Belgium: the last semaphore signals are coming down

[gysev]

The last semaphore signals on the national network will be replaced in may. Since 2002, only two signals remained at Tertre, on the freight-only branch from Saint-Ghislain (near Mons). There are two or three trains daily to serve some local chemical plants. The pictures were taken on 18-04-2018.

A return working to Saint-Ghislain crosses the Mons - Antoing canal.




The second train of the day returns to Saint-Ghislain and passes the station at Tertre. Both remaining signals can be seen.

 

[TheSeeker]

Excellent pictures!

 

[MarcVD]

Pity to see them go... Fortunately there are still a few operable ones on the PFT museum line Ciney-Yvoir. But a mechanical signal under the control of a computerized signalling centre would have been fun.

Last Saxby signalling cabin also, I think...

If they organize some kind of ceremony and I can get to know the date, I'll try to be there...

 

[duesselmartin]

Odd how some modern system resist full modernisation ( UK, Germany in part) while in others (Switzerland, Italy) one already forget what they look like.
In Belgium and the Netherlands I have only seen them in museums.
Martin

 

[MarcVD]

Which countries today still have mechanical signals operational ?

 

[duesselmartin]

Off topic the top of my head, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Poland.

 

[MarcVD]

Turkey ? France for sure but rapidly disappearing, Spain (Notably Algesiras last time I was there), Netherlands (I saw some but that was 10 years ago) ? UK ? Portugal ? I saw some (french style) in Morocco in 2010 also. Romania for sure.

 

[hexagon789]

Turkey ? France for sure but rapidly disappearing, Spain (Notably Algesiras last time I was there), Netherlands (I saw some but that was 10 years ago) ? UK ? Portugal ? I saw some (french style) in Morocco in 2010 also. Romania for sure.

Quite a few semaphores left in Scotland still, and rural Norfolk that I know of.

 

[axlecounter]

In Switzerland we still have a handful of them.

https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?106,7627211

 

[duesselmartin]

Maybe its easier to list which country has erradicated them?

 

[MarcVD]

The Tertre line will be taken over by the new PLP signalling centre of Mons early next month, presumably on June 7th. This PLP system cannot work with mechanical signals. So people interested in old signals now have two weeks left if they want to see the two last mechanical signals of the belgian national network in action.

Other news while I'm here : Brussels South station will be switched to its new signal box during the weekend of November 1st. This was the last station with an independent relay-based signal box attached. Today Brussels South is the only exception left, all other stations are now controlled by computerized signalling centres. This will probably cause major disruptions for 2 to 3 days.

 

[Fireless]

The last semaphore signal of the Netherlands was decomissioned in 2006.