Yalding Signal Box. 03/1981.
The small signal box at Yalding dated from 1894 and at the time was a fringe box to Tonbridge in the south and Wateringbury to the north on the Medway Valley line. It was a Saxby and Farmer type 12a box and fitted with a 27 lever frame. The sidings to the adjacent agro-chemical factory had closed in the 1970's and by 1981 the box was just controlling the crossing and a block section on the branch to Maidstone West. With just an hourly passenger service and a few through freights rationalisation came in 1986 when the crossing was converted to an AOCL Automatic Open Level Crossing. The block section was abolished with Tonbridge panel box fringing with Wateringbury instead. The box closed on 22/06/86 being demolished almost immediately. The open crossing proved problematic because of its location beside the station and after several near misses with pedestrians and several accidents with trains striking cars the crossing was upgraded to ABCL with barriers.
Yalding Signal Box. 03/1981.
The small signal box at Yalding dated from 1894 and at the time was a fringe box to Tonbridge in the south and Wateringbury to the north on the Medway Valley line. It was a Saxby and Farmer type 12a box and fitted with a 27 lever frame. The sidings to the adjacent agro-chemical factory had closed in the 1970's and by 1981 the box was just controlling the crossing and a block section on the branch to Maidstone West. With just an hourly passenger service and a few through freights rationalisation came in 1986 when the crossing was converted to an AOCL Automatic Open Level Crossing. The block section was abolished with Tonbridge panel box fringing with Wateringbury instead. The box closed on 22/06/86 being demolished almost immediately. The open crossing proved problematic because of its location beside the station and after several near misses with pedestrians and several accidents with trains striking cars the crossing was upgraded to ABCL with barriers.