GWR Route: Alcester to Hatton Junction

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Bearley Junction: gwrbj808

View inside Bearley West Junction Signal Box and its 25 lever frame which dates with the North Warwickshire line opening in 1907. It is a Great Western Type 7d brick box with a hipped roof. The characteristic 3up-2down window pane arrangement was designed to improve the signalman’s view, by reducing the number of glazing bars when looking down at an approaching train. For the same reason the block instruments and bells were arranged on a suspended shelf above the point levers. The levers were coloured to aid recognition; stop signal levers were red, distance signal levers were yellow, points levers were black, spare levers were white, etc.

The levers were always numbered from left to right across the frame and arranged in a standard fashion. Bearley West Junction controlled a trailing crossover and a point on each line for the junction (one of which required a facing point lock); In this photograph three white spare levers are positioned on each side of the black point levers and the crossover independent disc signal levers in the centre of the frame with up signals on one side and down signals on the other side. C1930.

Robert Ferris

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