Aberthaw 14
Aberthaw box interior viewed from the Barry end of the box looking West. Levers 1, 2, 3, 6 & 7 off on the down.
At 12.45 hrs on Saturday 9th March 2013 Aberthaw Signal Box would have sent 7 5 5 to Barry Signal Box for the last time were it not for the fact that the block and bells had been removed overnight !
In the end the signaller at Aberthaw telephoned Barry and advised him he was closing the box and signed off duty, the last signaller to do so after 116 years, a bit more of our railway heritage passed into history.
South Wales, like the rest of the country, is being re-signalled with all signalling in this particular area being gradually incorporated into Cardiff IECC.
Aberthaw and Cowbridge Road signal boxes were due to be abolished as part of this re-signalling over the weekend of 26th and 27th January 2013. As is seemingly often the case, the scheme was not on time and the boxes were provisionally due to be abolished over the weekend of 23rd & 24th March 2013. In actuality this date was brought forward.
Situated on the Vale of Glamorgan line between Bridgend and Barry are these two very different boxes. The V O G leaves the former GWR main line at Barry Junction, Bridgend and runs to Barry. Originally built by the Barry Railway Company, the line became part of the mighty Great Western as a consequence of the 1923 Grouping.
Aberthaw East box opened in 1897, built by the Barry Railway Company it is as old as the line it serves.
Cowbridge Road is very clearly a more modern structure having opened on 12th September 1965 in conjunction with the opening of the then state of the art Port Talbot Power Signal Box. It acts as a fringe box to Port Talbot and on opening worked absolute block to Southerndown Road. With the gradual abolition of all the intermediate boxes between Aberthaw East and Cowbridge Road the absolute block section grew in length to a hefty 13 miles. Whilst freight traffic was light this was not a major issue but with the reintroduction of passenger services on 12th June 2005 changes were required thus a small panel was installed in Aberthaw East and track circuit block working (with axle counters)was introduced between Cowbridge Road and Aberthaw on May 9th 2005.
With the demise of Aberthaw West as a signal box in 1962 and later as a ground frame in September 1980 then Aberthaw East ceased to require it’s suffix and became plain “Aberthaw”
The attached set of images was taken during a one day trip down from Nottingham on a dull grey 9th January 2013. Poor light and limited time to cover the three boxes I set out to visit before the daylight went completely meant a limited set of shots was obtained but are posted up here as a record of these two very different boxes. (Barry box will follow in due course).
Aberthaw 14
Aberthaw box interior viewed from the Barry end of the box looking West. Levers 1, 2, 3, 6 & 7 off on the down.
At 12.45 hrs on Saturday 9th March 2013 Aberthaw Signal Box would have sent 7 5 5 to Barry Signal Box for the last time were it not for the fact that the block and bells had been removed overnight !
In the end the signaller at Aberthaw telephoned Barry and advised him he was closing the box and signed off duty, the last signaller to do so after 116 years, a bit more of our railway heritage passed into history.
South Wales, like the rest of the country, is being re-signalled with all signalling in this particular area being gradually incorporated into Cardiff IECC.
Aberthaw and Cowbridge Road signal boxes were due to be abolished as part of this re-signalling over the weekend of 26th and 27th January 2013. As is seemingly often the case, the scheme was not on time and the boxes were provisionally due to be abolished over the weekend of 23rd & 24th March 2013. In actuality this date was brought forward.
Situated on the Vale of Glamorgan line between Bridgend and Barry are these two very different boxes. The V O G leaves the former GWR main line at Barry Junction, Bridgend and runs to Barry. Originally built by the Barry Railway Company, the line became part of the mighty Great Western as a consequence of the 1923 Grouping.
Aberthaw East box opened in 1897, built by the Barry Railway Company it is as old as the line it serves.
Cowbridge Road is very clearly a more modern structure having opened on 12th September 1965 in conjunction with the opening of the then state of the art Port Talbot Power Signal Box. It acts as a fringe box to Port Talbot and on opening worked absolute block to Southerndown Road. With the gradual abolition of all the intermediate boxes between Aberthaw East and Cowbridge Road the absolute block section grew in length to a hefty 13 miles. Whilst freight traffic was light this was not a major issue but with the reintroduction of passenger services on 12th June 2005 changes were required thus a small panel was installed in Aberthaw East and track circuit block working (with axle counters)was introduced between Cowbridge Road and Aberthaw on May 9th 2005.
With the demise of Aberthaw West as a signal box in 1962 and later as a ground frame in September 1980 then Aberthaw East ceased to require it’s suffix and became plain “Aberthaw”
The attached set of images was taken during a one day trip down from Nottingham on a dull grey 9th January 2013. Poor light and limited time to cover the three boxes I set out to visit before the daylight went completely meant a limited set of shots was obtained but are posted up here as a record of these two very different boxes. (Barry box will follow in due course).