Restoration - page 4
Princes Risborough North Signal Box
2019
One
of
the
first
tasks
of
2019
was
to
continue
connecting
up
levers
inside
the
signal
box.
With
levers
already
connected
via
point
rodding
to
the
crossover
points
at
the
rear
of
the
signal
box,
it
now
needed
the
disc
signals
connected
up
too.
The
signalman
was
very
keen
on
this,
so
he
didn’t
have
to
lean
out
of
the
windows
to
be
able
to
flag
train
movements
on
cold,
windy
days!
In
the
photo
to
the
right
you
will
see
we
have
used
a
double
disc
signal
with
the
lower
signal
blanked
out.
This
is
ready
for
any
possible
expansion
in
the
future.
There are now six levers (out of 125!) in the
frame that work, numbered 35 to 40:
Lever 35
- Up disc signal
Lever 36 - Currently Spare
Lever 37 - Crossover points
Lever 38 - Facing point lock (both points)
Lever 39 - Down disc signal
Lever 40 - Token frame release
Those
levers
are
between
the
yellow
lines
in
the picture to the right.
All
this
is,
however,
only
temporary.
The
levers
that
currently
control
the
points
are
at
the
wrong
end
(the
north
end)
of
the
signal
box,
but
before
we
can
install
them
in
their
final
position
we
have
to
replace/rebuild
the
missing
interlocking
under
the
south
end
of
the
lever
frame.
The
lower
right
hand
photo
above
shows
the
rodding
and
cranks
beneath
the
south
end
floor
ready
to
be
connected
to
the
levers
above
(as
well
as
a
stray broom!).
Presuming
we
get
Listed
Building
consent
and
we
reach
the
stage
of
opening
the
north
part
of
the
box
as
a
demonstration area it will be the south end which controls the railway.
The
remaining
boarding
was
removed
from
the
downstairs
windows
and
all
the
broken
panes
were
reglazed.
We
owe
a
debt
of
gratitude
to
our
glazing sponsor in nearby Aylesbury - Quickseal UK.
One
major
piece
of
renovation
we
carried
out
this
year
was
the
rear
wall
upstairs
where
the
toilet
cubicle
was
put
in
sometime
after
the
end
of
World
War
II.
When
the
toilet
was
installed
the
builders
reduced
the
width
of
the
existing
window
to
cater
for
the
internal
cubicle.
They
boarded
the
resultant
hole
with
lapped
wooden
planks.
The
lower
planks
soon
rotted
away
and
were
replaced
with
a
sheet
of
plywood
as
seen
in
the
picture
alongside,
taken
before
replacement
work
started.
It
was
the
pipework
near
the
toilet
that
froze
and
then
burst
causing
all
the
historic
water
damage
so
we
took
the
opportunity
to
completely
rebuild
the
toilet
and
washbasin
area
while
we
were
replacing
all
the
rotten
boarding.
There remains the cleaning of the brick beneath.
With
the
signal
box
really
starting
to
take
shape
we
were
able
to
have
three
Open
Days
during
the
year
to
proudly
show
off
our
work.
Visitors
could
see
the
improvements
already
carried
out
and
were
very
supportive
of
our
efforts.
We
are
all
unpaid
volunteers
and
it’s
rewarding
for
us
to
see
people
enjoying
an
insight
into
railway
heritage
and
we
were
only
too
happy
to
explain
some
of
the
features
being
restored
and
offered
demonstrations
of
items
we
had
on
display.
