Swanage Railway wins National Award for Harman's Cross Signal Box

NEWS RELEASE From: Andrew P.M. Wright. Swanage Railway Press Officer: 6th November 1997

Stuart Ward and Brian Langdown at Harman's Cross Signal Box

A signal success - Swanage Railway volunteers are celebrating the winning of a coveted and prestigious national award for their new £15,000 signal box and signalling system at Harman's Cross.

A PRESTIGIOUS and coveted top national heritage award has been won by dedicated Swanage Railway volunteers for their new signal box at Harman's Cross - mid-way on the six mile relaid Purbeck Line from Swanage to Corfe Castle and Norden.

Judges for the Westinghouse Signalling Award praised the new £15,000 signal box and signalling project only brought into use in July, 1997, as "a very considerable volunteer effort well worthy of commendation" that "represents great progress

The signal box was "visually and technically an enormous success while the quality of the construction work was "excellent" - "great care" being taken to get the all-important details just right.

They praised the standard and quality of the signal box and the signals - saying it was "extremely high" and reflected "great credit on those involved". It was "a great asset to the railway" added the judges.

Of a replica design harking back to the London and South Western Railway of the late 19th and early 20th century, the judges said "great trouble" had gone into the signal box's construction - so much so they felt "in time it will be difficult to tell it has not always been there".

On the technical side, the judges praised the signalling system as being "of a very high standard" while aesthetically they said "the pleasing mix" of Southern Railway-style Upper Quadrant signals - including rail-built, lattice post and bracket signals - gave "life, variety and added authenticity to the overall scene."

The award is due to be presented to representatives of the Swanage Railway by international businessman and entrepreneur James Sherwood, President of Sea Containers Ltd, at a special ceremony in the National Railway Museum, York, on Monday, December 8th, 1997.

The signalling scheme has been led by Stuart Ward of Bournemouth, Dorset, who works as an electronics engineer for Siemens at Poole, Dorset, and led a team of ten Swanage Railway volunteers working on the project for some four years.

The signal box was designed by Brian Langdown of Swanage who used to work for Wessex Water in Poole as a design engineer and is now retired - spending some of his spare time as a qualified signalman at Harman's Cross: working shifts in the very box that he designed and helped to build.

With a Purbeck stone base and a wooden cabin topped with a Welsh slate roof, the Harman's Cross signal box was built from scratch - there was never a signal box or signals at Harman's Cross in BR days.

Inside the signalbox is a 22 lever frame built by Stevens in the 1880s and rescued from a late Victorian LSWR signalbox at Gunnersbury in west London in May, 1980, before it was demolished. As well as the lever frame, there are also electrical and mechanical safety systems.

Signal box designer Brian Langdown said: "It's nice to see a project that we're so very proud of attract a high level of praise from national judges. It's a fitting culmination to the three years work that went into the project.

"It's very rewarding to be involved with a project from beginning to end - designing it, being involved in the construction and operating it.

Swanage Railway's signalling chief Stuart Ward said: "I was delighted yet never seriously thought we'd win. This award represents a lot of work over several years by many dedicated people.

"The Harman's Cross signalling scheme is one of the most important developments in the history of the Swanage Railway because it enables greater operational flexibility and doubles the frequency of trains to our Norden P ark and Ride station," he added.

The National Railway Heritage Awards judges also had praise for the new ticket office at Norden station north of Code Castle which they said was "a splendid entry".

The National Railway Heritage Awards are sponsored by the Ian Allan Group, Railtrack, London Underground Ltd, the Railway Heritage Trust, the Westinghouse Brake and Signal Company, the National Railway Museum and the Association of Independent Railways and Preservation Societies.