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Semaphores and specials at Moreton-in-Marsh

ScotRail-liveried 47593 “Galloway Princess” powers the Avon Gorgeous railtour (1Z47) from Crewe to Bristol Temple Meads on 1 August, with 47712 “Lady Diana Spencer” at the rear

There are a number of places across the UK railway network that I never tire of re-visiting, and one of these is Moreton-in-Marsh on the delightful Cotswold Line from Worcester to Oxford, where there is an irresistible combination of semaphore signalling and Donnington Brewery beers to savour.

My excuse for a trio of summer time visits was the chance to photograph a Network Rail test train making its monthly visit to the Cotswold Line on 8 July 2026, then a charter special, the “Avon Gorgeous”, passing through Moreton on 1 August with its working from Crewe to Bristol via Oxford and finally some interesting empty stock workings on 3 August.

Significant signalling changes for the York-Scarborough Line

185132 passes signal BH14 and Barton Hill Signal Box on 28 July with 1P26 from Scarborough (13.53) to Manchester Victoria

Along with the loss of gate boxes and signalling at Marston Moor and Hessay on the Harrogate Line, described in my June 2026 feature, another North-East route where significant signalling changes are planned is the 42-mile long York-Scarborough Line, where mechanical signalling currently survives at four of the seven signal and gate boxes on this route.

Changes due to take place early in 2027 will see abolition of a small gate box at Howsham, with the removal of semaphores here and at nearby Barton Hill Signal Box, with the latter box being retained, and a signalling panel and crossing barriers installed that will allow the box to assume control of the level crossing at Howsham Gates.

Silly Season on the Sunshine Coast

720122 returns to Claction station after being detached from its arriving train (1N18)

As the world’s media feasts on the ultimate silly season story and predicts a close race between Reform leader Nigel Farage and Count Binface in the comical and record breaking Clacton-on-Sea by-election, what better time than now to take a first ever trip along the Sunshine Coast Line.

There are very few parts of our national rail network I have not travelled, but one missing link until now has been the 18-mile double track route from Colchester to the Essex resort, along with the five-mile single-track offshoot from Thorpe-le-Soken to Frinton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze.

Loco action at Abergavenny

67012 + set HD04 approach Abergavenny with 1W57 from Cardiff Central (10.53) to Manchester Piccadilly

Having enjoyed the sight of some interesting special workings in Devon and Cornwall over the past couple of weeks, the promise of more loco action tempts me to pay my first visit for two and a half years (on 2 July 2026) to ever-charming Abergavenny on the Marches Line from Newport to Shrewsbury.

My last visit in January 2024 had led me to discovering a fine vantage point in some woods just south of the station and signal box, so after taking shots looking south from the station’s old footbridge, my plan was to venture back to this spot in the hope of photographing some loco workings passing the Abergavenny semaphores.

Summer specials in the South-West

37521/667 are about to pass signal LD34 with 1Z51 from Derby (04.50) to Penzance

SIX MONTHS before nationalisation threatens to cost me my FirstGroup employee travel concessions on GWR, as has already happened on SWR, and the promise of fine weather tempts me to take a couple of rail trips to the South-West on consecutive Saturdays (20/27 June 2026) to photograph special workings heading to Devon and Cornwall.

First up was a trip to the famous sea wall at Dawlish on 20 June, where in the space of less than five minutes there was the sight of two special workings bound for Torbay, with LNER B1 Mayflower (61306) heading to Kingswear, closely followed by Hastings units 1001/1013 on an epic run from Hastings to Paignton.

Steaming down the Main Street

99-2322 approaches Bad Doberan Stadtmitte on 23 June with the 06.40 from Kühlungsborn West

Being the proud holder of a Deutschland Ticket (D-ticket) for the month of June 2026 (€63.00) I am tempted to follow-up my highly enjoyable visit to the Harz Mountains with a visit to another of the splendid steam-worked narrow gauge systems in eastern Germany, and spend a couple of nights at Bad Doberan, near the Baltic Coast.

Returning for the first time in seven years (Baltic beauties-October 2019) and once again staying in the hotel with a railway station on its doorstep (Bad Doberan Stadtmitte) I am back to savour the charming 15.4km (9.6-mile) 900mm-gauge Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn, better known as the Molli (Mollibahn).

Harz steam action with a Deutschland Ticket

Moments after a heavy downpour 99-7243 almost slips to a halt on 11 June 2026 as it storms out of Alexisbad with train 8963 from Quedlinburg (10.35) to Strassberg (Harz)

German Railways (Deutsche Bahn) may come it for a lot of criticism these days over reliability and punctuality, but for anyone visiting this fascinating country and happy to avoid the faster IC/ICE trains, there is a remarkable bargain to be had in the month-long Deutschland Ticket (D-ticket), costing just €63.00 (£55.00).

Not only does this offer unlimited travel on all local and regional trains and buses, but it is also valid for travel on a host of narrow-gauge railways in eastern Germany, including most of the world’s finest steam-worked network, the remarkable Harzer Schmalspur Bahnen (HSB) metre-gauge system.

Major signalling changes for the Harrogate Line

170473 approaches Hessay down distant signal H5 on 31 May 2026 with 2C31 from York to Leeds

Plans for the automation of two level crossings on the York-Leeds “Harrogate Line” will mean a major reduction in semaphore signalling at the remarkable eastern end of this fascinating route, between Harrogate and Poppleton, a growing village three miles north-west of York city centre.

Over the course of 5¾ miles of single line between the stations of Hammerton and Poppleton the half-hourly trains between York and Harrogate will pass three level crossings – Wilstrop, Marston Moor and Hessay – each currently boasting gate boxes with up and down home and distant signals, all but one of which are semaphores.

Signal boxes and semaphores on the Conwy Valley Line

197017 departs platform 2 at Llandudno on 19 May 2026 with 2D65 (15.04) to Llandudno Junction

North Wales lost much of its mechanical signalling interest almost a decade ago, when a £50m upgrade project was commissioned in March 2018 and swept away seven signal boxes between Chester and Colwyn Bay, leaving just two notable outposts further west, towards Holyhead and Llandudno.

Having been lucky enough to visit and photograph the five historic signal and gate boxes on the Isle of Anglesey in November 2025, I am now indebted to Network Rail once again for the chance to visit the other outpost of semaphore signalling – a trio of signal boxes controlling the 31-mile long Conwy Valley Line.

Sunshine and semaphores in the South-West

158958 with 2P19 from Penzance (14.50) to Plymouth passes 800308 with 1C76 from London Paddington (10.03) to Penzance

After five days’ walking a highly-scenic stretch of the South West Coast Path from Padstow to St. Ives with a group of friends, time for a couple of trips on the marvellous St. Ives Bay Line using a bargain-priced Day Ranger (£2.75 with railcard) then a walk south from St. Erth to the remote Rosengrouse Road over-bridge to capture trains passing Britain’s most south-westerly semaphores.

My luck was in on the afternoon of 13 May 2026 when not only did the sun shine, but I had the luck to capture two trains passing the semaphore signals that can be seen looking back from the bridge towards St. Erth, with up outer home signal SE68 on the left, alongside down section signal SE7.