The Barnstaple Town Signal Box – Progress Report

When the original Barnstaple Town Signal Box was acquired by the L&BR in 2023, it could not be craned out of the garden in Umberleigh, so it had to be totally dismantled.   Then it was loaded on to two tailers and brought to Woody Bay Station. Initially it was stored under a tarpaulin in the car park but clearly, it could not stay there. Space was then made available under cover behind the engine workshops, so that the timbers could be kept dry.

Rebuilding the Signal Box needs quite a large space, undercover - something that is not available at Woody Bay station.  During the latter part of 2024, a private location was found where the rebuild could take place.  Finally, arrangements were made to move the timbers to this new workplace – the great day for the move being Monday 23^rd September 2024.

So why this particular day?  Well on a Monday in September, there are no service trains running and so there will be no visitors on the station. The other key issue was that for a very short period, there was nothing in the paint shop. The basic plan was to load the timbers onto a flat top railway waggon which would then be pulled out of the engine shed and into the Up Platform.  The trailer to move the timbers needed to be positioned on the Up Platform alongside of the train but the gate is only just wide enough and it could not be pushed there by the towing vehicle, it could only be pushed on and off of the platform by hand; easy when the trailer was empty, but a different story when it was full.

A bit of shunting was needed first, to move other waggons and the Tamper which can only be moved by hand, out of the engine shed to enable the diesel shunter to access the area behind the engine shed.  The timbers were then hand loaded onto the flat 4-wheel waggon which was then pulled out and up to the UP Platform.  The next task was to hand transfer the timbers onto the trailer and when full, it was all hands to the pump, to push the trailer onto the station forecourt where it was attached to the towing vehicle. This procedure had to be repeated three times to move all of the timbers from the back of the engine shed.

With the trailer loaded, it was off the private location where it was hand unloaded and ready for the reconstruction of the Signal Box – something that will be a long and detailed task.

Any donations for, or assistance with, the restoration, would be appreciated.