Manually operated platform indicator boards

[AY1975]

I'd say that Putney, which used to be my local station, may well have been one of the last stations to retain manually operated platform indicator boards listing the calling points of the next train. I seem to recall that they were still in use in the late 1980s and maybe even in the early '90s.

Putney station has two outer platforms and a central island platform. In BR days the outer platforms were rarely used except by the odd peak hour train. The Waterloo-bound side of the central platform had boards that were stored vertically in a box and a member of staff would insert the appropriate board into a slot marked "Next train", and the Down side had boards that were pulled down by pulling a lever.

Does anyone remember seeing these at any other stations as late as that, or even later? I think both types of board are still used on some heritage railways.

At least on the Southern Region most stations had their manual boards replaced by mini Solari boards in the 1980s, but Putney never did.

You can see one of those boards that were inserted into a slot 2 minutes 17 seconds into this clip from the last day of operation on the Sanderstead-Elmers End line at

and right at the end of this clip, also from the last day of the Selsdon line:

See also this now closed thread on mini Solari boards at https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/mini-solari-boards-on-platforms.119089/ and this one on Solari boards at main stations at https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/solari-boards.201063

 

[Swanny200]

Gravesend Platform 2 had manual boards until 1995 at least, as the train arrived, the staff would run across the footbridge from platform 1, dispatch the train and then put the next board in place before going back over the footbridge, there was a hut there but until the late 90's it never seemed used although IIRC it had the box in there to control the platform announcements for platforms 1 and 2

 

[4COR]

I recall these down at Upper Warlingham, probably in the mid-late 80s - they were displayed (at least on the up line) in a slot on the canopy post outside the ticket office on P1. They too were stored vertically next to the post in a metal box kind of thing. You can see the slot, and the block of wood for the station staff to stand on the reach it (!) in this shot, found on the Sutton and Croydon Guardian website (from 2013):

 

[WesternLancer]

I'd say that Putney, which used to be my local station, may well have been one of the last stations to retain manually operated platform indicator boards listing the calling points of the next train. I seem to recall that they were still in use in the late 1980s and maybe even in the early '90s.

Putney station has two outer platforms and a central island platform. In BR days the outer platforms were rarely used except by the odd peak hour train. The Waterloo-bound side of the central platform had boards that were stored vertically in a box and a member of staff would insert the appropriate board into a slot marked "Next train", and the Down side had boards that were pulled down by pulling a lever.

Does anyone remember seeing these at any other stations as late as that, or even later? I think both types of board are still used on some heritage railways.

At least on the Southern Region most stations had their manual boards replaced by mini Solari boards in the 1980s, but Putney never did.

You can see one of those boards that were inserted into a slot 2 minutes 17 seconds into this clip from the last day of operation on the Sanderstead-Elmers End line at

and right at the end of this clip, also from the last day of the Selsdon line:

See also this now closed thread on mini Solari boards at https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/mini-solari-boards-on-platforms.119089/ and this one on Solari boards at main stations at https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/solari-boards.201063

I certainly recall seeing plenty of these up until the mid 80s at least (then I associated the solari board roll out as part of the NSE 'upgrades') I recall the ones at the old Polgate station which was then local to me being in boxes, when not in use probably painted in BR(SR) green as that station was never re-painted prior to closure in c1986.

I then recall seeing the withdrawn boards for sale in Collectors Corner. I guess loads of them went out of use across the system.

Interested to know some remained into the 90s.

BTW - those film clips very atmospheric!

 

[ag51ruk]

I think Worcester Park had them still at some point after 1994, the South Western were slower to roll out Solari boards than the Central or South Eastern and many suburban stations had no platform information until the electronic displays introduced by SWT in the early 2000s.

Bexleyheath up platform still had the slot where the fingerboards were placed when I last visited a couple of years ago, probably not used in over 30 years as it did have a Solari board in the 80s

 

[Bletchleyite]

Moving away from the South East for a bit, this sort of thing was unheard about away from London - was there even anything at all up north prior to the large Solaris and the 1970s TV screen based systems?

 

[joncombe]

I recall seeing these manual indicators still in use at Weston-super-Mare late into the 1990s. Probably 1998 or 1999 certainly not earlier.

 

[WesternLancer]

Moving away from the South East for a bit, this sort of thing was unheard about away from London - was there even anything at all up north prior to the large Solaris and the 1970s TV screen based systems?

I'm pretty sure there is a scene in Brief Encounter film where they show them being changed (this would be at Carnforth), unless I am imagining that, so maybe they fell out of use at some point in the post war period.

Or - Brief Encounter is supposed to be set in the home counties, so maybe they set up finger boards for a touch of SR authenticity

Some GWR ones shown (or should I say shewn) here

Railway Finger / Dest Boards Auction Results - GW Railwayana Auctions

Next & previous auctions of Railway Finger / Dest Boards. Sell, bid or view Finger / Dest Boards here. Maximum price: £1,500, average price: £214, 187 items listed - GW Railwayana Auctions

www.gwra.co.uk

and this pic shows a lot of them on the LMR in the early BR era I would guess https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwrcov589a.htm

There must have been something on important jct stations at least outside the south east in the era before the TV screen monitors on platforms - eg up until thew late 70s at least?

Of course such boards can't be used once stations became unstaffed.

some interesting anecdotes on this thread - inc comment by a member of staff responsible for their use on the platform at one point. Link starts with TV clip at Clapham Jct 1984 where they are still in use even at such an important location.

Wooden departure boards at the platform.

Hello. Was watching an old TV series when I saw something interesting/unusual in a station scene. A porter appears to take down a wooden strip with the train details on it and replace it with another. This is transverse to the platform edge. The two screen grabs attached show the porter reaching ...

www.rmweb.co.uk

It's pointed out that at least on the BR(SR) intense schedules to varied destinations, plus large amounts of slam door non corridor stock meant platform staff prescence was important and thus staff about to operate them. But I note the 'please listen for announcements' board used when they couldn't resource going across the footbridge at one location to change the boards!

 

[hexagon789]

Gourock had one which effectively was just staff changing the departure time. It was still in use there about 10/11 years ago when I visited Gourock.

 

[Swanny200]

@WesternLancer your point about the please listen for announcements board rings true at Gravesend, when it was really busy on Platform 1 which at times it was, they used to put the please listen for announcements board up, but on the odd occasion (not sure how they managed to do it mind) used to play the platform 2 announcements on platform 1 and not platform 2, the issue was Platform 1 was used for the CX fast services via Woolwich and Platform 2 was used for services coming from CX to Gillingham and also the slow services to Charing Cross, so a train would arrive to terminate at Gravesend to then head back slow to Charing Cross, so confusion sometimes did occur.

 

[32475]

Platform indicator boards are still doing sterling service on our first floor landing. Mind you the train service here is abysmal which is just as well.

 

[MotCO]

I remember these boards at New Malden, I'm sure up to at least 1983. What amused me was that the constant putting in and taking out eroded the end of the board so that instead of being horizontal, they were starting to droop.

 

[WesternLancer]

Platform indicator boards are still doing sterling service on our first floor landing. Mind you the train service here is abysmal which is just as well.View attachment 83415

A lovely display! Is that the original paintwork? Very good condition.

I assume they are swapped hourly to match the correct service pattern?

 

[32475]

A lovely display! Is that the original paintwork? Very good condition.

I assume they are swapped hourly to match the correct service pattern?

Yes, these are original with no restoration at all. The hand lettering (straw on green) is wonderful and must have taking a painstakingly long time to do. As a schoolboy on Haywards Heath station in my shorts in the late 60's / early 70's waiting for my train south on platform 2, I loved the array of boards which by then were mainly printed black and white but with some of the green ones still in use. There was a box of these and at busy times the platform staff would line up the next few boards ready for the following trains.
There were also the crackly tape recorded train announcements by a lady who sounded a bit like the Queen and my group of school chums new one particular announcement by heart and shouted it out in chorus in time with the announcement. To this day if I am in somewhere like a village hall and there's a microphone plugged into a speaker, I can never resist reciting the following announcement to a bemused audience:
'The next train on platform 2 will be divided here. The front four coaches are for Brighton only. The rear four coaches are for Lewes, Polegate, Hampden Park, Eastbourne, Pevensey, Cooden Beach, Bexhill, St Leonards and Hastings. Change at Lewes for the Newhaven and Seaford line'.
Happy days!!

 

[WesternLancer]

Yes, these are original with no restoration at all. The hand lettering (straw on green) is wonderful and must have taking a painstakingly long time to do. As a schoolboy on Haywards Heath station in my shorts in the late 60's / early 70's waiting for my train south on platform 2, I loved the array of boards which by then were mainly printed black and white but with some of the green ones still in use. There was a box of these and at busy times the platform staff would line up the next few boards ready for the following trains.
There were also the crackly tape recorded train announcements by a lady who sounded a bit like the Queen and my group of school chums new one particular announcement by heart and shouted it out in chorus in time with the announcement. To this day if I am in somewhere like a village hall and there's a microphone plugged into a speaker, I can never resist reciting the following announcement to a bemused audience:
'The next train on platform 2 will be divided here. The front four coaches are for Brighton only. The rear four coaches are for Lewes, Polegate, Hampden Park, Eastbourne, Pevensey, Cooden Beach, Bexhill, St Leonards and Hastings. Change at Lewes for the Newhaven and Seaford line'.
Happy days!!

well, they certainly survived in superb condition which is great to see! Excellent example of sign writers skill - BR must have employed plenty of people who could do that to churn these out I guess. Probably a sideline in carriage and wagon sign-writing works.

And I enjoyed that post as that was my local line too. In my case going to / from school / FE college in Eastbourne I reckon I too could recite the Brighton - Hastings announcements to this day too. But for me that was in the late 70s early 80s so all the signs were of the black style you mention. I did always enjoy the retained (through neglect) green and cream paintwork at the old Polegate station until its demolition. Sadly I can't recall the exact livery of the finger boards at Polegate...! Probably 'modernised' to black and white!

 

[32475]

well, they certainly survived in superb condition which is great to see! Excellent example of sign writers skill - BR must have employed plenty of people who could do that to churn these out I guess. Probably a sideline in carriage and wagon sign-writing works.

And I enjoyed that post as that was my local line too. In my case going to / from school / FE college in Eastbourne I reckon I too could recite the Brighton - Hastings announcements to this day too. But for me that was in the late 70s early 80s so all the signs were of the black style you mention. I did always enjoy the retained (through neglect) green and cream paintwork at the old Polegate station until its demolition. Sadly I can't recall the exact livery of the finger boards at Polegate...! Probably 'modernised' to black and white!

There were also the black and white boards which as they got older and the timetables changed, the station staff had to blank out some of the station names or even tipex in others. These looked really tatty!

 

[WesternLancer]

There were also the black and white boards which as they got older and the timetables changed, the station staff had to blank out some of the station names or even tipex in others. These looked really tatty!

Yes, I also recall that. Sort of added to the rather gloomy air of neglect at the time, as I never liked the black and white paint scheme BR(SR) used on all the buildings etc. Resulted in NSE spruce ups being a breath of fresh air, even if the paint colours didn't always suit the buildings concerned. Mind you, in hindsight nothing like the air of neglect Connex South Central were able to bring about - esp on rolling stock interiors, but that's another story.

 

[telstarbox]

I just found this one which was apparently destined for Putney. Looks great in NSE colours!

Network South East train indicator finger board | #1476303202

Good condition some minor damage. The board was probably intended for the island platform at Putney but was never taken to site probably because the lever worked magazine was retained. The train indic

www.worthpoint.com

 

[32475]

A rare find! These must have been about the last indicator boards ever produced

 

[Ianigsy]

As a boy, I used to be fascinated with the ones at Ewell West - from memory (mid-1980s) the range on the down platform was something like "Epsom" , "Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead, Boxhill & Westhumble, Dorking" , the same but extended to Ockley & Capel, Warnham and Horsham and variations for Effingham Junction and Guildford. There may also have been the odd one missing out Boxhill or Bookham, which some did.

As regards Brief Encounter, I remember there's definitely one seen with something like "Skipton, Keighley, Bingley and Leeds " on it.

 

[WesternLancer]

As a boy, I used to be fascinated with the ones at Ewell West - from memory (mid-1980s) the range on the down platform was something like "Epsom" , "Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead, Boxhill & Westhumble, Dorking" , the same but extended to Ockley & Capel, Warnham and Horsham and variations for Effingham Junction and Guildford. There may also have been the odd one missing out Boxhill or Bookham, which some did.

As regards Brief Encounter, I remember there's definitely one seen with something like "Skipton, Keighley, Bingley and Leeds " on it.

Thanks for confirming my recollection about Brief Encounter!

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Idly scouring through old "Backtrack" magazines , (before filing) , I found some shots of finger boards in use in Midland Railway days at Morecombe - so yes , they were used in the North. In this case - "Bradford" ........

On the Southern , it was very much a daily observation on finger boards and pre-set announcements in "BBC English" , often operated by a member of platform staff , who worked according to the plan. Quite fascinating from someone from West Wales. Local announcements often in "Saff London" accents , often with local emphasis , - "train to THE Elephant and Castle" , - "StretHAM" .........

 

[ag51ruk]

A rare find! These must have been about the last indicator boards ever produced

The Worcester Park ones that I remembered from the mid 90s were NSE branded as well - glad that my mind wasn't playing tricks and they did actually exist!

 

[David Goddard]

When did they stop using the departure panels in the large frames behind the buffers at Kings Cross?
Must be well into the HST era.

 

[Ashley Hill]

We had modern(ish) plastic slide in boards in the booking hall at Paignton that were in use up to the late 80s. They showed the time,destination and calling points of the next four trains. I was keen and changed them around after each departure but the regular staff only changed them after the fourth train had departed.

 

[Bletchleyite]

When did they stop using the departure panels in the large frames behind the buffers at Kings Cross?
Must be well into the HST era.

Those remained in use until Kings Cross got orange LEDs, so well into the 2000s.

 

[daodao]

I recall that in the 1960s there were manual indicator boards at the entrance to platforms at Manchester Victoria station.

Manchester Victoria station's indicator board, 6 November 1929. This...

Manchester Victoria station's indicator board, 6 November 1929. This board was situated on station platforms and showed the destinations and times of the next trains. These boards were common at...

www.gettyimages.co.uk

 

[Taunton]

The GWR had comparable boards, which ended in a hand with pointed finger (was this a cast metal attachment to the end of the board?), later replaced by a pointed arrow with flights, examples above.

I believe they were made at Swindon in the carpentry shop. If new ones were required the stationmaster indented for them, by telegram. There was a train, the "stores train", which made a weekly circuit from Swindon round all stations, and that brought everything required, and took back to base anything redundant, also forming a (somewhat slow) way to move items from one station to another. We discussed a while ago the distribution of the similar long train rooftop destination boards, probably made by the same painter.

Separately, Glasgow Central used to have a fascinating (well, it fascinated me in the 1970s) central indicator, now converted into retail premises, photo here https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-a...-pub-in-glasgow-central-station-36358896.html , up at first floor level, with large 5 feet-high by 2 feet-wide pre-prepared boards for each train. It was run by a couple of shabbily-clothed but presumably fit elderly staff, readily visible from the platform, who spent their day carrying the boards to and from the storage behind, and displaying them in the high level windows, with departure time and platform underneath. I believe it may even be a Listed Building structure, under the overall roof. I used to think it unique until I went to Aberdeen where they had a smaller version of it, so I guess must have been a Caledonian Railway feature.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I recall that in the 1960s there were manual indicator boards at the entrance to platforms at Manchester Victoria station.

Manchester Victoria station's indicator board, 6 November 1929. This...

Manchester Victoria station's indicator board, 6 November 1929. This board was situated on station platforms and showed the destinations and times of the next trains. These boards were common at...

www.gettyimages.co.uk

The hand looks like it's been Photoshopped onto that, though I guess it probably hasn't.

I'm more intrigued about the train - was that portion worked splitting at Bolton, or is it a bit like a dodgy Solari, i.e. a few stuck flaps?

 

[vlad]

This is probably just me - but saying "The next train will start at 10.30 and will stop at..." makes me think that the next line should read something like "10.45" rather than a list of stations....