GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Rowington Junction & Troughs: gwrrj264a

Close up of image 'gwrrj264' showing the junction in greater detail including PW huts and the signalbox which controlled the Henley-in-Arden branch. This Signal Box had been built to control the junction to the Henley-in-Arden Branch, but was retained as a Block Section Signal Box on the main line after the branch had been closed. This photograph must have been taken after 1925, as the facing connection to the up main line has been removed and only a single trailing connection from the down main line to the two sidings on the old branch line formation has been retained. Facing switches are potentially more dangerous than trailing switches and had to be fitted with a locking bolt to ensure they were held in their correct position. The removal of the facing connection to the up main line indicates that a decision about the reinstatement of the Henley Branch had been made.

The trailing main line crossover in the foreground was installed in 1913. Indications as to the status of the trailing crossover are given by the adjacent ground signals. Conventional signals on posts were not required as movements over the crossover would only be carried out at slow speeds. The ground signals were hemispherical discs painted with a red bar on a white background. The disc could be rotated so that the red bar was either horizontal or diagonal and the bar’s position indicated the crossover switch position status. The crossover switches were both operated from a single lever in the Signal Box, while the ground signals were also both operated from another single lever.

Robert Ferris

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