Return to Deal

Among the handful of isolated locations across Southern England that still boast any mechanical signalling, one remarkable outpost is in the charming town of Deal, where semaphore signalling has hung on almost 15 years since completion of a major re-signalling project in East Kent at the end of 2011.

Deal boasts one of the classic Type 13 signal boxes built by the Southern Railway (1939) in what is known as the Odeon or glasshouse style, with a model of it produced by Hornby. Another working example (also with semaphores) can be found at Bognor Regis (feature: March 2026), while there are preserved examples at Horsham, Wimbledon, Woking and Portsmouth Harbour.

Its quintet of semaphores comprises a down (northbound) outer home signal (EBZ41) and a down home EBZ40 at the north end of platform 2, while three up signals are a home EBZ5, starter EBZ6 and an advanced starter EBZ7, which stands close to EBZ41.

What seems quite remarkable is that Britain’s fastest domestic trains, the South Eastern 140mph Class 395 “Javelin” units that operate the hourly St. Pancras International-Ramsgate services passing though Deal will have been regulated by state-of-the-art in-cab TVM-430 signalling on HS1 from London to Ashford, and conventional colour lights on the classic network through Dover, are then briefly controlled by semaphore signals.

Class 395 “Javelins” are now a mainstay of passenger services stopping at Deal, but the station does also see a significant number of weekday morning and evening services to and from London Charing Cross and Cannon Street stations that are formed of four-car Class 375 units, in 4,8 and 12-car formations.

Making my first return to Deal since December 2021 I was keen to capture trains passing its semaphores once again, both from the station and level crossing adjacent to the signal box, as well as the other two vantage points I discovered on my previous visit – a user-worked crossing north of the signal box and in a cul-de-sac called Ravenscourt Road that runs alongside the line south of the station.

The user-worked crossing at the end of Northwall Road is kept closed to traffic, with any vehicle driver required to use a lever to pump open the gates, while pedestrians use a side gate with no lock, but a light to warn of an approaching train. From here there is a good view looking south of up home signal EBZ5, which stands around 150 yards south of the crossing and has a huge sighting board behind the signal arm.

Photographing the two signals to the south of Deal station is made tricky by lineside vegetation, which makes capturing down outer home EBZ41 almost impossible. But from the end of Ravenscourt Road it is possible to get a reasonable shot of an up train approaching signal EBZ7, as seen below.

Besides its mechanical signalling interest, Deal is a remarkably attractive town in which to spend a few days, with fine coastal walks from Dover (10 miles) and to Sandwich (6 miles) as well as a wide selection of restaurants and some charming pubs, with my pick being the Ship Inn in Middle Street, where an excellent pint of locally-produced (Ramsgate) Gadds’ Brewery No. 7 Pale Ale (3.8%) cost me a modest £3.00.