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Seeing Hitachi Class 80x IET units passing semaphore signals has become an everyday sight on GWR services in Cornwall, but there is only one place in England where LNER Azuma trains are regularly signalled by semaphores.

While there are numerous locations on the Highland and East Coast Main Lines north of the border to see Azumas and semaphores, the only location to witness such a combination in England is at remote Swinderby, mid-way between Newark and Lincoln.

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES have taken place on the charming Harrogate Line since my last visit two years ago (blog 8 September 2019) but for now, at least, most of the remarkable mechanical signalling interest remains along the 17½ miles of route between Harrogate and Poppleton, on the northern outskirts of York.

Over the course of the delightful 35-minute trip from York you will pass no less than 11 locations that feature some semaphore signalling, comprising six signal boxes – Poppleton, Hammerton, Cattal, Knaresborough, Starbeck and Harrogate – along with five gate boxes at Hessay, Marston Moor, Wilstrop, Whixley and Belmont.

When I described the handful of mechanical signals at Deal as “Kent’s last semaphores” in a feature last month, a reader helpfully pointed out that there were actually two others in the county, at Grain on the freight-only branch from Hoo Junction to Thamesport. 

Discovering not only that their days were numbered, but also that the diminutive Grain Crossing Signal Box is a unique design that enjoys a Grade II Listing for its rarity, meant that it was high time to pay a first ever visit to the remarkable Isle of Grain.

As another year blighted by the spectre of COVID-19 draws to a close, and all the signs are that we are about to face another winter of travel restrictions, this seems a good moment to briefly cast aside health worries and take a look back at some UK railway images of the past year.

Despite not being able to take any rail trips until late April, I was fortunate enough to be able to make numerous trips around the country in the following months, so what follows is a selection of 21 favourite images from 2021.

TEN YEARS after a major re-signalling project in East Kent led to the loss of mechanical signalling at Canterbury East and at Shepherdswell, near Dover, there remains one place in the Garden of England where our fastest domestic trains are controlled by semaphore signals.

When that East Kent re-signalling project was completed at the end of 2011 it left an isolated outpost of mechanical signalling at Deal, where a handful of semaphores remain controlled by its 1939-vintage art deco style signal box, known as a Southern Railway Type 13, which also controls a level crossing just north of the station. 

Less than two years before its loss to re-signalling it is time to pay another visit on Monday, 6 December 2021 to the Royal Duchy, and spend a few hours photographing the fine collection of semaphores that are controlled by Truro Signal Box.

Truro is one of three locations along the main line in Cornwall, along with Par and Lostwithiel, both of which I re-visited and featured earlier in the year, that is due to close in autumn 2023 when control is taken over by Exeter Power Signal Box. 

THREE YEARS after I wrote a feature lamenting the continued absence of weekday trains to Okehampton (blog: 12 August 2018) it was a great pleasure to be able to travel on the first weekday service to and from the important Dartmoor town in over 49 years.

While I had only expected to see a handful of hardy souls aboard the 06.29 departure from Exeter St. David’s on that inaugural weekday journey (Monday, 22 November 2021), what came as a shock was the lack of custom for the 07.20 departure from Okehampton, pictured above, the commuter service that reaches Exeter Central at 08.05.

Along with the semaphores at Gobowen which I featured last month (2 October 2021) one other outpost of mechanical signalling in this area is at Penyffordd, a remote station along the 27-mile long Borderlands Line linking Wrexham with Bidston on the Wirral.

Penyffordd is a quiet and pleasant spot that is seven miles north of Wrexham, where a relatively modern (BR London Midland Region, 1972) signal box controls a handful of semaphores from its 25-lever frame, as well as releasing a ground frame controlling access to a nearby cement works.