Hi all,
Travelled the Welsh Marshes line on Friday and noticed there are a lot of semaphores - and mostly lower quadrant ones at that. Two questions that came to mind - is the line likely to be resignalled to colour-light before ECTS is introduced or are the semaphores safe for the next decade or so? Second, were lower quadrant signals ever popular outside the western region? Related, how comes the Western region never converted them to upper quadrant?
Thanks.
The Marches is due to be resignalled in the near future, using the modular system already installed between Crewe and Shrewsbury.
It will also be controlled from Cardiff.
Shrewsbury is not included in this (too difficult!), but the semaphores and historic signal boxes along the route are not long for this world.
The southern end of the line (Pontypool) has already been resignalled as part of the Newport scheme.
The LMR took over the line north of Craven Arms in 1963 and gradually replaced lower quadrants with LMS-pattern upper quadrants (also across the ex-GWR lines in the west Midlands).
That's why Shrewsbury has such an eclectic mix of upper/lower quadrant semaphores and colour lights.
The Western (aka "Wales") is now in control again from Cardiff, also to Crewe and along the North Wales coast, but I haven't seen a new lower quadrant installed anywhere yet.
Going back to pre-grouping, most lines, including the LNWR and Midland used lower quadrants, of a different pattern to the GWR.
They all changed to upper quadrants between the wars, but there are still a few lower quadrants left.
I remember a forest of LNWR lower quadrants at the east end of Chester into the 60s, probably later.
Don't ask me why the GWR/Western never went upper quadrant!
Just to be different I expect.
It's worth remembering that Hereford-Shrewsbury was a joint line (LNWR/GWR) and signalling control varied over the years.
That's why Severn Bridge Junction box is an LNWR structure with a mix of original and later kit.
The line was never a GWR monopoly.