KSE Signalling Project

Today saw us make further progress on the shuttering for the signal box foundations—pinning, bracing, and stiffening the timbers that will resist the tremendous force exerted by 25 tons of wet concrete. We are almost ready, but not quite, as we still need to lay the steel reinforcing mesh that will further bind and strengthen the concrete. Only then can we begin laying the first courses of blockwork, marking the gradual, phoenix-like rise of this building from the rubble of yesteryear and the dead hand of British Railways. And the story of its return is only just beginning..

Following on from the previous two posts concerning Central Division signals, we now have Part 3.. This concerns a trip Matt and I made, up to Fighting Cocks Station, near Darlington, to meet up with Norman Hugill. The original (Central Division!) signal from the station has been returned there, to (hopefully) be re-erected as a reminder of the line. However, for the time being, it lies in its component parts, and includes various parts we have not seen anywhere else! Particularly of note is the landing and the balance lever arrangement. Both of which we need to duplicate in order to complete our signals at KSE! We duly headed up, armed with tape measures, pens and a clipboard. The arm. First of all, we discovered the original wooden arm was only 4' in length (which would give 3'6" beyond the post), although it does look shorter than most from the photos in situ. Secondly, the edges were all rounded off, which answered a question I'd had rumbling around in the back of ...

Following on from the previous blog post, dealing with the problems we found with the CD signals and the research, we set to, and trimmed a main arm down by 6", with the ability to take off another 6" if need be, later*. Having chopped it down, a test was in order, which necessitated the removal of the arm we'd fitted to the Fixed Stop signal at the top of the site. This should have been very simple, but we found the paint had stuck the washer plate onto the arm. We just left it attached, deciding that we could attack it on the ground, later if need be! Shortened arm in place, and looking better-proportioned than the 'technically correct' version! The shortened arm (measuring at 4' projecting beyond the post) was slotted in and secured with a single bolt. And it returned to the horizontal position perfectly, on its own! Success!! Sadly we couldn't just leave it like this, and took it back indoors so that it could be fully painted. The opportunity was taken...

Looking back over recent work and previous blog posts, there is more to report on the North Eastern Railway, Central Division signals. A lot of research and a lot of physical work has been taking place in order to get the arms themselves sorted. As you may remember, or have noted from previous entries, the Central Division was unusual on the NER in NOT having slotted posts, with the arms inside. Very few bits of CD signals remain, and we were lucky enough to have a complete set of castings for the masthead.  When it came to the length of the arms, however, things got a little trickier, since initially we did not have any drawings or specifications. Fortunately, at Kew, there are various documents and drawings. We were given a photograph of one of these drawings, which contained what we thought was a definitive answer: the arms are shown as being 4'6" long, beyond the end of the arm weight casting. Having tried to source these in Cedar without any success (they are rather large...

No rest for the Moles. We've been putting off digging for the next benches that require installation, owing to the need to get the box progressed with the frame, in readiness for the big gala... Whilst the weather is good, we could no longer put off the digging, and set to with the largest excavation. Just outside the box, we squeeze a bench for most of the signal wires to run on flat wheels, carrying them underneath the 4 lines. In the same place, we have to get wire stakes in place for the other signal wires, ducts to feed on to the Junction box as well as leaving enough space for the drainage run. We moved the bench so that it was adjacent to the hole, using a small trolley. Timmy's help with the digging wasn't necessarily constuctive... If that weren't enough, the ground we had to dig, to the levels required, had a few 'challenges' to overcome. Such as big rocks, cement leftovers from the building works and a mound of rubble! Motivational encouragement was p...

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,...

...and planning ahead for their maintenance! Quite a lot of repetitive actions here: drilling out greaseways, tapping to fit grease nipples, bolting things together! First up were the balance levers for the LMS-pattern ground signals. These had previously had grease nipples fitted in most cases, so only required the threads cleaning up with a tap. The one that hadn't, required drilling out first. Why so many balance levers for just 2 signals? Well, this is a case of planning ahead. The two signals in question née to be able to be controlled from either the S&D box OR the Junction box. This is done by each signal having a wire from each box to a shortened balance lever, and whichever is operated will lift the longer lever (by means of a solid bar welded to it, which will be completed shortly!). Control between the two boxes is to be tied up electrically and mechanically. Hence, 6 levers for 2 signals! It was then on to the LNER-pattern ground signals, which were originally drill...

This post covers progress with the NER Central Division signals. Previously we drilled all the front bearing castings for the NER CD signals. This left the rear bearing castings to tackle, but these are slightly more complicated, as the hole needs to be drilled at an angle, so as to match the post taper. This was achieved by marking out the centre, then carefully setting up the casting on the radial arm drilled table, clamped accordingly. A pilot hole followed, being opened out gradually until 1.1/4" diameter was reached. Note the shimming at the two ends of the casting to get the required taper The corner mounting holes will be marked out individually to suit the individual posts: just to take into account and variations in the drilling. Hopefully they will all end up the same... Once the first on was completed, it was fitted to the post for No.17 (the Tebay platform starter), marking the first new CD signal assembly for well over 100 years! The spectacles required a little more ...