GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Hall Green Station: gwrhg3001

Hall Green Signal Box photographed in the late 1960s, but excepting the introduction of electric lighting, little had changed since the Signal Box was opened on 9th December 1907.

Hall Green Signal Box was standard Great Western Railway type 7D, which was the final and most numerous variation on the original type 7A Signal Box, which had been introduced in about 1896. It was built of red brick in Flemish bond with a hipped slate roof with two ridge ‘rocket style’ ventilators and a stovepipe chimney. The ground floor locking room had blue engineering brick arch lintels over the door and windows and these were also used for the corner quoins and plinth. The use of two rows of beveled bricks below the lower windows was a feature introduced in 1906, as were the side windows to the locking room. The Cast Iron Nameplate was ordered on 7th October 1907. The operating floor of Hall Green Signal Box was eight feet above rail level, reached by an external timber staircase. The operating floor was 25 feet long by 12 feet wide with the characteristic three up / two down glass panes in horizontal sliding sash windows. The Signal Box housed twenty-nine levers at 5¼ inch centres in a horizontal tappet, three bar locking frame.

Post 1925, there was a trailing connection made from the Down line adjacent to the Signal Box, to a private siding belonging to E Farmer at this location, but by 1929 this private siding was owned by Builders and General Traders (EJ. Smith & Company), Metals Ltd and also served British & Saar Steel Co Ltd. The private siding was removed on 30th May 1965 and there is no evidence of this connection in the photograph where the Down line has been relayed with flat bottomed track secured by elastic rail spikes. The Signal Box at Hall Green closed on 12th August 1984.

Robert Ferris

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