Let’s look at Longton

Travelling along the North Staffordshire Line from Stoke-on-Trent for a visit to Uttoxeter last autumn [feature: November 2025] had reminded me that mechanical signalling interest along this fascinating route begins a mere five minutes after leaving Stoke, at Longton, and four semaphores controlled by the nearby Foley Crossing Signal Box.

This heavily-fortified signal box (North Staffordshire Railway, 1889) stands around 300 yards west of the rather desolate Longton station, controlling a busy foot crossing and from where an up home signal can be seen. Two other semaphores visible from the station’s down (westbound) platform are a down home and tall up section signal.

But my principal interest, on what was only my second ever call at Longton, was a down semaphore distant signal, which I had noted while passing on the train to Uttoxeter. I was keen to seek it out and discover if it was normally pulled off for passing trains, or remained at caution, as does the down distant signal at Uttoxeter, for East Midlands Railway (EMR) services calling at the station.

On that Uttoxeter trip I had noted that the distant was located between two road over-bridges, so armed with a local street map printed from Google maps I set off on 9 February 2026 for a fairly easy 12-minute walk away from the town centre, along Sutherland Road to its junction with Weston Coyney Road and an over-bridge on the latter giving a good rear view of the down distant signal.

My luck was in on that day as there were a couple of training runs formed by two of the five ex-EMR Class 222 (Meridian) units that have been de-branded and are destined to be used by Lumo on its Stirling-London Euston Open Access service, which launches later this year.

After seeing the distant pulled off for the first of these workings, when 222005 passed with 5Q40 from Barton-under-Needwood to Stafford, it was good to see that the motor-worked distant was also pulled off for the hourly Lincoln-Crewe services, when 170534 approached with 1K59 from Lincoln Central (08.37).

Besides the Class 222 training runs there was no other non-passenger activity to savour at Longton on 9 February, apart from DB 66108 passing light engine at 12.30 with 0D01 from Belmont Down Yard (Doncaster) to Crewe.

Foley Crossing Signal Box would be an attractive wooden structure if it were not for a covering of steel mesh and an outer steel door, installed to protect it from vandalism. It boasts a 37-lever McKenzie & Holland frame and is a block post fringing with Stoke Signalling Control Centre to the west and Caverswall Signal Box to the east.

The charming EMR-operated North Staffordshire Line sees hourly services between Crewe and Lincoln Central that are almost exclusively worked by two-car Class 170 units. From west to east the route’s five locations with semaphore interest are Foley Crossing, Uttoxeter, Scropton Crossing, Tutbury Crossing (at Tutbury & Hatton station) and Egginton Junction.

Having returned to the Weston Coyney Road over-bridge to capture the second of the day’s Class 222 training runs to pass – 222003 at 14.15 with 5Q36 from Etches Park Sidings to Widnes – there was just time on my return walk to Longton station to pay a visit to a remarkable pub at the western end of Sutherland Road, opposite Longton Police Station.

This was the charming and multi award-winning Congress Inn, where I was able to enjoy a fine pint of pale ale from Castle Rock brewery in Nottingham called “By Starlight” (4.0%/£4.00). A highly-recommended stopping-off point for anyone tempted to photograph the distant signal in an otherwise pretty dismal town centre!