Closure of Barry signal box marks the end of an era (Barry & District News)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From Barry & District News:

Pic: Dinas Powys Pictures

THE SIGNAL box at Barry town railway station closed for the last time in its 117 year history last week.

The signal box, located at the end of the platform, will now be demolished in the next few weeks.

Following resignalling work, all the old semaphore signals that it controlled are now redundant so there is no need for a box and the levers it uses to control the signals and points.

All the modern signalling is controlled from Cardiff, with the closing down of the signal box being done in anticipation of the forthcoming electrification of the line.

Barry-born Michael Baker, 48, has admired the signal box for many years and finally had the opportunity to step inside it and fulfil a boyhood dream by pulling the levers before it was closed for good last Friday, June 27.

^It^s a very sad day for us trainspotters,^ he said.

^I'm appalled that this wonderful piece of Barry history will soon be demolished."

The grand box survived as a monument to Evans, O'Donnell & Co, who were the contractors that built the box, as two cast iron plates are mounted on the front of the box with their name on it.

When it first opened it was provided with a 117 lever frame, although this was replaced by a standard GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) frame in 1957, which was more recently shortened to 77 levers.

The area, which was the hub of the Barry Railway network, was originally controlled by a number of boxes, but today the box controls all that is left.

Until the closure of the other boxes, this one carried the name Barry Station.

Until 1895, Saxby & Farmer supplied the Barry railway's signalling equipment, but a switch was made to Evans & O'Donnell.

The design of the box is unusual - it is not a standard Evans, O'Donnell & Co. product, but appears to have been "lifted" from the Great Eastern Railway standard box of the 1884 to 1889 period.

At 9.30pm on Friday, June 27, it was all over. The box will soon be demolished and will sadly just be history and a distant memory to those that knew it.

[bobm]

Here was the 'box in all its glory just three weeks ago.



When I was there it seemed the lamp proving was having some problems as the junction signal to Barry Docks was taking a good few seconds to clear to green after the feathers had lit.  In the background to the left you can see one of the new signals waiting to be comissioned.



Meanwhile work on the new platform (right) was nearing completion.

[Rhydgaled]

Can't Network Rail put their gubbins in former signal boxes rather than REBs (Relocatable Equipment Buildings) as the former are generally much more aesthetically pleasing than the latter (which, essentially, are portacabins)? The new single-aspect colour lights are also aesthetically poor compared to the three/four-aspect ones and, particularly, semaphores.

[BerkshireBugsy]

Many thanks for sharing the news article and recent pictures.

I haven't been to Barry for years and it brought back many memories.

Sad news about the box being demolished (IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion))

[ellendune]

Can't Network Rail put their gubbins in former signal boxes rather than REBs (Relocatable Equipment Buildings) as the former are generally much more aesthetically pleasing than the latter (which, essentially, are portacabins)? The new single-aspect colour lights are also aesthetically poor compared to the three/four-aspect ones and, particularly, semaphores.

The point of REBs is that they are built and tested in a factory so that the lime taken on site is drastically reduced.

If they put the equipment in the existing signal box they would have to remove the old signalling first and do the necessary changes to the building then assemble and test the new equipment on site so that would be several weeks of closure.

[Electric train]

Can't Network Rail put their gubbins in former signal boxes rather than REBs (Relocatable Equipment Buildings) as the former are generally much more aesthetically pleasing than the latter (which, essentially, are portacabins)? The new single-aspect colour lights are also aesthetically poor compared to the three/four-aspect ones and, particularly, semaphores.

The point of REBs is that they are built and tested in a factory so that the lime taken on site is drastically reduced.

If they put the equipment in the existing signal box they would have to remove the old signalling first and do the necessary changes to the building then assemble and test the new equipment on site so that would be several weeks of closure.

A lot of these old buildings structurally are in a poor condition, not necessarily all down to NR^» (Network Rail - home page) its just been poor maintenance for the last 50 / 60 years.  Also these signal boxes were built for a purpose it is difficult to adapt then for the modern use.

REB's will be built to last the life expectancy of the signalling system being installed, just as the signal boxes were designed for the life of the system.

I like to see these old boxes and signalling system as much as I like to see steam trains but as a railway engineer I want to see a modern vibrant railway system that can handle the demands of the 21st century, so the place for these old systems is on heritage railways.

[Rhydgaled]

I like to see these old boxes and signalling system as much as I like to see steam trains but as a railway engineer I want to see a modern vibrant railway system that can handle the demands of the 21st century, so the place for these old systems is on heritage railways.

Agreed on the need for modern signalling, but I was wondering if it really has to involve ugly REBs. My suggestion was basically hiding the modern equipment in the empty shell of an older, better looking, structure. ellendune made a good point though that you need to minimise closure time while the old signalling is replaced with the new, and you also made good points about the condition of the existing buildings and difficulty in adapting them.

Maybe a quicker, cheaper and eaiser way of modernising without creating too many eyesores would be to build a new shell designed to look like an old signal box around the REB once it is installed and working. You mention heritage railways, why shouldn't parts of the national network, particularly the quieter branches, look like one (Birmingham Moor Street seems to be praised quite a bit, and that's not even on a quiet branch)?

[Electric train]

Maybe a quicker, cheaper and eaiser way of modernising without creating too many eyesores would be to build a new shell designed to look like an old signal box around the REB once it is installed and working. You mention heritage railways, why shouldn't parts of the national network, particularly the quieter branches, look like one (Birmingham Moor Street seems to be praised quite a bit, and that's not even on a quiet branch)?

Who pays?  Putting a shell around something just for cosmetics costs money, so unless it is in a conservation area the standard design REB's will be the norm

[eightf48544]

Is the frame/locking frame being retained and offered to a heritage railway?
to scrap it would be a shame.

It could be broken down into smaller sections with less kl
levers each.

[Electric train]

Is the frame/locking frame being retained and offered to a heritage railway?
to scrap it would be a shame.

It could be broken down into smaller sections with less kl
levers each.

Yes I expect it is, unless NR^» (Network Rail - home page) need it for spares

[Bomba]

As a railway enthusiast I am very sad to see the closure of Barry signal box but I accept it is progress. I am currently photographing all the remaining signal boxes in South Wales and south of Hereford on the Marches line. It still fascinates me that Victorian technology still exists on our network to this day and I want to capture as much as I can before the signal boxes and semaphores become history. I was able to take this shot of a Class 60 locomotive passing Barry signal box about an hour before the box closed. A rare sight indeed to see a Class 60 loco on a coal train in South Wales (the loco is now in storage) and poignant as it was the last day of operation for the signal box after 117 years of operational service - https://www.flickr.com/photos/99220921@N03/14338142887/

[BerkshireBugsy]

As a railway enthusiast I am very sad to see the closure of Barry signal box but I accept it is progress. I am currently photographing all the remaining signal boxes in South Wales and south of Hereford on the Marches line. It still fascinates me that Victorian technology still exists on our network to this day and I want to capture as much as I can before the signal boxes and semaphores become history. I was able to take this shot of a Class 60 locomotive passing Barry signal box about an hour before the box closed. A rare sight indeed to see a Class 60 loco on a coal train in South Wales (the loco is now in storage) and poignant as it was the last day of operation for the signal box after 117 years of operational service - https://www.flickr.com/photos/99220921@N03/14338142887/

Great picture - I lived in South Wales for 15 years and my regret is I didn't get photos of the coal mines before they closed.

[Rhydgaled]

As a railway enthusiast I am very sad to see the closure of Barry signal box but I accept it is progress. I am currently photographing all the remaining signal boxes in South Wales and south of Hereford on the Marches line. It still fascinates me that Victorian technology still exists on our network to this day and I want to capture as much as I can before the signal boxes and semaphores become history. I was able to take this shot of a Class 60 locomotive passing Barry signal box about an hour before the box closed. A rare sight indeed to see a Class 60 loco on a coal train in South Wales (the loco is now in storage) and poignant as it was the last day of operation for the signal box after 117 years of operational service - https://www.flickr.com/photos/99220921@N03/14338142887/

Last time I was a Whitland I noticed the semaphores I had been used to seeing there were gone. The one on the platform for the bay has been replaced by a colour light but the double one out on the P&T branch does not apear to have been replaced. At Carmarthen even the colour lights have been replaced, with dreadful looking things (single-aspect lights if I remember correctly).

[Chris from Nailsea]

Many thanks for posting that detailed and heartfelt introduction, Bomba - and may I offer you a very warm welcome to the Coffee Shop forum!