Ledbury Signal Box

Ledbury Signal Box is a typical Great Western Railway traditional lever frame signal box, which remains in daily use at Ledbury, in Herefordshire, England. It lies on the railway line between Worcester Shrub Hill and Hereford.

Main article: Ledbury railway station

Ledbury Signal Box in 2009

History

Ledbury station looking west, 1958

The railway line from Worcester to Hereford opened in several stages, with the section from Malvern to Shelwick Junction, just north of Hereford, opening on 15 September 1861.^[1] The current signal box dates from 1885, opening with the branch line from Ledbury to Newent and Gloucester, which opened on 27 July. It is thought that this must have replaced an earlier 1861 GWR-built signal box, but there is currently no written or physical evidence to support this theory. A recent suggestion has been that the original signal box was just a few metres east of the existing box, but the site was covered by new track leading to a redesigned goods yard.

The current 1885 signal box was built by MacKenzie & Holland of Worcester, as their 'type 3' box design under contract to the Great Western Railway. It has a striking feature in that it is unusually tall, providing good visibility over the goods yard to the east and rear (south) of the 'box. A balcony was also provided on the east side to allow the signalman to communicate with drivers and other personnel working in the goods yard.

Ledbury signal box was designed to be operated by one person and has always provided all the essential modern hotel services such as an office area, heating and cooking. When the box was built in 1885, before the general use of electricity, it was a time when toilet facilities were considered unsanitary and placed outside of dwellings and offices. Ledbury signal box was built with an open fireplace and chimney, oil lamp lighting and a separate outside toilet. The fireplace, now blocked off, remains as does the chimney and two cast iron oil lamp ventilation ceiling roses; a modern toilet has been added in a square wooden extension on the balcony.

Another signal box, named Ledbury Branch, was located on the 17.46-mile single line Gloucester-Ledbury branch, 506 yards from the main line junction west of Ledbury station. It was opened on 27 July 1885 and closed in 1925; the branch was closed by 1965.

In March 2013, Ledbury signal box was repainted externally. In June 2016, the frame and point connecting rods were renewed increasing the life expectancy of the signal box and reducing the chance of failure.

Operation

Looking at the north-east corner

Through the round window

Ledbury Signal Box is owned and operated by Network Rail.

The current method of operation on the section of single line between Ledbury and Shelwick Junction (just north of Hereford) is called Tokenless Block. This was implemented in 1986, when the line was singled and the intermediate signal boxes were closed.

The current method of operation on the single line section between Ledbury and Malvern Wells is called "Lock & Block". This is a modified form of Tokenless Block using Great Western Railway equipment that uses the bell telegraph to communicate. This method of operation and equipment, unique to this line, was originally used only through the two single line tunnels on this line, at Ledbury; and under the Malvern Hills between a former signal box at Colwall to the signal box at Malvern Wells. However, with the removal of the second track, the line become singled from Malvern Wells to Ledbury and one long section was created that remains in use today.

In line with standard Great Western Railway practice, the up direction is towards London Paddington,from Hereford towards Malvern and Worcester.

Signalling equipment

Main article: Understanding types of British railway signals

[ L0 ] Up Main Distant Signal

Signal Levers 0 & 1, with signal flags rolled up behind

Trains from Hereford passed a fixed Distant signal (a yellow, chevroned semaphore) that was bolted, unable to move, to its signal post. This protected the junction from the branch from Gloucester, Newent and Dymock as this informed drivers to always approach this junction at Ledbury cautiously. When this junction was removed from this track in 1948, this signal now needed to be capable of being operated from the signal box and a new signal and lever were fitted, and with no spare space on the frame, the new signal lever was bolted onto the outside of the frame, to the left of [ L1 ] lever and given the designation "0". As the signal is a yellow distant signal, the operating lever is painted yellow. In 1956, a colour-light signal replaced the semaphore arm and this remains today.

[ L1 ] Up Main Home Signal

The first red stop signal in the Up direction. Formerly a red semaphore signal, this is now (2013) a three-aspect colour light signal capable of showing Red, Yellow or Green. If all signals ahead in Ledbury (currently [ L4 ] & [ L5 ] are green, then this signal will also display green, otherwise Yellow.

[ L2 ] Up Main Inner Home Signal

This signal used to protect the Newent branch junction but, following track rationalisation in 1948, was no longer needed and removed.

[ L3 ] Up Branch Home Signal

This signal on the Newent branch used to protect the junction with the main line but, following the closure of the branch in 1959, it was removed.

[ L4 ] Up Main Starting Signal

This signal, still a red semaphore signal, is located at the east end of the Up platform and protects the point and entrance to the single line inside the Ledbury tunnel. Previously, there were several points just ahead of it, which it also protected.

[ L5 ] Up Main Advanced Starting Signal

This signal protects the single line inside Ledbury tunnel. One could suggest that this signal is a duplicate of [ L4 ] and could be removed, but there is a high cost of altering the control systems in line with its removal and little problem with leaving it in use. It is still a red semaphore signal.

See also

• Ledbury Railway Tunnel
• Ledbury and Gloucester Railway
• Hereford Road Skew Bridge at Ledbury
• The Signal-Man, a short story written by Charles Dickens in 1866.