Well, it would seem there's plenty of scope for confusion! Hopefully this post will deal with some of the oddities, rule out the absurd, and maybe even share a bit of the history; all coupled to recent progress.
Kirkby Stephen East. Well, that's obvious, isn't it? The most easterly-located station in Kirkby Stephen. Meaning the other station (on the Settle - Carlisle) was called Kirkby Stephen West.
But for many years, such a distinction was unnecessary: it was either the North Eastern station or the Midland station, according to the operators of the lines in question. Even after the Grouping, the two stations were run by different companies, so the distinction between the stations fell in line with this: either LNER or LMS!
The issue only really arose after Nationalisation, when both stations serving Kirkby Stephen came under the control of BR, albeit different regions initially. In order to try and make it easier for their customers, the use of East and West came about, when referring to the stations. Even today, KSW is used as the abbreviation for Kirkby Stephen on the Settle-Carlisle, and we are Kirkby Stephen East.
So where does that leave us with signal box names?
Originally, 'our' station had two signalboxes to control the layout at either end. They were simply known as Kirkby Stephen East (at the East end) and Kirkby Stephen West (...at the West end). This wasn't quite geographical, but reflected the overall route of the Railway.
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| Kirkby Stephen East Box courtesy of NERA |
The small, West box (which we have been rebuilding) was replaced by a larger structure, containing more levers, as it was found to be too small, fairly early on. The name transferred over to the new building. With BR's naming alterations to the stations, there was potential for confusion: you could have had 'Kirkby Stephen East, West box', but this box was instead renamed Kirkby Stephen Junction to try and distinguish it from Kirkby Stephen East (at the goods yard end of the site of the North Eastern station) and Kirkby Stephen West (at the Midland station) boxes...
If you're still following: well done!
So, the signalbox we've rebuilt is called Kirkby Stephen West, so as to distinguish it from the Junction box, and with a nod to history.
From studying old photos of the station area, an enamel name board can clearly be seen on the East box in early days. This also matched the name board from Waitby Crossing, which we have in the museum. It was decided we required a new, enamel name board, of the same style as the two mentioned.
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The name board from Waitby Crossing
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From this point, a very kind offer from MRFS came in: to produce the artwork for the vitreous enamellers, so that it would make the whole process straightforward.
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| A selection from MRFS' work to create the artwork |
A lot of time was taken to get the individual letters correct, as well as the original makers mark!
This artwork was sent on to Trico-VE in Crossflatts, and they produced the sign for us, in time for the gala weekend. It was displayed inside the box for all the visitors to admire.
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| The sign on display during the gala |
I had envisaged the fitting of the board to be a very simple task: that it would simply be screwed straight onto one of the string courses. However, that idea was swiftly turned down as the East box board was onto the rough stone, and thus a backboard was needed!
Rob had a suitable lump of nice timber from a former bench top, although it really didn't look like much to start with! A quick plane down of the surfaces, cutting to size and routing of the edges followed, to produce the backboard. Finally, a lot of sanding and Danish Oil to give a good, waterproof finish.
Once the backboard was made, and suitable brass screws found, it was over to Bob and Barry to position and attach it to the box that they and the rest of their team have rebuilt so well. Getting it to look right as well as actually being centred and level was another challenge!
More updates coming soon!
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