Monday 7 Dec 2009
LIFT OFF! CRANE SIGNALS FINAL JOURNEY FOR BARNHAM BOX
- Region & Route:
- | Southern
After almost a century of controlling the signals and points on the railway from east of Bognor Regis to west of Arundel, Barnham's historic signal box has made the 1.8 mile journey from the town's station to its new home at Aldingbourne playing fields, where it will start its life as a community centre.
The delicate operation, which took place despite wet and windy conditions on Sunday morning, was the culmination of years of hard work and fundraising and months of planning. It involved lifting the five-tonne structure by crane from the middle platform of Barnham station and putting it onto a large low-loader. The signal box then made the three-hour journey across the town before being lifted onto the new pre-built foundations at its new home. Along the way approximately 100 telephone lines had to be moved out of the way one at a time.
Fiona Taylor, Network Rail's route director for Sussex, said: "Passengers travelling through Barnham are already benefitting from the new signalling centre which is more suited to the needs of the modern railway. It’s important to get the right balance between using the latest technology to run an efficient and reliable train service and preserving Britain’s rich railway history. In this case, we're pleased the historic signal box, which is a genuine railway legacy, can continue to play an important role in the community.
"Because of the age of the old signal box, we had to bring in a specialist team to relocate it to its new home. This was not an easy task, but now the box has been moved successfully, work can start on restoring it to its former glory.”
Andy Ayling from the Save Barnham Signal Box campaign group added: "We are indebted to those generous sponsors who have given their support to this relocation project. Without their help, it would not have been possible to preserve this fine example of Edwardian railway heritage.
"Now the signal box is in its new home, we can focus on raising funds for the final part of the restoration work so the community can start benefitting from this facility. Any donations will be welcome."
Notes to editors
About the old Barnham signal box:
- It was built in 1911 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR).
- It had 75 levers to control points and signals.
- The signal levers formed part of a fully mechanical signalling system which were linked via pulleys, wheels and long lengths of steel wires to signals along the track.
- The signallers had to compensate for variations in temperature, especially in the summer, by turning large steel wheels which took up or let out the slack in the steel signal wires as they expanded or contracted.
- Points were connected to steel tubular rods which were controlled via levers in the signal box.
- An ingenious system developed in Victorian times used a series of metal bars to make sure levers could only be pulled in a certain sequence. This was one of the first reliable methods of preventing train accidents.
- Barnham sigal box used to be manned by one signaller who worked a 24 hour shift.
- The old Barnham signal box closed at the end of 2008.
About the new Barnham signalling centre:
- Barnham signalling centre opened at the end of 2008.
- It controls roughly the same area of the old signal box, however, its light years apart from the technology used in the old signalling system.
- There are no longer any levers, rods or pulleys. The Barnham signalling centre features a state-of-the-art signalling system using modern computerised systems and processors to control signalling in the area.
SCHEME SPONSORS:
The Barnham signal box could not have been saved without generous support from a number of organisations and individuals, including Network Rail, Railway Heritage Trust, Southern Railway, the Duke of Norfolk and West Sussex County Council.
Several other companies and individuals have also been extremely generous in sponsoring this community project, including:
- Dudmans
- Topblock
- May Gurney
- Constructive Evaluation
- GaugeMaster of Ford
- Brian McCarey
- BCM Construction
- BSC Design
THE FUTURE:
Funding is required to complete the full restoration of the building, including:
- Installing new floors new floor
- Refitting the access to the balcony and the steps to the first floor.
- Replacing rotten timbers
- Connecting utilities
- Fencing and landscaping the site
- Painting the building
- Restoring the window boxes
- Improving disabled access
- Enhancing security and the internal sprinkler system
Anyone interested in supporting this venture should contact Mike Burton (woodgate37@btinternet.com). Donations should be made payable to ‘Save Barnham Signal Box Campaign’ and sent to SBSBC, c/o Aldingbourne Community Sports Centre, Olivers Meadow, Westergate, Chichester, PO20 3YA
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