Slamdoors and semaphores

337412 forms 1C16 1202 London Victoria to Portsmouth Harbour and departs Billingshurst station, the signalbox is listed Grade II. The 'box was built 1876 for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, supplied by Saxby and Farmer. It is an S & F type 1b box. The interior contains a 15 lever Saxby & Farmer rocker frame No 2273. This signal box is reliably recorded as having been erected in 1876, but production of the Type 1 box had ceased several years earlier(Type 2 began in 1868), and it may be that this box was re-used from an earlier site. It may thus date from the 1860's and is anyway probably the oldest working signal box with original frame on the British system. It is the only remaining example of the first standard signal box design and comes from the company which first patented the interlocking frame and thus the fully fledged signal box as a building type.

A pair of Electrostar units 377152 and 377122 pause at Billingshurst station with 1C65 1238 Chichester to London Victoria. The up platform can only accomodate a 4 coach unit so this 8 coach train will be straddling the level crossing. The platform has since been lengthened, like the down to take 8 coach trains. The up semaphore starter was removed in October 2010.

A move to Pulborough station which, like Billingshurst, is on the Arun Valley line. Sets 377125 and 377151 depart with 1C64 1232 London Victoria to Chichester service. It is caught between the down starter and down advanced starter with the up home on the opposite side.