South Coast semaphores soldier on

Almost two years after the local authority granted Network Rail listed building consent to remove the two semaphore signal brackets at Bognor Regis there is still no sign of any replacement activity, and they continue to safely signal trains out of the South Coast resort, along with another pair at nearby Littlehampton.

My repeated attempts to get an official update on any re-signalling plans from Network Rail proved unsuccessful, but what was intriguing was to hear from one of the Bognor platform staff that the signal heads there had been replaced in the last few months, while those at Littlehampton also looked rather new.

When Network Rail sought listed building consent to remove the semaphores, its application stated: “The Bognor Regis signalling assets are currently in operation way beyond their extended life…the structures at the end of Bognor Regis platform are corroded and are not fit for re-use, so need to be removed to enable new signals to be installed, providing a safer and more reliable railway infrastructure.”

Their removal was reluctantly approved by Arun District Council on 3 March 2023, but the decision was “regretted” by the Council’s Principal Conservation Officer, Martyn White, who was disappointed to note that the structures had not been adequately maintained and complained: “no attempt has been made to relocate or offer the structures to relevant museums or railway heritage trusts for use elsewhere.”

In its approval decision for the Bognor semaphores’ removal the Planning Committee of Arun District Council noted that: “The semaphore signals have historical significance in their own right. The applicant is encouraged to liaise with Bognor Regis Town Council regarding the removal and future safeguarding of the semaphore signals.”

The Bognor Regis semaphores are controlled from its 1938-vintage art deco style “Odeon” signal box, known as a Southern Railway Type 13. This is reckoned to be amongst the most significant signal box designs of the twentieth century, and is an identical design to the boxes at a number of locations in the south, including Deal, which also retains a handful of semaphore signals.

At Bognor the semaphore quartet comprises a bracket housing signal 008 (platform 1) alongside 009 for platform 2, while the second bracket contains 010 on platform 3 and 012 on platform 4. Meanwhile at Littlehampton a much smaller Grade II-listed London, Brighton & South Coast Railway box dating from 1886, controls signal 0032 (platform 1) and 0030 (pl2) on one bracket, with another housing 0036 (pl3) and 0033 (pl4).

Weekday passenger services from Bognor and Littlehampton are formed by 3 and 4 car Class 377 Electrostar units, with the four hourly departures from Bognor Regis comprising half-hourly shuttles to Barnham and half-hourly services to London Victoria via the Arun Valley Line.

At Littlehampton there are also two departures an hour for London Victoria, formed by pairs of 4-car Class 377 units, which operate via Hove and Haywards Heath, along with hourly services between Brighton and Chichester, which reverse and wait for around 10 minutes at Littlehampton.

Photographing trains passing the semaphores is relatively easy, with some good vantage points from the station platforms, as well as from an aged footbridge immediately north of the impressive signal box at Bognor Regis and another conveniently situated footbridge north of Littlehampton station, where some helpful camera-sized holes have been cut in the chain link fencing above the bridge parapet!