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Hammerton

PHOTO GALLERY: NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY

Hammerton

OPENED: 1880s. CLOSED: —-

Click or tap the images for enlarged views

What is this curious-looking shed? It may look like a large cupboard, but it is more than that.

This exquisitely designed hut houses the levers working the signalling frame at Hammerton station. It is thought to date from the signalling of the line in the 1880s, although little definite information has been traced. An 1895 survey records eight “signal boxes” on the line as being “Wood Cover on Platform”. A new lever frame was provided in 1914.

Hammerton SB
John Whitaker 1977

Hammerton is an intermediate station on the York to Harrogate route – a real oasis of traditional branch line signalling sandwiched between the electronic signalling of York and Leeds.

The lever frame fits snugly in the hut, and the doors can be closed so that it may be secured safely when not in use.

Inside the hut, we see the ten-lever McKenzie & Holland (No 16 pattern) frame that signals the simple layout, with the diagram depicted on the British Railways-made diagram above. To the left, the single line from the York direction can be seen, splitting to a double line onwards towards Harrogate.

Hammerton SB
N L Cadge, 18/11/78

Lever 1 is the Down Distant, and was still (2002) mechanically operated although in this view it seems to be out of use. The yellow painted wheel by the left wall allows adjustment of the length of the signal wire, as the outside temperature can have a significant effect on signals that are a long way from the box.

Some signals have shorter handles, indicating that the lever is working a power-operated function – in this case colour light signals.

Lever 7 – the brown lever in mid-position in this view – releases keys that unlock the hand-operated level crossing gates. After the gates have been closed by hand, keys are placed in a machine in the station office, in turn electrically releasing this lever to be replaced fully “normal”. That then releases, through the frame’s interlocking, the signals.

The signalling instruments are not with the levers, but inside the station office.

Hammerton SB
N L Cadge, 18/11/78

Prominent in this view is the Tyer & Co key-token instrument for the single line to Poppleton. The instrument interlocks with the identical twin at Poppleton to ensure that only one  token can be withdrawn at a time, which in turn (by being conveyed by the driver) provides the assurance that only one train can be on the single line at a time. Prior to 1972, this section had been double line. The token working was replaced by Tokenless Block in December 2020.

To the left is a BR standard block instrument controlling the double line to Cattal box.

Hammerton signal box (a “signal box” is technically what it is!) remains in use at the time of writing in 2021.