Romsey Signal Box

Romsey Signal Box A Victorian Signal box being preserved by a group of dedicated enthusiasts Free parking and entry (plus disabled access).

A working museum open on the first Sunday and third Saturday of most month (see website for dates). All public are welcome to come and operate the box with the guarantee of not crashing a train. Or why not come along and become a member, we need more: signalmen, gardeners and people willing to get their hands dirty.

02/05/2026

Deleted, duplicate post.

Romsey Signal Box Museum will be open on Sunday 3rd and Saturday 16th May 2026.We will be offering demonstrations of how...
02/05/2026

Romsey Signal Box Museum will be open on Sunday 3rd and Saturday 16th May 2026.
We will be offering demonstrations of how a traditional signal box was operated with the chance to pull levers to work points and signals. Cowley Bridge Junction miniature signal box will be open for demonstrations as will the Audrey Gebbie discovery centre, which explains some of the principles and science behind operating signal boxes. Our cafe will be open for the sale of teas, coffees and light refreshments.
Continuing the idea of signals configures to resolve problems with sighting, this signal at Exeter Central was constructed to give a clearer view under the overbridge spanning the London end of the station. This configuration was sometimes called a "gallows signal" .

This resource may be of interest - for research or interest. Eastleigh Library in the Swan Centre is open Monday, Tuesd...
02/04/2026

This resource may be of interest - for research or interest. Eastleigh Library in the Swan Centre is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Our open days in April are on Sunday 5th and Saturday 18th and we will be open between 1100 and 1600. There will be dem...
01/04/2026

Our open days in April are on Sunday 5th and Saturday 18th and we will be open between 1100 and 1600. There will be demonstrations of how a traditional signal box was operated and visitors will have the chance to try pulling signal levers and working block bells. In addition, Cowley Bridge Jn miniature signal box will be demonstrated.
The Audrey Gebbie Discovery Centre will be open to explain some of the technology behind signalling systems as well as old artifacts.
The Buffer Stop Cafe will be open serving tea, coffee and snacks as well as home made cake from Romsey market.

Following on from the idea of signals to aid sighting by drivers, an alternative is Banner Repeaters. They only show stop or proceed and are purely advisory to the train driver as a warning for the next signal aspect. They were used where the view of the signal was obstructed by a building or structure. When the banner shows "proceed" the black bar is tilted at 45 degrees just like a semaphore signal arm. The modern banner repeaters are LED displays, but until recently they were electro-mechanical arms moving in front of an illuminated white background.

Romsey Signal Box Museum will be open on Sunday 1st, Saturday 7th, Sunday 8th and Saturday 18th March. The 7th and 8th a...
25/02/2026

Romsey Signal Box Museum will be open on Sunday 1st, Saturday 7th, Sunday 8th and Saturday 18th March. The 7th and 8th are in connection with the Romsey Model Railway Exhibition.
We will be offering demonstrations of how a traditional signal box was operated with the chance to pull levers to work points and signals with guidance. Cowley Bridge Junction miniature signal box will be open for demonstrations as will the Audrey Gebbie discovery centre, which explains some of the principles and science behind operating signal boxes. Our cafe will be open for the sale of teas, coffees and light refreshments.
Following from the image last month of a tall signal for sighting reasons, other ideas were used where there was limited space. At Exeter Central before resignalling around 1985, the Down Starting signal was underneath the station canopy as it was the only place it could be situated. It remained a lower quadrant signal after all other signals had been converted to upper quadrant in the 1950's for better visibility. I suspect that an upper quadrant arm would have hit the roof structure. ( Photo N.Kearns FORSB collection)

Romsey Signal Box Museum will be open on Sunday 1st and Saturday 21st February 2026.We will be offering demonstrations o...
30/01/2026

Romsey Signal Box Museum will be open on Sunday 1st and Saturday 21st February 2026.
We will be offering demonstrations of how a traditional signal box was operated with the chance to pull levers to work points and signals. Cowley Bridge Junction miniature signal box will be open for demonstrations as will the Audrey Gebbie discovery centre, which explains some of the principles and science behind operating signal boxes. Our cafe will be open for the sale of teas, coffees and light refreshments.

One question we are occasionally asked is how far away can semaphore signals be seen. Obviously a clear view and good visibility are important. To help with signal sighting, some railways, including the London and South Western were prepared to use tall signal posts to give the driver the best possible chance to see a signal. To ease sighting closer to the signal quite often a co-acting arm was fitted lower down the post as we see here at Ropley on the Watercress Line. Another difficulty was that lamps burning oil were not that bright, so part of the drivers route knowledge was knowing where to look. ( But years ago there was much less light pollution.)

The first open day of the year will be held on Saturday 17th January. Please come along for the demonstrations of how t...
14/01/2026

The first open day of the year will be held on Saturday 17th January.
Please come along for the demonstrations of how trains were controlled in the days before computers and digital information. Visitors can try pulling signal levers and working block bells to communicate with other signal boxes. Our discovery room will be operating showing some of the background of the technology behind signalling systems. The miniature signal box demonstrating Cowley bridge Jn near Exeter will be operating to give an insight into working a busy mechanical signal box. I'll be told off if I don't mention it, the buffer stop cafe will be open for teas, coffee and light refreshments including fresh cakes.

The picture shows the recent work by our members on the signalling demonstration model railway in the discovery centre. We now have a backscene to cover the bare plywood. ( The real 33008 was a local locomotive and spent many years allocated to Eastleigh. The second photo is an Eastleigh based 33/0 passing the site of Kimbridge Jn in 1982.)

Sunday 7th December will be our final open day of the year and we will be open between 1100 and 1600. There will be demo...
03/12/2025

Sunday 7th December will be our final open day of the year and we will be open between 1100 and 1600. There will be demonstrations of how a traditional signal box was operated and visitors will have the chance to try pulling signal levers and working block bells. In addition, Cowley Bridge Jn miniature signal box will be demonstrated.
The Audrey Gebbie Discovery Centre will be open to explain some of the technology behind signalling systems as well as old artifacts.
The Buffer Stop Cafe will be open serving tea, coffee and snacks as well as home made cake from Romsey market.
Long before the days of mobile phones or even phones with a dial, signal boxes and stations were linked by "Omnibus" phone circuits. All the instruments were connected and to call a particular location the caller had to buzz a code. The circuits covered a small area and the staff recognised the code for their location. Some locations could link to adjacent circuits but the quality was terrible. The disadvantage of bus phones was there would quite often be discussions about subjects other than work and a third caller had to persuade the original conversation to shut down for a work call to be made. Bus circuits fell out of use in the 1970's when locations received conventional dial telephones connected to the new fangled extension trunk dialling railway network.
We are in the process of returning our bus circuit phones to use for internal communication around the site, but they are a low priority.

For more information on Bus Circuit phones have a look at this link.
https://www.britishtelephones.com/ericsson/bulletin/17_40.htm

Our contribution to Remembrance Day, produced by a neighbour and member and placed on display on the signal box.Lest we ...
07/11/2025

Our contribution to Remembrance Day, produced by a neighbour and member and placed on display on the signal box.
Lest we forget.

Romsey Signal Box Museum will be open on Sunday 2nd and Saturday 15th November.We will be offering demonstrations of how...
29/10/2025

Romsey Signal Box Museum will be open on Sunday 2nd and Saturday 15th November.
We will be offering demonstrations of how a traditional signal box was operated with the chance to pull levers to work points and signals. Cowley Bridge Junction miniature signal box will be open for demonstrations as will the Audrey Gebbie discovery centre, which explains some of the principles and science behind operating signal boxes. Our cafe will be open for the sale of teas, coffees and light refreshments.
Long before lifts were installed at many station platforms , there was another way of getting parcels across a track to island platforms. This parcel bridge at Brockenhurst was the last one in use as far as we know. It originally was operated by the station staff and was interlocked with Brockenhurst "A" and "B" signal boxes. The end of railway parcels services meant that it was only used for disabled passengers in latter years. There was a similar parcel bridge at Eastleigh which was removed when the Salisbury Loop was removed in the 1970's.

Address

Romsey Signal Box, Brick Lane
Romsey
SO518LG

Telephone

+447740345892

Website

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