Non-digital station signs

[telstarbox]

Do any stations still have manual or mechanical (eg Solari) departure boards?

10 years ago, Fort William used small magnetic signs to show the destination on each platform, which was clearly sufficient for the small number of departures.

 

[Eagle]

The last mechanical board in operation in Britain was the one at Liverpool Street, which went in about 2006.

 

[Bald Rick]

The last mechanical board in operation in Britain was the one at Liverpool Street, which went in about 2006.

2008, and I still have one of the 'White Hart Lane' flaps if a Spurs fan wants to offer me a lot of money for one (and yes I did pay for it).

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Didn't Penrith's departure board until recently used to be a whiteboard and marker?

 

[tsr]

Didn't Penrith's departure board until recently used to be a whiteboard and marker?

Plenty of Tube stations still have whiteboards for service updates, but of course these will normally accompany electronic screens. One or two Tube stations also have departure boards consisting of those old-fashioned lit-up boxes - apparently, these are not able to be removed for conservation reasons.

 

[David Goddard]

One or two Tube stations also have departure boards consisting of those old-fashioned lit-up boxes - apparently, these are not able to be removed for conservation reasons.

The Earls Court ones are a great piece of history

 

[penrithsteve]

Didn't Penrith's departure board until recently used to be a whiteboard and marker?

You're quite right - always struck me as a curious low-tech solution. Stopped being used a few years ago and now replaced with a standard TV screen

 

[Eagle]

One or two Tube stations also have departure boards consisting of those old-fashioned lit-up boxes - apparently, these are not able to be removed for conservation reasons.

Brixton springs to mind.

 

[Muzer]

Plenty of Tube stations still have whiteboards for service updates, but of course these will normally accompany electronic screens. One or two Tube stations also have departure boards consisting of those old-fashioned lit-up boxes - apparently, these are not able to be removed for conservation reasons.

A surprising number of them, I'd say. Some of them don't seem to work amazingly well, though... perhaps bulbs need replacing

 

[Lincoln]

I remember Spalding used to have a fairly ornate blackboard by the entrance to the platform from the booking hall. Not sure if it is still there since the electronic screens have been fitted though.

 

[tsr]

A surprising number of them, I'd say. Some of them don't seem to work amazingly well, though... perhaps bulbs need replacing

Rumour has it that TfL don't actually have to keep them functioning correctly if alternative station information boards are fitted (where this is possible/allowed). I'm not sure how true this is, but if so... it's a bit of a shame.

 

[EM2]

One or two Tube stations also have departure boards consisting of those old-fashioned lit-up boxes - apparently, these are not able to be removed for conservation reasons.

Upton Park is one, and also still shows the H&C as part of the Met.
Can't imagine it's particularly noteworthy for conservation.

 

[W-on-Sea]

The way that the boards at Earls Court were "restored" recently was pretty astounding, really - with little respect for some aspects of their original appearance... replacing the original (early 20th century) font with standard New Johnston..

Before: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5208/5273433413_3367c3037c_o.jpg
After: http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4117/4920980584_7d1d87cd9a_z.jpg

 

[Eagle]

The font on the original signs there looks to be Johnston Condensed, so it's not a completely different typeface they've used.

 

[Crossover]

Not in the UK but there are quite a few of the "clapper boards" on the continent - having been to Germany a few times, I have seen a few of them

Here is one at Nuremberg Messe U Bahn Station
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8247/imag0180qc1.jpg

Quite interesting to watch them, I have to say

 

[Cherry_Picker]

I think it has been mentioned on here before, but in the USA (Boston I think) when they replaced the Solari style departure board with a LED one somebody decided to set up a speaker system by the board specifically to play the "clacking" noise every time the screen updated. I really like that idea.

 

[jnjkerbin]

The big terminus station in Rome (whose name escapes me) still had them when I walked through a few years ago. I didn't catch a train though

 

[sheff'd victoria]

I remember Spalding used to have a fairly ornate blackboard by the entrance to the platform from the booking hall. Not sure if it is still there since the electronic screens have been fitted though.

For some reason Cleethorpes & Skegness spring to mind about having non electronic screens ?

 

[Darren R]

I think it has been mentioned on here before, but in the USA (Boston I think) when they replaced the Solari style departure board with a LED one somebody decided to set up a speaker system by the board specifically to play the "clacking" noise every time the screen updated. I really like that idea.

Quite so - the idea being that when the wherring/clicking noise is played whenever the boards change passengers automatically look up. Genius actually - quite often you don't necessarily notice that the boards have changed at big stations like Euston.

 

[tsr]

Quite so - the idea being that when the wherring/clicking noise is played whenever the boards change passengers automatically look up. Genius actually - quite often you don't necessarily notice that the boards have changed at big stations like Euston.

Some UK stations have a sort of high pitched whistle/"Eee" sound for corrections, as I mentioned in another thread. Perhaps this could be modified to a slightly less intrusive tone and also used for when destination boards change over. I think passengers have got caught out too many times by the LED boards shuffling info around silent - but, at the same time, a whirring noise may seem a bit odd nowadays.

 

[jp347]

I remember Spalding used to have a fairly ornate blackboard by the entrance to the platform from the booking hall. Not sure if it is still there since the electronic screens have been fitted though.

No, our customer information system was upgraded to a whiteboard, but since the electronic screens have appeared it has gone. (Although a little one on wheels appears during disruption quite often.)

 

[Mike395]

The big terminus station in Rome (whose name escapes me) still had them when I walked through a few years ago. I didn't catch a train though

Termini

They were still there when I visited in late 2011 - interesting to watch.

They're quite common on the continent mind, Lille Europe (amongst others) in France has them too!

 

[Mojo]

The Westbound c2c platform at Limehouse and the Romford platform at Upminster have an electronic display board which displays the time and 'expected' as well as a 'fun fact' about the train but the rest of the sign which displays the destination, calling pattern and the Toc is just a sticker.

 

[jnjkerbin]

Termini

Makes sense!

 

[Muzer]

The Westbound c2c platform at Limehouse and the Romford platform at Upminster have an electronic display board which displays the time and 'expected' as well as a 'fun fact' about the train but the rest of the sign which displays the destination, calling pattern and the Toc is just a sticker.

When I was there, the display on the Romford platform at Upminster wasn't quite as you described. It described the service as a "one service" as a sticker (nice hang-over there ), and most lines of the screen except the expected time were blank (I believe one other was displaying "Calling at" or something along those lines but without an actual list of stations; correct me if I'm wrong). Sounds more like a broken system to me.

 

[JoeGJ1984]

I recall the old board at Euston and also saw the one at Liverpool Street.

Has it ever occurred that a train is to call at a station not on the flaps? How would this difficulty have been resolved?

 

[Proud Salopian]

The Swiss use mechanical boards across their network. Seems to work for the world's best-run railway...

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3242/3081085135_1705cd290f_o.jpg

 

[Eagle]

The Swiss use mechanical boards across their network. Seems to work for the world's best-run railway...

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3242/3081085135_1705cd290f_o.jpg

Interesting that that sign is in the British Rail Alphabet. (Although given the number of countries that use our Transport Alphabet on their road signs, I'm not surprised that other UK typefaces have been making it internationally.)

 

[Michael.Y]

The way that the boards at Earls Court were "restored" recently was pretty astounding, really - with little respect for some aspects of their original appearance... replacing the original (early 20th century) font with standard New Johnston..

Before: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5208/5273433413_3367c3037c_o.jpg
After: http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4117/4920980584_7d1d87cd9a_z.jpg

That's just lazy. Should be the same x-height.

 

[Quakers Yard]

Harrow on the hill have bulb lit boards that have surely been there for decades.