[John Webb]

First Report of 2012:

We have made a large shelf for better display of our smaller items:

This reuses a large shelf which once supported the down-rods and balance weights that assisted the working of the signals and points - note the stencilled numbers which identified which was worked by which lever for the S&T technicians when carryoing out maintenance and repairs.

The Chiltern Model Railway Association has allowed us this year to have a small stand at their annual exhibition in St Albans:

Outside we have a new working signal:

These are LNWR ground frame signal levers - one of which is connected to the Midland ground disc signal.

John Webb

 

[John Webb]

Much of the work since January has been 'behind the scenes', particularly completing the enlarged signalling simulator for it's public launch on May 13th.
But on the 27th of April we at long last had a delivery of items that the National Railway Museum are letting us have.
The major item was a Midland Railway railway signal:

seen here being lifted off the lorry that bought it and other items down from Yorkshire.
It was then lowered into the garden:

and moved into its present resting place:

Another large item was this 'bench' containing various cranks and pulleys; it's our intention to connect this to our four-lever ground frame to operate several ground disc signals we already have.

A cage pallet containing various items, mostly electrical switches and other signalling items will prove interesting to look through:

Smaller items include:

two styles of Midland Railway signal finial.

A complete small block shelf, lever labels and a brass plunger:

Much of this equipment will be added to our displays in due course.

John Webb

 

[John Webb]

We've managed to identify the small blockshelf in the picture in the previous posting as being ex-Waterloo and City line! Not quite Midland Railway or LMS but it is BR period.

THe new Extended Signalling Demo got off to a good start this last weekend; on Saturday some two dozen members of the Signalling Record Society had a preview, and on Sunday some 80 people came to our "Enthusiasts' Day" and had the first public viewings. We run seven trains over the twenty minute period, giving a taste of the third busiest hour of the 1975 working time-table. The following pictures show something of the sequence:

A train passes on the Down Fast (bottom track) and our signalman is ready to give "Train entering Section" to Harpenden, the next box down the line, for it after it has passed the box and been checked for a tail light. There is a train stopped in the station on the Down Slow (second from top) track.

The down slow train is leaving. Two trains are due on the Up lines - on the Up Slow (top track) a goods train has just come onto the diagram. A train is also signalled through the station on the Up Fast line, hence all the reversed levers at the end of the frame, as they cover these two lines. Note the various indications visible on the block instruments.

The (long) goods train is passing through the station on the Up Slow - note the numerous track circuit lamps it lights! Our signalman is poised to give "Train Entering Section" to Napsbury, the next box up the line, for the goods train. On the Up Fast a stopping train is just arriving.

I'm hoping we'll eventually video the demo and post it on YouTube. Watch this space!
Regards,
John Webb

 

[John Webb]

Thanks for the comments, LF&T
This is what it looked like in 2003:

with our lady architect and a trustee taking a first look at the box.
It was another three years of negotiation to March 2006 to arrange a lease with NR, and another 6 months or so before we were allowed on site.

 

[John Webb]

Some time since I did any posting - basically much is going on 'behind the scenes' and not yet reached the 'now we can photograph it' stage!

Much of the work is aimed at the National Heritage Open Days weekend on the 8th/9th September, when we shall be open both days from 10am-5pm.

John Webb

 

[John Webb]

HERITAGE OPEN DAYS 8th/9th September
The view that greeted visitors to the site as they came in - note our new-style T-shirt on the left!

A new item for this year was a small display by members of the North London Society of Model Engineers of several live steam locos complete and under construction:

(I should explain they have their running track several miles away to the SE of St Albans; following a club visit to the box last year, several of their members came and joined us as well!)

Our 'new' Midland Railway signal was completed just in time:

Note the large metal socket at the base of the post which holds the post up; it is fitted to a large lump of concrete in the ground.
Not connected yet to a lever in the box, it was possible to operate it from the balance arm, however:

The arm is brand new, the various parts of the signal have been obtained from several sources.

And of course upstairs our members were explaining the workings of the box to our visitors:

Among those visible is our youngest signal man in training - grandson of one of our members.

We had around 300 visitors over the two days, similar to last year. The local council ignored our complaints from last year and again did not give much publicity to the Heritage Open Days or include our side of the city in the 'Giant Monopoly' game they run over the weekend.

 

[John Webb]

QUOTE (Nathan Burnham @ 12 Sep 2012, 18:20) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Interesting... first time seeing this thread! You wouldn't happen to know what the colours of the levers actually mean, would you? I've always been wondering...

Of course we can tell you what the lever colours mean - but to save repetition there's a recent topic on this subject Signal box levers - click on the link to go there.

60134 - Thanks, but we were aware of this contact already as we're members of the HRA. Also I've recently learned that there is only one genuine MR lower-quadrant signal left in use on the network at Ketton - and with what we got from the NRM earlier this year we're almost full up with things to display!

Regards,
John

 

[John Webb]

QUOTE (Nathan Burnham @ 13 Sep 2012, 16:56) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Link broken!

Thanks anyhow, I'll give the forum a search

EDIT: Here's a fixed link Signal box levers

Regards
Nathan
Ah! Sorry about that - forgot to check that the link was working before closing the post; the "Insert:Topic Link" does sometimes glitch.
Regards,
John

 

[John Webb]

My apologies for the considerable delay in updating, but serious family ill-health over an extended period in 2012-13 took priority, you will understand.

There was little further to report in 2012, so I'll go straight on to 2013.
We had temporary new neighbours for a good part of the year:

They were working on a refurbishment of the station footbridge.

We in turn refurbished the top end of the garden with new paving and a new bit of pathway:


An original BR 'Running-in Board' for St Albans City station, which we'd had for a while, was mounted and lighting provided:


Other items put on display in 2013 include a gradient post:


A new Midland railway signal was installed - base under construction here:


The post socket (to avoid burying a wooden post in the ground with inevitable rot problems):


And the end result:

(This is a later version of a Midland Railway signal with corrugated steel arm and white band rather than a dot as on the older wooden-armed signal further away from the camera.)

 

[John Webb]

Inside the box we have acquired a pair of Tyer's Single-line tablet machines:

(Seen here shortly after delivery from the Roy Burrows Collection at Derby.)

After completed assembly:

(The small model of the box on the table between the two instruments was made by a young lad whose favourite building in St Albans is the signal box!)

Another item which we have on loan from the Roy Burrows Collection is the original 1915 diagram from the box:


In August, two former signalmen met at the box:

Steve Lake (on the left) was on duty for the penultimate shift before closure of the box on the 2nd December 1972. He handed over to Geoff Ryland (on the right) who became the last signalman to work the box before it closed. This was the first time they had met since that day, although both have been members of the Preservation Trust for some years!

 

[John Webb]

2014 got off to a start after the high winds and rain - fortunately with only minor problems at the box.
For example this pulley wheel had become partly submerged in earth washed off the flowerbed by the recent heavy rains:

We've put some bricks round the sleeper it's mounted on to deter soil washing off again.


This was the scene early on the 12th January when we were open in connection with the CMRA annual exhibition at St Albans.

For the third year running they allowed us to have a stand at the show:

But this year we manned it, gave out 400+ leaflets, spoke with dozens of people and raised a reasonable sum in book and wagon sales. Some 220 people, mostly exhibition attendees, also came to the box over the 2 days.

We were also open over the last weekend in January for a local event aimed at encouraging residents to find out what is 'on their doorstep'. Not only did we get another 330 or so visitors, but one of them was our 10,000th recorded visitor since September 2008. This averages out at about 1,900 visitors a year.

Indoors work continues to improve our simulator. The track diagram has been remounted to swing out so the wiring and the new simulator interface can be fitted behind it.

 

[John Webb]

Right - rather a long time since I posted anything, so here goes.

At the end of February, some one left this, carefully wrapped, alongside our garden shed:

It has been confirmed by former signalmen who worked St Albans South that this is the original 1970 track diagram, modified in 1973 when track alterations were made, and again near the end of the box's working life. We had assumed the diagram had been discarded when the box closed, hence the replica we made for present-day use.
A note inside the diagram explained it was an anonymous donation to the Trust. It has been placed on display upstairs with the 1915 diagram on loan to us.

Ground Disc signals with LED lamps but no yellow filter:


Ground Disc signals as above but with yellow filter added between LED and spectacle:


And how the filter is held in place with a housing that also cuts down on extraneous light:

 

[John Webb]

Some donations from the Elstree and Borehamwood Museum, who have moved to new premises in Borehamwood, but did not have room to display these items, and very kindly thought of us.

Boundary Marker:
As received:


After a clean and repaint, as 'planted' in the garden (by the boundary fence, of course!):


Elstree Tunnel Sign:
As received:


Being worked on:


The end result:

(From photos and the cleaning process, it seems that the sign was originally white letters on a black background, so we restored it to that condition.)

Storage of Bicycles Sign:
A BR(M) enamel sign - is on display as received:

 

[John Webb]

Signal 16 Resiting
Signal 16 was a 3-aspect ground-mounted colour light signal installed at St Albans in 1973, between the Up and Down slow lines, and allowed service passenger trains that terminated at St Albans to return to London without further shunting. It was ground mounted as there was insufficient room between the tracks for a post. The Red aspect was at the top to get it nearest to the driver's eyes.

In January this year only the Red aspect could be clearly seen through the garden plants:


It was clear that as the planting grew, it would become invisible, and so it did, by April it was difficult to see the red aspect at all, and the decision was taken to move it. But this had to be done so that while visible from the box's first floor (since it is worked by lever 16 on the frame), it wasn't visible to passing train drivers!
After one experimental placing near our boundary fence, we decided to put it on the lawn:

At least here we know there won't be plants growing in front of it, and a few moments with the shears will keep the grass down!

After a couple of days to reroute the cable to the signal, carefully protecting it in plastic conduit to avoid damage by any enthusiastic gardener wielding cutting tools, we had the signal working again:


Other bits and pieces:
Our new 'Level Crossing' gates - not quite full-size, but we wanted to display this gate lamp we had been given:


We continue to attend events outside the box - here we're at a local fete:


Work continues on various maintenance and new projects - so more to come!
John Webb

 

[John Webb]

A further round-up of recent works.

A new metal gradient post being 'planted' in the garden.


A recently acquired concrete milepost has also been erected, not far away from the above gradient post.


A recent view of our downstairs 'Museum Room' now displaying a much increased range of signalling and other railway items.


Heritage Open Days in September: One of our members brought along a live steam loco which he had on display and chugging away.
During the two days we had over 600 visitors.


Work is carrying on to make our simulator more 'robust'. New interface boards have been made and are being trial fitted for the first time behind our track diagram.

The next two pictures are rather unusual. In late September I spent two days in the "Search Engine" at the National Railway Museum, looking at original copies of the Midland Railway's "Weekly Notices to Staff" for several years which we knew marked particular events in the box's history.
The first picture shows part of the Weekly Notice for the week ending June 18th, 1892, which announced that on June 12th, the (present) St Albans South box would be erected and brought into use.

This is 'as photographed', and I returned with over 70 other images like this.
They were then put through "Photoshop" to improve the contrast and label them with the source details:


It is interesting to note that they started work at 3am on the 12th June to dismantle the old box, erect the new and bring it into use that day!

 

[John Webb]

Last roundup of pictures from 2014:
As the dark nights drew in upon us, we looked at lighting the external stairs, and temporarily used an ex-railway Tilley lamp:

However, work will be undertaken in 2015 to form a replica 'Yard lamp' as a more permanent light for the stair at night-time.
(The hand-lamp, signal lamp and Shunt Limit sign are all lit with paraffin burners for demonstration purposes - although the Shunt Sign recently had to undergo repairs when the burner flared up and melted the soldered joints, causing the sign to fall apart!)

In our early days, when we first had a need to run electric cables round the site, we fashioned some cable ducting from feather-edged fencing boards. These were nailed together, and some six years exposure to weather and vibration from passing trains had caused some sections to disintegrate, as seen here:


Some new trunking has been made up, properly screwed together this time, and after suitable weather-proofing, has been installed:


At the top end of the site a fabricated bend was needed to link up with the line of the trunking across the top of the garden:


The lightweight original trunking at the top of the garden is being rebuilt with recovered boarding from the replaced duct run in a screwed construction designed to improve both strength, life and protection to the cables:

The top is an inverted "U" shape which slips over another smaller "U" shaped base.

Finally, a picture taken from an upper floor of the multi-storey carpark almost opposite our site:

 

[John Webb]

A few updates from the first half of 2015 - not a great deal because most things we do now are maintenance and not very interesting, to be honest!
The garden in March after a spring clean-up:

The cable trunking in front of the fence had just been reconstructed when this picture was taken.

The older style Midland Railway signal at the far end of the garden is worked by (spare) lever 32 in the box's frame by the traditional wire over pulleys system. But we have no easy way of adjusting the wire tension and in the current warm weather the lever has a considerable distance to move before the signal starts to move.
So we've decided to fit an adjuster both to allow us to alter the tension in the wire and to demonstrate how they work.
This is the adjuster after being dismantled, cleaned and given a coat of paint.

(This is an LMS adjuster which came in a 'job-lot' of bits and pieces from the NRM.)

We've had to move the existing pulley and add a second one - work in progress here:


And the final set-up will look something like this:

I'll post another picture when the job is completed.

Finally additions to our museum display - a couple of signalling relays:

 

[John Webb]

As a contrast to the March photo of the garden above, here's what it looked like 4 months later last weekend (11th July):

 

[John Webb]

The completed adjuster set-up:


The chain to which the wire is connected goes up and over a pulley and then down again, as can be glimpsed here:


We're planning to put a signal repeater near the adjuster. That needs a switch worked by the signal arm to work the repeater. This is the switch after renovation:


The central contact rotates with the external arm and at each end of the movement makes contact with one of the brass strips - these can be adjusted to clearly show via the repeater if the signal arm is in the correct position.

 

[John Webb]

The arm repeater switch fixed to the signal post:


And the repeater inside the box, near the new adjuster shown above, which shows the signal moving:


The power source for the repeater is derived from the power supply to the electric light in the lamp housing for the signal - so if we've forgotten to turn the power on, the repeater shows "Failed" as it would have done had the original oil lamp not been burning!