GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Birmingham Snow Hill Station: gwrbsh1665

An advertisement from the Great Western Railway Magazine of 1910 showing the new eight arm signal post on the approaches to Snow Hill. The stop signal on the left has a mechanical diaphragm type route indicator. This type of route indicator contained a series of sliding metal screens, one of which would be raised when the signal arm was being lowered. Each of the sliding screens had either a code or a written description of the route cut into the screen and when the screen was raised this would be illuminated from behind.

The four signal arms on the left are the up signals. In the centre are the up main home signal (Birmingham North Box - lever 23) and the up main distant signal (Birmingham South Box - lever 1). The route indicator under the signal arm on the extreme left had the following screen descriptions available:

PLATFORM No 11 - lever 26
PLATFORM No 10 - lever 12
PLATFORM No 9 - lever 8

The four signal arms on the right, protect the down main and relief lines. These down Home signals are controlled by Birmingham North Box levers 207 and 221 respectively, while the two down Distant signals are controlled by Hockley Signal Box. All the signals were operated by electric motors.

Robert Ferris

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