Swanage Railway signal box official opening - Saturday 29th March, 2003.

Photo Report from Andrew P.M. Wright
Official photographer & press officer, Swanage Railway.
Photographs are copyright Andrew P.M. Wright. To view a larger version of any photograph on this page, just click on the thumbnail photograph and subsequently use the Back button on your browser to return to this page.

Ralph Montagu and Stuart Ward with guests at the official opening of the new Swanage signal box.

Andrew P.M. Wright has sent us these photographs of the official opening of the new £35,000 Swanage signal box on the evening of Saturday, March 29th, 2003, by Ralph Montagu, son of Lord Monatgu of Beaulieu in Hamsphire. The ceremony to formally open the new box comes several months after Swanage Railway volunteers celebrated winning the prestigious Westinghouse Signalling Award presented by Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal, for their signal box and signalling at the Purbeck Line's terminal station.

Ralph Montagu of Beaulieu cuts the red ribbon to officially open the new signal box.

The Westinghouse Signalling Award - sponsored by Westinghouse Rail Systems of Swindon in Wiltshire - was given for the new late Victorian-style LSWR replica signal box and signalling for Swanage station which has been five years in the making. For a full report see our separate news item by clicking here.

Close-ups of the commemorative plaque through which can be seen the reflection of Bob Richards.

Swanage Railway Trust chairman Bill Trite:

"On behalf of the Swanage Railway, I would like to welcome you all here today. It's a red letter day in the history of the Swanage Railway. I would like to welcome, in particular, three or four people. There are an awful lot of people that I would like to mention individually but that's not going to be possible I'm afraid but I would like to welcome the Mayor and Mayoress of Swanage, Councillor Tony and Mrs Miller, for representing the civic interest here today. I would also like to also welcome three former Brockenhurst signalmen who are with us and who Ralph Montague is going to mention further. In particular, I would like to welcome Ralph Montagu because it was Ralph who had the foresight to acquire the lever frame used in the new Swanage signal box from the Brockenhurst B signal box in the first place, and to store it 25 years ago with much difficulty in a barn. I'm not too sure of the precise history since then but it was retrieved from the barn is due course and without that frame we would not have this new signal box at Swanage today so welcome Ralph for coming. I am going to ask Ralph in a moment to cut the ribbon at the foot of the signal box steps and then formally unveil the commemorative plaque in the signal box. As you will know, we were awarded the Westinghouse Award plaque which will, hopefully, forever be on display in the signal box. I would like to pay particular regard to all the people involved in the paying for and the construction of the new signal box over the last few years."

Westinghouse Rail Systems sales and marketing manager John Francis (left) with Swanage Railway's signalling department head Stuart Ward and Ralph Montagu in front of the commemorative plaque

Swanage Railway signalman & volunteer liaison officer Mike Whitwam:

"First of all, I would like to say that if I was going to thank everyone who has been involved in the building of the signal box, we would be here all night because there has been a tremendous effort has been put in by a tremendous number of people and we have this beautiful signal box to look at as a result of it. We must thank, in particular, Stuart Ward and his team for the excellent job that they have done on the S&T work - we cannot fault it in any way. I am a signalman, as you probably know, and this signal box has behaved itself absolutely perfectly. We have no gripes with it at all - it's just a masterpiece and we must really hand it to all the S&T department in a big, big way for the excellent job that they have done. We must also thanks the people who have helped to pay for most of the work on the signal box and that's the 200 Club and all the people who belong to the Club who have in turn paid for it. There's a vast amount of bits and pieces that have been needed for the signal box and the Club members always come up trumps right the way through to help us with the building of it. I am now going to ask Ralph Montagu to cut the ribbon and officially open the new Swanage signal box."

Left - Ralph Montagu with Swanage Railway signals department's Dave Cobb who has done much of the installation and testing work in the new signal box. Right - Swanage Railway signals department head Stuart Ward shows Ralph Montagu the Tyers key-token machine that controls the single line block section between Swanage and Harman's Cross.

Ralph Montague:

"Before I officially open the new signal box, I would just like to mention that I have had a love for railways all my life but in the 1970s after steam disappeared, it was mechanical signalling that particularly caught my interest. My local station is Brockenhurst and when I heard that Brockenhurst was due to be re-signalled, I began making a cine film of Brockenhurst A & B signal boxes as well as Lymington Junction signal box. One of the signalmen on duty, John Buckingham, kindly invited me up into the signal box and that was the beginning of very many visits and getting to know the men there and it's great that John Buckingham is here today. With him is Peter Dawson, who is now actually at Brockenhurst panel, and Keith Webb so we have three men who used to work Brockenhurst B signal box are here today and that's great. When Brockenhurst B finally closed, I just couldn't bear to see its lever frame go for scrap metal so I bought it - not quite knowing what to do with it - and there it sat for years at Beaulieu in storage. Having an association with the Swanage Railway, when I heard that a lever frame would be needed for Swanage, I was only too delighted to offer the lever frame for installation and nothing really could give me more pleasure than to see it so well installed in such an excellent building just looking absolutely authentic. So without any further ado, I will now cut the red ribbon."

Watched by veteran sigalmen who worked in the old Brockenhurst B signal box before its closure in the mid-1970s, Ralph Montagu tries out the Brockenhurst B frame in the new signal box. From left to right they are Ralph Montagu, Pete Dawson, John Buckingham, Keith Webb and (far right) Steve Vine who is Network Rail's (Railtrack's) Bournemouth area signalling manager.

What the former Brockenhurst B signalmen thought of the new Swanage signal box which incorporates their old lever frame:

John Buckingham who is a relief signalman in the Brighton area: "It's marvellous - it looks good, very very good. They have done a beautiful job on it. I worked in Brockenhurst B during the last 12 months that it was open in 1977 and 1978."

Pete Dawson who is a signalman at Brockenhurst panel: "The new signal box is excellent - it's a few years since I have worked this lever frame. It's very much as I remember it, including the three spare levers. It always was a good frame to work that was easy to handle. It was a lovely frame to work and one of the best I've ever worked."

Keith Webb who is a signalman at Eastleigh panel: "They have done a very good job on the signal box really. I didn't know what to expect really. It looks very much the same as we left it back in the 1970s - a bit cleaner. Really impressive. The frame feels the same now to work as it did back then."

The Swanage Railway signalling department members that worked on creating the new signal box at Swanage.

What Westinghouse Rail Systems marketing manager John Francis thought of the new Swanage signal box featuring his company's 1935 Chippenham-built lever frame:

"I think the signal box is absolutely brilliant - I have been really impressed today. It's wonderful not just to see the structure itself but how the lever frame has been restored, a 1935 lever frame built in Chippenham, and it looks like it was manufactured just yesterday. It really is terrific and all credit to the S&T guys here - it's absolutely marvellous. We give a lifetime guarantee - however long that guarantee might be - even for second hand usage. The one thing we do is we build them to last and here's proof!"

Veteran Swanage branch employee Bob Richards (right) - who worked as a shunter at Swanage during the mid-1960s before moving to Corfe Castle as a signalman where he was the last BR signalman at Corfe Castle - with Swanage Railway volunteer signalman John Smith (left) of Weymouth who used to work for British Rail as a station master, occasionally carrying out stationmaster relief work at Swanage during the 1960s.