Signal box reopens as working museum

5 hours ago

Jacob Panons,in Haslemereand

Tanya Gupta,South East

News image — The signal box controlled train movements before signalling was modernised

Haslemere Signal Box Trust A black-and-white photograph shows the interior of a signal box with a long row of signalling levers. A railway worker stands beside the equipment. Large windows, control diagrams and traditional signalling apparatus are visible throughout the room. — The signal box controlled train movements before signalling was modernised

A Victorian signal box in Surrey is reopening to visitors after being transformed into a heritage attraction.

The Grade II-listed Haslemere signal box, which directed trains on the Portsmouth Direct Line until last year, will open on Sunday as part of a project to preserve railway history.

The Haslemere Signal Box Trust plans to open the site on the second and fourth Sundays of each month from 11:00 BST to 15:00 BST.

Trust chairman Ken Griffiths said volunteers had spent years working to secure the future of the signal box, which dates from 1895.

Haslemere Signal Box Trust A small signal box building stands beside a railway platform. The building has red brick and white timber walls, green-painted railings and steps leading to an entrance. A black and white sign marked "4-5 Car Stop" is mounted beside the structure and railway tracks extend into the distance. — Volunteers have transformed the Victorian signal box into a working museum

He said the project started five years ago when he approached Network Rail to take over the signal box, which was due to become redundant.

"We'll give demonstrations to the public on how the signalling worked. And we've taken it back to the 1930s, the Southern Railway era, although the box itself does go back to 1895," Griffiths added.

The box is accompanied by a museum in the station building and plans for a memorial garden dedicated to 636 Southern Railway workers who died during World War Two.

Griffiths described the signalling system as a "clever bit of an early mechanical computer", explaining that a system of levers prevented operators from making unsafe signalling decisions.

The trust said the project aimed to preserve a piece of railway heritage for future generations.

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