The original colour light installation at Churston, commissioned on 25 June 1979 and controlled by an 11-lever Westinghouse L type frame was installed with the help of some BR staff. Other than for the odd special or through working, the loop was only required for the main peak holiday weeks and at other times was switched out with signals unlit and "U" plates displayed to show the box was unmanned. Due to lack of in house maintenance the signalling system became less reliable year by year until eventually replaced. he lifting barriers were installed at Britannia Crossing, at the request of Maj Olver, in the Spring of 1988 the existing gates and up and down distant signals being removed. A home and repeater signal were position on either side of the crossing, and to aide views of the oncoming traffic off the ferry, again at the wish of Maj Olver, the former Halt was also removed. The new installation works were overseen by two BR S&T personnel, and both also took a hand in trying to improve the problematic system at Churston. The next development came when the Marina Company at Kingswear wanted to have a level crossing installed to link the marina with the car park area. The railway management saw and took the opportunity to have the southern terminus fully signalled with a large proportion of the work contracted out to ML of Plymouth. The new Crossing at Kingswear was originally worked without CCTV and train crews had to observe the crossing was clear before passing any protecting signal. CCTV was added later as an in house project.The signalling at Kingswear was worked from a small panel housed at Britannia Crossing, but not linked in any way to the rest of the line so the section from Churston to Kingswear remained as a one train section. It was possible on the odd occasion t run two loco's down to Kingswear and then leave one "locked in" within station limits. By the time this work had taken place the DVR, who were still enjoying the assistance of one of the two BR S&T Engineers (and still do to this day), started to train one of its own staff to undertake maintenance and fault finding as necessary. By late 1991 another ex BR S&T Engineer had started working on the line part-time and thoughts turned to replacing the problematic installation at Churston with everything moving to Britannia Box which had to be manned whenever trains ran. Over the 91-92 winter major work took place with the three staff, assisted as needed by the PW Dept for laying cables etc, undertaking all the necessary work to convert the whole line to TCB. One issue faced was due to lengthy periods when trains wouldn't run, particularly over the winter months, rails could get rusty and the track circuits could become unreliable so atoken machines were kept for both sections with a single token in each. If no train had opertaed for a period of three days the first service over the line was required to take the token which then locked basically locked the single line section preventing any other trains from entering until the token was replaced. This feature also could be used in lieu of a Pilotman in the event of a failure, however with much better and regular maintenace was only ever needed as such on one or two isolated occasions. A while later, whilst out jointing replacement cable on a cold day, following a chat and the drawing of a rough design on the back of a cigar packet, the idea was hatched which saw Britannia Box extended and the various smaller panels were replaced with an NX panel mounted on the dividing wall between the box and small relay room which was also provided at this time.. Paignton was, and still is a unique set up as the level crossing and formation at Paignton South is owned by Network Rail. Whilst in the past the barriers, and before them the gates, were worked from the adjacent signal box, when this was removed Paignton South became a TMO Crossing with drivers white lights provided in each direction for DVR services. The installation of Goodrington Loop and acquisition of "Happy Valley" sidings saw further alterations, including the use of a TDM system between Paignton and Goodrington, and the original NX panel at Britannia has now been replaced by a newer desk style panel. Whilst not to everybody's liking, the installed system gives total flexibility allowing the railway to run whatever it wants once the box at Britannia is manned. This is ideal for a holiday line that may need to fit in additional charters, and of course engineering trains can be slotted into vacant paths rather than having to wait for out of hours possessions. Semaphores would have been nice, and we can but dream of what Churston and/or Kingswear may have looked like if traditionally signalled, however the present system has proved its worth time and time again over the years, and in fact some of the interlocking is now heritage in its own right.
