Disused signalbox at Willesden Junction is being dismantled

[infobleep]

Hi there

Not sure if this has been mentioned but the disused signal box around Willesden Junction is sadly being dismantled. It is located where the West London Line goes under the main liens to Euston. It was double level. I've attached two photos I took last year. I've taken others before and since then but no good ones of the dismantling yet.

Where their have been anything left inside it or would it have just been a shell? What do they do with it? Just skip it? I would love to own a bit of wood or brick from a disused signal box, especially if they cannot keep it standing no more and it is only doing to be thrown in a skip.

Not actually sure why they need to get rid of it. As far as I could tell it wasn't causing a problem but perhaps it was a danger waiting to happen. Personally I think it is a shame because I use to like looking at it as I went past every day. A node to our past. Yes times need to move on but surely we have keep our heritage too.

I first saw someone come out when I was on a slow train from Euston via the London Overground. That happens when there is disruption on the main line, which has happened a few times of late. After that I saw one day no window but then forgot to take any photos until I found one morning the top section was gone. So on Friday I caught the 8.05 from Euston to Tring. As it is slower to it's first stop, Harrow and Wealdstone than later trains, it usually offers the best change. However on Friday it left Euston a minute late and despite still arriving into Harrow a minute late, it slowed down at other points during the journey. They were even dismantling it about 8.10 in the morning, as I zoomed passed and took a very blurred photo!

Wonder how long the semaphore signals around the Willesden Junction sidings will last? The Carriage signal boxes are still in use as far as I can tell. I've managed to photograph them all. The London Overground and Bakerloo line helps for this purpose, especially for the semaphore signals.

 

[Trog]

Just a shell has been disused for years.

 

[O L Leigh]

Many other redundant boxes have gone in recent years, although some still remain. Chingford box was turned into a switch room, with just the brick-built lower storey remaining (same at Sawbridgeworth, I believe). Ware box was demolished completely leaving no trace of it's existence. However, boxes still remain at Bishops Stortford, Harlow Mill, Roydon, Broxbourne, Hertford East, St Margarets and Cheshunt, to name but a few.

O L Leigh

 

[infobleep]

Thanks for the info. I would love to be able to go inside one of these disused boxes but it will never happen for obvious reasons.

 

[fgwrich]

Still, to be fair to this signal box - at least it's been disused for several years and still remained, unlike a certain former box at Shirley where it was closed & demolished all within 24 hours.

Speaking of Signal Boxes, With all major signalling now controlled from Basingstoke - Several of the former Souther Signal Boxes on the West of England mainline have now been demolished, including Sherbourne & Yeovil.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Due to their inaccessible locations it's not practical to preserve many signal boxes in situ. There were a wide variety of boxes, and it seems unlikely that an example of every type will survive. Nevertheless, there are plenty of heritage railways where vintage signalling can be seen without breaking any rules.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Due to their inaccessible locations it's not practical to preserve many signal boxes in situ. There were a wide variety of boxes, and it seems unlikely that an example of every type will survive. Nevertheless, there are plenty of heritage railways where vintage signalling can be seen without breaking any rules.

I concur although it's always nice to see the boxes that have made it into preservation at Settle and St Albans. I love watching the comings and goings at Highley when they have their excellent Gala's; such a busy little 'box at those times!

 

[33056]

The box was called Willesden Brent Sidings; it was known as Willesden No. 9 until electrification and re-signalling in the mid-1960s. I have some pictures of it when it was open and they can be found here ; it was closed in July 1996 when Willesden Railnet was opened.

The reason the structure lasted so long was probably the access and the fact that several lines needed to be blocked and isolated to actually demolish it, in fact the brickwork went all the way down to the retaining wall for the Relief Lines (used to be Low Level Goods) which is another reason that it had to be dismantled carefully rather than just flattened.

Both boxes in the carriage are very much still in use and have semaphore signals, this is South box and this is North box ; note that they are called Willesden despite being at Wembley! There is also a ground frame at Carriage Shed Middle but the box structure has been replaced and it now looks very different to how it used to look

 

[DarloRich]

Thanks for the info. I would love to be able to go inside one of these disused boxes but it will never happen for obvious reasons.

there is nothing to see other than an empty shell - everything gets stripped out it would be like sitting in your garage

 

[YorkshireBear]

Cant preserve everything can we... thats the only way to look at it.

 

[AlexS]

there is nothing to see other than an empty shell - everything gets stripped out it would be like sitting in your garage

That's not always the case - Lincoln High Street and East Holmes boxes at least are still equipped on the operating floor (I believe High Street may still have it's crossing control pedestal operational as an emergency measure in the same manner as Narborough, albeit I don't believe Narborough's has ever been used) as they have been listed (although the equipment is obviously non operational as it is no longer attached to everything with the electric locking being removed). However accessing East Holmes in particular is difficult to say the least (impossible really)!

I know of several other closed boxes, some of which have been shut a while, that still have a surprising amount of equipment within, as well as some that appeared to be totally shut up, and were otherwise abandoned but could be opened for the purpose of engineering work (like Whitchurch on the Crewe to Shrewsbury line until recently).

More recent closures however do seem to be stripped and cannibalised pretty quickly if not immediately, presumably as high quality, working spares are harder and harder to come by - both by Network Rail and for preserved lines.

 

[Mugby]

Stapleford and Sandiacre box on the Erewash route was closed and demolished about two years ago, not very long after a lot of money had been spent on it installing double glazing and central heating!

 

[Clip]

Out of interest and a little bit OT maybe - how are the Chinnor and Princes Risborough railway getting on with Risborough North box? Have they got any further with plans to restore it?

 

[oversteer]

The Willesden box is completely gone this morning.. Just some rubble on the floor and the scaffolding that surrounded it.

 

[John Webb]

Out of interest and a little bit OT maybe - how are the Chinnor and Princes Risborough railway getting on with Risborough North box? Have they got any further with plans to restore it?

They do not yet have ownership of the box - see http://www.risboroughbox.org.uk/ for a recently established website which gives a lot of information about the present position and their future hopes. A lot more work on a much bigger structure than we had at St Albans!

 

[Clip]

They do not yet have ownership of the box - see http://www.risboroughbox.org.uk/ for a recently established website which gives a lot of information about the present position and their future hopes. A lot more work on a much bigger structure than we had at St Albans!

Cheers for that. Hope they manage to pull it off.