LMS Route: Rugby to Wolverhampton
Berkswell and Balsall Common: lnwrberk1313a
This close up of image 'lnwrberk1313' showing the signal box
which was located adjacent to the siding and Truggist Lane under-bridge, part
of which can just be seen on the extreme right behind the mineral wagon. The
wagon is standing on a short spur ahead of the goods yard's connection with the
down line. The signal box is thought to have been constructed when the block
system of signalling was introduced at about the time the Berkswell to
Kenilworth line was being proposed circa 1880.
The signal box lasted well into the 1970s being
sufficiently far from the track not to impede the electrification of the line,
unlike Tile Hill box whose cantilevered construction fouled the line. The box
had the 'ships wheel' method of opening and closing the gates with a handle at
90 degrees to the rim to enable the signalman to spin the wheel quickly.
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