GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Tyseley Shed: gwrt2985

A low resolution version of the Signalling Diagram for Tyseley South Signal Box showing the track layout and signalling after 30th June 1935 when parallel double junctions were provided and before the simplification of the junction that took place in August 1969. This Signalling diagram has been reproduced courtesy of the Signalling Record Society (S.R.S.). Details of how to purchase their full resolution content is available here.

Tyseley South Signal Box was provided to control the new junction with the North Warwickshire Line which opened on 9th December 1907. An order (No 252) for a cast iron nameplate for 'Tyseley South Signal Box’ was placed on 20th March 1906. The Signal Box was built to the standard Great Western Railway GW 27c design introduced in 1905. As built the ground floor locking room was timber framed with a horizontal weather board cladding. The locking room was seventy feet long by thirteen feet wide and contained an internal staircase to the upper operating floor which was eleven feet above rail level. The operating floor had the typical Great Western Railways three up – two down pane arrangement in horizontal sliding sash windows on all sides except where two heating stoves were positioned. The slated hipped roof had 'rocket' ventilators on the ridge and was pieced by two stove pipes. Tyseley South Signal Box housed a GW three bar horizontal tappet frame with 136 levers at 5¼ inch centres. This diagram indicates that sixteen levers are spares, but the original track layout was altered in June 1913 (see 'gwrt2984') as well as June 1935 (see 'gwrt2976').

On 10th April 1940 the Signal Boxes at Tyseley South and Small Heath were both damaged by bombs during a night-time air-raid by the German Luftwaffe and the ground floor locking room was subsequently rebuilt with substantial red brick walls and without any windows to provide better protection. Concrete lintels were provided over the entrance door and switch rodding openings. The upper operating floor and roof of the original Signal Box was retained.

The table below gives the opening hours for Tyseley South Signal Box for a selection of years:

Tyseley South Signal Box controlled block sections on the main, relief and avoiding (goods) lines in addition to the junction with the North Warwickshire Line, the southern approach to the Locomotive Shed Loop Lines and Carriage Sidings, plus access and egress to the southern end of Tyseley Goods Yard. To operate the block sections, the Signalman sent messages to the preceding Signal Box to give permission for trains to enter the block section on their line and used signals to indicate to train drivers when they were allowed to proceed. Distant Signals, distinguished by their forked tails and yellow colour (post September 1927) gave train drivers advance warning of the status of the next ‘Stop’ Signal. The Signalman could set a route with the point switch levers and these being interlocked with the signals, indicated to the train drivers which route was set and when they could and could not proceed safely and had to stop. Track Circuit indication was provided in 1915 to inform the signalman when lines out of sight were occupied or if switches were fouled by wagons or coaches.

Robert Ferris

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