Britain – RailwayWorld.net

Views from the castle: Shrewsbury and its semaphores

A view of the network’s last working lower quadrant distant signal as 67015 propels set HD05 past signals SBJ24/SUB59 with 1V42 from Manchester Piccadilly (12.30) to Cardiff Central

Three years on from my last visit (August 2023) and time for an overdue return to Shrewsbury, home to the finest collection of semaphore signals anywhere in Britain, with the aim of capturing some interesting workings from a fabulous vantage point in the castle and at Sutton Bridge Junction, a mile or so south of the station.

Starting on the station platforms (18 August 2026) my aim was to get a few shots of southbound trains passing some of the semaphores controlled by the world’s largest mechanical signal box (Severn Bridge Junction), and particularly its rare pair of centre pivot signals (SBJ11) at the south end of platform 7 and its newest semaphore (SBJ99) at the south end of platform 3.

Wasteful ticket machine madness

In an age when everything seems to be done on a smartphone and revenue protection staff and guards on trains seem entirely focused on scanning ticket QR codes on phones there is still something reassuring about holding and presenting a paper rail ticket, even it is barely glanced at on most of the trains I travel on.

As someone who usually buys in advance and collects my pre-paid tickets from a station ticket vending machine (TVM), what I have recently noticed is the ludicrous way in which a relatively simple journey means you are presented not only with the ticket coupons you want and a collection receipt, but also a handful of totally useless “seat reservations”.

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.

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.