Saturday, February 15, 2014

Ketton signal box, 2013

Deutsche Version dieses Postings

Here are a few photos from an operational signal box with a traditional lever frame. Ketton signal box is on the Birmingham to Peterborough line, next to a level crossing, which it controls together with a crossover and a track into a cement factory:

Ketton signal box, August 2013

Ketton signal box, August 2013

Ketton signal box, August 2013

The most interesting feature of the Ketton signal box is a lower quadrant semaphore in a tight curve. Because of that curve, it is placed on the wrong side of the track, namely next to the right track, although of course it controls train movements on the left track!

Semaphore, Ketton, August 2013

Here is a train coming from the west. One can see that the signal is high enough so that it can be seen from a train on the left track even if there is another train on the right track:

Semaphore, Ketton, August 2013

Ketton signal box, August 2013

A short time later, another train is going in the opposite direction—unfortunately, I did not catch it at the signal:

Semaphore, Ketton, August 2013

Level crossing, Ketton, August 2013

Ketton, August 2013

And here are a few photos of the frame in the signal box. Almost all operational levers (but not the white spares) have shortened handles to indicate that they work electrically controlled devices. The one exception is the lever for the semaphore which can be seen right after the row of spares:

Ketton signal box, August 2013

This is, as far as I know, the control stand for the barriers:

Ketton signal box, August 2013

The blue lever that is reversed here unlocks a ground frame for points leading into the large Ketton cement works—obviously, a train is shunting there, but I had forgotten to take a photo when it had rumbled by a few minutes earlier:

Ketton signal box, August 2013

Here is the block shelf with the track diagram:

Ketton signal box, August 2013

And here is a final shot of the tranquil surroundings of the level crossing:

Ketton level crossing, August 2013

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