Author: railwayworld53

Removal of a number of the semaphore signals controlled by Whittlesea Signal Box in early 2025 and imminent removal of its remaining down trio will leave just one significant outpost of mechanical signalling in East Anglia, apart from a few shunting arms at March and a solitary semaphore controlled by King’s Lynn Junction Signal Box.

That one remaining outpost of main-line mechanical signalling is Manea, a rather remote and sparsely-served village mid-way between March and Ely, where the elimination of main line mechanical signalling in East Anglia is expected to be completed when its quartet of semaphores is finally replaced.

Continue reading “Semaphore swansong at Manea”

Returning south from Newcastle after my visit to Prudhoe and a day riding the Tyne and Wear Metro, I decided to travel back via Carlisle and the WCML (on 24 April 2024), in order to spend a couple of hours at a remote location on the wonderful Tyne Valley Line that boasts the route’s only semaphore distant signal.

A location that I had only recently read about is Milton Gate Box, just east of the station and historic market town of Brampton, where a NER Type N2 box stands at a level crossing on the A689 and controls a trio of semaphores from its 10-lever Stevens frame, including a motor-worked up distant signal (1) close to Brampton station.

Continue reading “Tyne Valley distant delight”

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.

Continue reading “Postcard from Prudhoe”

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.

Continue reading “Tyne and Wear Metro in a day”

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).

Continue reading “Sun, semaphores and HSTs at St. Erth”

Cheltenham’s famous Gold Cup on Friday, 14 March 2025 saw a total of four extra GWR services run from London Paddington via Stroud and the Golden Valley route, while for really well-heeled punters there was the luxury Northern Belle Pullman service that ran via the Cotswold Line to Evesham.

That made the perfect excuse to take a trip ahead of the special as far as Moreton-in-Marsh, for the chance to photograph the Class 57-powered train passing some of the semaphore signals, before heading on to Honeybourne to capture the empty stock as it arrived in the sidings there.

Continue reading “Gold Cup special on the Cotswold Line”

More than five years after my previous visit (January 2020) it is time to pay a return visit to Wainfleet (13 March 2025) on the ever-charming 55-mile long Poacher Line from Grantham to Skegness, in the hope of seeing its two semaphore distant signals pulled off for a Class 43-powered NR test train.

This small Lincolnshire town, five miles south of Skegness, is home to the revered Bateman’s Brewery and to an unstaffed station boasting a fine Grade II-Listed Great Northern Railway signal box that dates from 1899 and controls a handful of semaphores, including distant signals W1 in the down direction and W22 on the up line.

Continue reading “Wonderful Wainfleet”

A forecast of fine weather persuaded me to take make a springtime return to Liskeard on Thursday, 6 March 2025, when my challenge was to see if it is possible to get any decent shots from west of the station showing trains approaching up outer home signal LD2 and crossing Moorswater Viaduct.

Having previously trekked out eastwards from the station to photograph trains passing down outer home signal LD35, this would hopefully be an opportunity to photograph the one of Liskeard’s six semaphores that had so far eluded my camera, and also what has been described as Cornwall’s most spectacular viaduct.

Continue reading “Return to Liskeard”