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GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Olton Station: gwro4008

A view of the completed quadrupled track alongside Olton Mere looking towards Solihull. The location is near milepost 123½.

A view of the completed quadrupled track alongside Olton Mere looking towards Solihull. The location is near milepost 123½. The two Down Distant Signals for the Main and Relief lines were 2390 yards from Solihull Signal Box, so were electrically operated. Unusually the signal motors were at high level bolted directly to the semaphore arm. The white cabinet adjacent to the down relief line contained the batteries and control equipment. In the Solihull Signal Box frame lever 61 (for the Main line) and lever 69 (for the Relief line) operated the respective Home Signal at Olton Station and as well as the associated Distant Signal here. Detection circuits ensured the Distant Signal would only move to clear once the position of the Semaphore Arm on the Home Signal was confirmed. On the signal box diagram (see 'gwrs2622'), the Distant Signals were identified as 61R and 69R. The ‘R’ indicated that they were what was termed a ‘Repeater’ (i.e. a repeat of the associated Home Signal).

To dispense with Olton Signal Box a Semi-Automatic Signalling Scheme had been installed along the newly quadrupled section of track with Track Circuits indicating when trains passed into or out-off sections. The Signal Box ‘Record of Amendments’ Drawing has an entry for 25th June 1933 – ‘Down Main & Relief IB Home & Distant Signals into use in connection with closure of Olton SB’. This refers to the commissioning of an Intermediate Block Signalling scheme on these lines. If the track circuits on the Down Main and Relief lines beyond the Olton Home signals (T61 and T69) detected the presence of a train, this would automatically operate the relevant Home signal at Olton together with the Distant Signal (once the Home Signal's arm had moved). This would also activate a buzzer in the Signal Box, which needed to be acknowledged by pressing a Plunger on the Block Shelf. Because the frame lever (either 61 or 69) would not have moved, this lever had to first be replaced to the Stop / Caution position by the Signalman, before it could be used again to operate the signals to Clear. This operation would however remained electrically locked until both the relevant track circuit indicted that the line was clear and the ‘Line Clear’ indication had also been received on the relevant Block Instrument from the Signal Box in advance.

The small black painted hut adjacent to the signals provided some protection from the weather for a Fogman, when they were required. No doubt the proximity of the reservoir would frequently cause fog to lay at this location. The bridge in the background carries Grange Road Lane over the railway.

This photograph is Solihull Central Library record reference No 1784, courtesy R Waring.

Robert Ferris

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