Signal Box Gallery

Overall view of Newton Abbot Station, Devon, c.1920s

An overall view of Newton Abbot Station, Devon, c.1920s.
The station opened with the name Newton in December 1846 by the South Devon Railway Company. By the time the name was changed to Newton Abbot in 1877 the station had a large goods shed, train sheds and busy workshops which helped with converting the stock and line to standard gauge.
Newton Abbot station underwent an extension and rebuild between the wars, opening in April 1927 with a Culverhouse designed station building

© STEAM Museum of the GWR

Signalman in operating signal levers during wartime, c.1940

A signalman in his gas mask continues normal duties at this unknown signalbox. But what is interesting about this photograph is the strange looking metal cabinet with its door ajar stood in the corner of the signalbox. This cabinet is actually a small air raid shelter for the signalman to retreat to. The shelters were nicknamed coffins as there was just enough space to fit one person. The large number of windows in a signalbox made them dangerous places to be in an air raid, so the coffins were installed to provide shelter from shattering glass and debris. The coffins were made of boiler-plate and were manufactured in the L2 (Tank) Shop at Swindon Works

© STEAM Museum of the GWR

Blue Anchor Station, Somerset, c.1970s

A view of Blue Anchor Station in Somerset, c.1970s, showing the Blue Anchor Signal Box in the distance and the level crossing next to it which controlled the road traffic to the seafront.
The station opened in July 1874 and closed to passengers in January 1971. In 1976 Blue Anchor station became part of the West Somerset Railway, a preserved line

© STEAM Museum of the GWR