Plans are being developed by Network Rail for a re-signalling of the charming Tyne Valley Line between Newcastle and Carlisle, which would see loss of semaphore signalling at a number of delightful locations, most photogenic of all being Prudhoe.
Here, 12 miles west of Newcastle, a tall and rather magnificent North Eastern Railway (NER) signal box dating from the early 1870s stands on the north side of the line, just west of the station and a level crossing.
Having travelled the entire Merseyrail network using a day ticket (April 2022) and then repeated the feat with Manchester’s Metrolink (August 2022) it seemed about time to tackle the UK’s original light rail system and see how easy and interesting it would be to ride the whole Tyne and Wear Metro network in a single day.
I have long been a fan of day rover or ranger tickets as a way of covering an entire route or area in a single day, and checking the Nexus website it was good to see that there was no weekday time restriction on its day tickets, unlike the Merseyrail and Metrolink equivalents with their 09.30 weekday start time.
There are a remarkable five signal boxes among the 14 controlling the busy Marches Line between Shrewsbury and Newport that date from the early 1870s, and two of that number are celebrating 150th birthdays in 2025, namely those at Leominster and at nearby Woofferton Junction.
While Leominster has just two remaining semaphores – both in the down (southbound) direction – there is rather more to appreciate at Woofferton, seven miles to the north, where there are a total of eight semaphores controlled from its 39-lever frame, with three in each direction on the main line, plus entry and exit signals for an up loop.
Continue reading “Favourite photo-spots: Woofferton Junction”
Exactly a year on since my last visit and the prospect of Spring sunshine tempts me to pay a return visit to St. Erth on 7 April 2025, one of only two locations on the Cornish main line to retain semaphore signalling, but one that has sadly lost its historic footbridge since my April 2024 visit.
This is almost certain to be the final year of GWR HST Castle set workings between Plymouth and Penzance, so my lunchtime arrival would hopefully give me a chance to see two of the three Castle sets in action that day, after taking a 15-minute walk from the station to Rosengrouse Road over-bridge (321 miles 46.25 chains).
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