News 2026
(Clicking on photos below will open a full-size version in a new window; closing that window will bring you back here.)
April and May
Changing gound signals
 
The Southern Railway (SR) flood-lit ground disc in the left-hand picture has been replaced by the former Cheshire Lines Committee disc seen on the right. The change was made as we have lent the SR signal tothe new Haselmere signal box museum. The disc is worked from lever 27 in the box.
Class 37 passes the box:
In early May Class 37 37512, 'Thornaby Demon', passed the box hauling two South-Western Railway 701 units towards Derby for works before they enter service.
Network Rail at work
Visitors and volunteers at the box on Sunday 26th May were able to see the 'Orange Army' finishing off track work:
  
The track through the Up Fast (Platform 3) was renewed and reballested.
The strange 'vehicle' in the middle picture apparently is used to correctly stress the rails after renewal.
The final picture shows a a trailer and road/rail vehicle heading for the access point to off-load the last bits and pieces.
|
|
January to March
 Thomas gets 'Lit-up'
Thomas started the New Year with a working lamp fitted on his buffer-beam. It is likely we'll similarly equip both James and Percy during this year.
The wet weather for the first two months of the year has somewhat put off work on a large scale and the sheltered work area (see 2025's newspage) has been put to good use in preparing various items.
Work has concentrated on designing and building a: New Ground Frame to work the Great Northern (Ireland) signal erected last year. At the start of March installation got under way as the weather gave us some dry days.
_sig_and_GF_gen_view_MOD.jpg) _Pulley_wheel_MOD.jpg) _GF_close-up_MOD.jpg)
General view on the left - the work going on at the post foot is to install the chain pulley (centre). The signal was also recently given an electrically-powered lamp; part of the conduit run bringing the power is visible on the right of the photo.
The ground frame seen in close-up (right) has two levers - one for the GN(I) signal, the other will be used eventually for our upper-quadrant distant signal to be resited later this year to make room for the next restored signal.
Spring Flowers
A tribute to our volunteer gardeners - more pictures to follow.
  |