - plus the stone trains from Arcow quarry which go up to Blea Moor to run the loco round. It's certainly not one of the quietest lines.

Garsdale must be quiet now. Only 4 each way at the moment, and no freight that I have noticed. There again some days there are the Skipton-Appleby excursions. or is it switched out?

 

[Ducatist4]

Does this extend to crossing keepers? Norwood Crossing on the Robin Hood Line. The gates are left closed to the road which doesn’t really go anywhere. It serves about four houses. Trains stop at 22.30 but the crossing is manned right through the night as the first train in the morning is before a normal morning shift would start! Potentially you could sit there all day and do nothing.

 

[Gathursty]

What about Banavie?

 

[Llanigraham]

Does this extend to crossing keepers? Norwood Crossing on the Robin Hood Line. The gates are left closed to the road which doesn’t really go anywhere. It serves about four houses. Trains stop at 22.30 but the crossing is manned right through the night as the first train in the morning is before a normal morning shift would start! Potentially you could sit there all day and do nothing.

Same can be said about the "Box" at Llwyn Cadwgan on the Cambrian Coast.
(http://abcrailwayguide.uk/llwyn-cadwgan-private-level-crossing-gwynedd)
After my hand was injured at work I was offered a post here, but it was too far from home!

 

[Gostav]

Beighton Station SB (between Beighton Jn and Woodhouse) has always struck me as a bit of a curiosity along similar lines to Alrewas (as already mentioned). It only has a handful of scheduled services each day, with several hours of inactivity in between, but it’s on an important diversionary route and can suddenly find itself handling several trains per hour in each direction!


Officially, personal mobile phones and other electronic devices aren’t allowed. Sleeping on duty isn’t officially allowed either. I can confirm that the block bells at most boxes are loud enough to wake you up though, and if they don’t (e.g. one box that had rather feeble bells built into the panel), the subsequent phone call will

No problem at all with sitting outside on the balcony or wherever, as long as you can hear what you need to hear still!

Ha, l would not specify which one but I really heared radio music from a junction box last month.

 

[Uk125]

Rainford/ormskirk line.

Could see the signal movement by the signaller from the platform. Also could see the signaller collect the loop (whatever it's called) from the train driver as it's single line

 

[30907]

What about Banavie?

Does that count as a manual box though? It signals trains over vast distances too.
Fort William Jn (ex Mallaig Jn) counts, though most trains are signalled twice, and RTT gives me 26 daily movements (even with only one steam trip instead of two).

 

[lincolnshire]

Cheers - so officially what are they expecting the signaller to do all day?!

Read your rule book !

 

[Whistler40145]

Is the box still open at Lichfield Trent Valley High Level adjacent to the chord?

 

[Elecman]

Is the box still open at Lichfield Trent Valley High Level adjacent to the chord?

yes it is

 

[Whistler40145]

yes it is

Is there much traffic between Lichfield Trent Valley High Level and Wichnor Junction?

 

[Llanigraham]

Ha, l would not specify which one but I really heared radio music from a junction box last month.

As I said earlier, radios are allowed in Gr 2 boxes