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Blyth & Tyne Signal Box Visits - Part 2
Friday 28th June 2019

Report by Anthony Gray & Nick Jones


Hirst Lane: (3m 21ch from Bedlington Jn) Like Bedlington, Ashington station (2m 77ch) retains its platforms and there are serious hopes of reopening as a passenger terminus. Ashington signal box closed in 2010 but Hirst Lane Gate Box (on the edge of the town centre) remains, a portable building surrounded by a high palisade fence. The gated level crossing has a fixed distant signal and a stop board in each direction to protect it. The crossing keeper's accommodation is in a converted container. The keeper closes the gates manually (following telephone calls from the Marcheys House signaller) and shows a green flag, authorising the train driver to pass the relevant stop board.

Winning: (0m 36c from West Sleekburn Jn) This is another distinctively named box (no doubt the source of many jokes over the years), the name refers to West Sleekburn Colliery (open 1859-1962) a few hundred yards away. In Victorian times the word 'winning' often referred to a newly discovered coal seam before it was officially named; the colliery was originally referred to as 'The New Winning'.

Winning controls the double line junction between the line from West Sleekburn Jn to North Blyth and the little used double track curve from Marcheys House to Winning Crossing Jn. It additionally controls the adjacent lifting barrier level crossing. The Down direction is from (Bedlington) Sleekburn Jn towards Blyth and Winning to Marcheys House. Due to the triangle trains from North Blyth towards Marcheys House are 'Up' as far as Winning and 'Down' trains onwards to Marcheys House!

Absolute Block working applies Winning to Freemans, Marcheys House and Bedlington North using BR standard block instruments. There are 15 levers; 9 operational. All signals are semaphores except for the colour light section signal to Freemans (No10) and the Up distant from Freemans (No1). There is one semaphore stop signal on each line per direction. The Up line from the Freemans direction is track circuited from the junction home signals (Nos2 & 3) to the respective fouling points beyond the junction. The other way track circuits extend from the respective home signals to the section signal to Freemans (No10). The distant signal from Marcheys House is fixed as is the distant from West Sleekburn direction (yellow aspect on Bedlington North section signal No46). Line clear release is provided on No10 signal. Relays are mounted in glass fronted wooden cabinets on the operating floor.


Hirst Lane Gate Box and level crossing on the outskirts of Ashington.
[© Nick Jones 2019]




Winning Signal Box diagram, instruments and lever frame.
[© Nick Jones 2019]




Winning Signal Box diagram.
[© Nick Jones 2019]




Outside Winning box (the late Angus McDougall is far left).
[© Nick Jones 2019]




View west from inside the box, the rare curve to Marcheys is right.
[© Nick Jones 2019]


Freemans (1m 31ch from West Sleekburn Jn) Our seventh and final location was by far the 'newest' box of the day (apart from Hirst Lane portable building!). The box - which replaced an earlier one on the same site - was opened by British Railways to control the connection to Blyth 'A' Power Station, on which construction began in 1955. It began generating in 1958, was fully commissioned in 1960 and closed in 1991. The nearby, but separate, Blyth 'B' Power Station was built between Dec 1961 and was fully commissioned by Sep 1966 at which time their combined 1,730MW capacity made this the largest UK electricity generation site. The 'B' station closed in 2001, the site has been cleared and is finally being redeveloped, but the rusting stubs of the two separate power station branches can still be seen.

Freemans is another distinctively named box. Although it has proved difficult to confirm the meaning of the name, the road over the crossing (now Wembley Gardens) served Cambois (pronounced 'Cammus') Farm originally. Around 1862, the farm seems to have passed into the ownership of a Mr Patrick Freeman. With the North Eastern Railway's Cambois Branch opening in 1867, the level crossing and (original) box would have been needed to maintain access to Mr Freeman's property - and seems the likely origin of the name. The power stations were also known as 'Cambois' as was the BR Depot.

The box dates from 1956 and the Individual Function Switch (IFS) panel from 1982. Two IFS panel units were supplied at that time (one for points, one for signals) but only one survives, controlling both points and signals. The line from Winning is double track worked Absolute Block with a standard British Rail Instrument. The line onwards towards Battleship Wharf and North Blyth is now single track (the Cambois Single) with one train working, controlled by an Annett key which must be placed in the Hepper's instrument at Freemans for the interlock on the Down starting signal (807) to be released. The Down direction is towards North Blyth (the Down Cambois) and the Up direction is towards Winning (Up Cambois). A Down direction movement towards North Blyth off the Up line at Freemans is controlled by Ground Signal 5450 which also requires the Annett key to be placed in the Hepper's instrument at Freemans to release the interlock. All running signals at Freemans (805, 807, 802, 808 and 5450) are colour light except the Up distant which takes the form of a distant board.

Freemans operates the barrier crossing by the box. Crossings on the line towards Blyth and Battleship Wharf are Traincrew Operated Crossings, that at Battleship Wharf is lifting barriers and manual gates at Cambois. The latter are protected by distant and stop boards in each direction. Battleship Wharf crossing is protected by a stop board in the Up direction but as Down trains passing over the crossing have to stop at the Ground Frame, there is no requirement for a stop board in that direction.

There are two ground frames released by the Annett key on the single line, a 3-lever frame accesses Battleship Wharf and a two lever frame controlling a derailer at North Blyth. The derailer is protected by distant and stop boards in the Down direction and a stop board in the Up direction. There are still coal trains once or twice a week from Battleship Wharf to Tees Yard - it is brought in by road from Shotton, Cramlington & Seaton Burn opencast sites and is the last regular coal traffic on the Blyth & Tyne. (Previously coal has come in by rail for blending with imported coal.) The 1.1km branch was only built in 2006, (first train 18 Sep 2006, initially imported coal) and was visited by UK Railtour's Old Battle Axe on 18 Jan 2014. North Blyth sends up to three trains of imported alumina to Fort William a week.

This day of signal box visits raised £330 for Derek Westhorpe's nominated charity, Cancer Research UK. A massive thank you to Derek and his staff for a fascinating, informative and enjoyable day.


Freemans Signal Box.
[© Nick Jones 2019]




(TRACKmaps 2 p23C Oct 2016) View east from Freemans towards North Blyth; the connections to the former Blyth Power Stations are on the right.
[© Nick Jones 2019]




View west towards Winning - the road is the A189 dual carriageway.
[© Nick Jones 2019]




You never know what you will find on a signal box visit…
[© Nick Jones 2019]




In case you wondered what a Hepper's Instrument looks like - see report later! (The note reads: 'Insert Key & REMEMBER to Turn Clockwise'.)
[© Nick Jones 2019]




Freemans Signal Box diagram
[© Nick Jones 2019]

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