LMS Route: Evesham to Birmingham

Broom Junction Station: mrbj539c

Close up of image 'mrbj539' showing of Broom Junction's third signal box which has now been named Broom North signal box after the opening of the 1942 south junction. The 'Bobby', as signalmen were nicknamed, is seen making his way back to the box after exchanging the staff with the Ashchurch train. Things to note are the oil lamp on the boardwalk, the No Admittance sign, the free standing boardwalk which is clearly separate to the cabin and the absence of a footwalk to the track side elevation of the cabin seen in image 'mrbj158'.

Signalmen had their origins from the beginning of railways, prior to the establishment of signal boxes and the block system that controlled sections of the line along a route, when trains were once controlled by railway policemen. The origin of the police force in general in London was credited to Robert Peeler, hence the nickname 'Bobby' although there is clear evidence that this credit belongs north of the border in Scotland. These policemen would move around the station setting the points and signals and giving the right of way to trains to proceed to their next destination at specified time intervals.

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