Signalling Record Society
Calendar of Meetings and Events
Places on visits to Network Rail and London Underground are strictly limited and these places are only available to members. Registering in advance with the organiser is essential and, before registering, please ensure you can attend on the date concerned. If the number of members wishing to attend exceeds the available number of places the organiser will 'draw names from the hat' to determine who may attend.
Some visits to London Underground and Network Rail are arranged at short notice and may not get advertised here. If you would like to register an interest in advance, register here indicating which areas of the country interest you. You will then be sent detail of each visit by email so that you are certain to be notified in time.
By prior arrangement with the organiser concerned, members attending a visit to a Heritage Railway may take a friend with them.
If you are not yet a member, take the opportunity to join here.
All visit dates should be treated as provisional until participants have the date confirmed by the organiser.
Times quoted in the calendar are in 24 hour notation.
If you find you are unable to attend the visit please let the Organiser know immediately to allow your place to be offered to someone else, or if on the day to avoid the visit being delayed awaiting your arrival. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, failure to let the organiser know in good time may result in preference being given to others for subsequent visits.
Visit safety - Visits to Network Rail, London Underground and Heritage Railway premises often involve lineside access. Specific conditions normally apply to these visits. Please ensure you have fully read the conditions before applying to join the visit.
| Date 2018 | Event |
|---|---|
| Saturday 20 October |
North East Meeting, York The next SRS York meeting will be held on Saturday 20 October 2018, once again in the Duchess of Hamilton Suite at the National Railway Museum, York. Room opens 10.15, tables available for members to bring displays or sales.This was extremely popular at the last meeting, so do please see what you can bring along. Speakers: 1100. Richard Pulleyn will take us from West Yorkshire into North Yorkshire by giving the next instalment in his illustrated talk describing signalling on the NER Leeds Northern line. This will pick up the story from where he left us at the last meeting, starting from Horsforth to take us through Arthington and on towards Harrogate. 1200. Paul Hepworth, retired S&T Engineer, makes a welcome return after many years to tell us about his experiences during “The GN Suburban Resignalling and Electrification”. 1400. Mick Nicholson takes us over into East Yorkshire and Humberside to tell us about signalling along the line from Hull towards Selby and Goole. In particular, he will take a close look at signal boxes between Melton Lane and Gilberdyke which are scheduled to close when control passes to the York ROC. Location map here - click on the map marker for address detail and satnav information. For those of you coming by train there is a down side exit from the station footbridge which provides the shortest walking distance to the NRM. Nearest railway station is York. National Rail Enquiries for train times or Traveline for other transport modes. |
| Saturday 3 November |
Research Open Day at the Society's Archives, Unit 6A, Princes Drive, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 2FD. 10:00 to 17:00. Prior advice to the Archivist would be appreciated if you are planning to come. Map here - click on the map marker for address detail and satnav information. Nearest railway stations are Coventry and Leamington Spa. Bus service X17 serves both stations, ask the driver to stop at Woodland Road, Kenilworth to let you off. National Rail Enquiries for train times or Traveline for other transport modes. |
| Saturday 3 November |
Members visit to Robertsbridge, Bo-peep Junction and Hastings Arrangements have been made to visit Robertsbridge Signal Box together with Bo-peep Junction and Hastings signal boxes. Meet at Robertsbridge at 12.30 on arrival of 11.24 ex London Bridge train. Attendees will each be expected to make a charity donation of £10 which will go to a charity of Network Rail's choosing. National Rail Enquiries for train times or Traveline for other transport modes. Visit conditions strictly apply, including wearing high-vis clothing. Ground conditions dictate that stout walking shoes or boots - safety ones if you have them - are essential. You may be denied access if you are wearing light shoes such as trainers or sandals. Please register with the organiser (Peter Adds, visits@s-r-s.org.uk) if you wish to join this visit. If you don't have access to email his postal address is listed on the inside front cover of the Signalling Record. |
| Saturday 17 November |
North West Meeting, Crewe. Crewe North Junction Signal Box at The Crewe Heritage Centre. 1000 site opens, tea and biscuits available. 1045 Welcome, introduction and notices 1100 Down the Pan. Bedford to St Pancras in the 1970s. Speaker John Hinson. An illustrated talk depicting the MML signalling scene of the 1970's. Describing the Signal Boxes that existed prior to the commissioning of West Hampstead PSB. 1230 Lunch break. 1400 Looking for Irish Signal Cabins. Speaker Angus McDougall. The mass line closures of the last half of the 20th Century along with the more recent changes as to how the remaining IE & NIR Networks are signalled has totally altered the face of Irish Railway signalling. Many Irish signal cabins still exist, mostly no longer operational, and quite a few are on railways no longer in existence. The illustrated talk will report on searching for these cabins by car, with some other sightings. 1530 Networking Forum and questions. 1600 Close. 1630 Site closes. Attendees will be invited to make a voluntary donation of £4 towards the costs of the day. The Heritage Centre also houses the preserved Crewe Station “A” and Exeter West boxes. The entrance to The Crewe Heritage Centre is situated at Vernon Way, Crewe on the west side of the West Coast Main Line. Location Map - click on the map marker for address detail, satnav information and walking route from the station. No charge will be made by The Heritage Centre for access to the site by society members. The Centre may be closed to the general public on the meeting date. Please state that you are a member of the Signalling Record Society at the site entrance. Nearest railway station is Crewe. National Rail Enquiries for train times or Traveline for other transport modes. Allow 30 minutes if walking from Crewe station. Further information can be obtained from Ken Booth. |
| Saturday & Sunday 24 & 25 November |
Warley Model Railway Club Warley National Model Railway Exhibition 2018 at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham. Nearest railway station is Birmingham International with Elmdon Aerodrome (aka Birmingham International Airport) close by and with under cover walkway from the station into the NEC. The Society will have a stand at the show. Please come along and support. More information here. National Rail Enquiries for train times or Traveline for other transport modes. Location map here - click on the map marker for address detail and satnav information. |
| Saturday 1 December |
Committee Meeting, Birmingham & Midland Institute, Margaret Street, Birmingham. Location map here - click on the map marker for address detail and satnav information. |
| Saturday 15 December |
Joint Open Day and Christmas Gathering from 10:00 with the London & North Western Society at the Societies' Archives, Unit 6A, Princes Drive, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 2FD. Prior advice to the Archivist would be appreciated if you are planning to come. Map here - click on the map marker for address detail and satnav information. Nearest railway stations are Coventry and Leamington Spa. Bus service X17 serves both stations, ask the driver to stop at Woodland Road, Kenilworth to let you off. National Rail Enquiries for train times or Traveline for other transport modes. |
Conditions for Participation in Visits Involving Lineside Access
These condtions apply to all visits involving lineside access, regardless of whether hosted by Network Rail, London Underground, Metro, Tramway or by one of the Heritage Railways.
The operational railway is a potentially dangerous environment. Whilst every reasonable care will be taken during the visit to ensure your safety, you must understand that the Society does not carry any insurance and your participation is undertaken at your own risk. This is in accordance with Society Bylaws.
It is a mandatory requirement that you provide yourself with a clean hi-visibility waistcoat or coat meeting the specifications of GO/RT3279 Class 2.
In layman's terms this means:
PLEASE NOTE - Old-style mini-vests which only come half-way down towards the waist only meet class 1 of the specification and are not acceptable on Society visits. Additionally red, yellow or green garments (you will be a walking handsignal and will possibly cause a SPAD) ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. This condition is imposed on everyone coming onto the lineside. Please do not attend without suitable clothing; you will be unable to participate in the visit as the Visit Co-ordinator will have undertaken with the host company that the party will be compliant.
- The garment covers the whole torso
- It is orange
- It has reflective strips
If you do not already have suitable hi-vis clothing this can be easily and cheaply obtained from workwear shops and on-line. Do ensure that you obtain rail-industry compliant garments, as detailed above. The Visit Co-ordinator may have some spare waistcoats available - if you wish to borrow one of these on the day you must make arrangements before the date of the visit to check one is available and reserve it for your use. They will not be brought along unless requested.
Do give some consideration to your choice of clothing on the day. Garments which consist of large amounts of red, yellow or green are not acceptable when on the operational railway, either lineside or near a signalbox, as they are 'signalling colours' and can cause confusion to train drivers, signallers and others. Any disruption to the railway caused by the wearing of such garments will cause embarrassment to the Society's reputation and could result in the hosting company refusing such visits in the future.
The hosting company Manager will give a safety brief at the commencement of the visit. Please ensure you listen carefully to the brief and comply in full with any and all instructions given during the brief.
Photography is normally permitted unless you are advised otherwise but you must comply with any restrictions advised to you on the day. In order to avoid the hosting companies imposing bans on photography you are requested to be mindful that operational signalboxes are security-critical locations and if you make photographs available for public viewing following your visit you should not display those which feature:
- identifiable images of railway staff, unless you have their specific permission,
- telephone numbers on paperwork or equipment,
- operational notices, instructions, memoranda, passwords, etc.,
- anything which could cause public embarrassment to the staff or company.