Widney Manor Station: can someone clear up something for me?

[greenknight]

Hi: can someone clear up an issue that's been bugging me for a couple of years now.

A couple of years ago I bought the Middleton Press book "Banbury to Birmingham" which mentioned that the signal box near Widney Manor station (a little way north of the road bridge over Widney Lane) closed in September 1969.

I used to play at this station for many many hours from around 1965 to 1970, and don't EVER remember seeing a signal box there or any semaphore signals either for that matter. What I DISTINCTLY remember is two sets of 3-aspect colour-light signals (two amber & single green) approx 1/4 mile north of the station on the down lines (it was four track until 1968) and another pair on the up lines approx the same distance south of the station. They were DEFINITELY distant signals as I can clearly remember the GWR ATC ramps in the middle of the tracks approx. 200-400 yards in front of the signal posts.

I suspect that when the goods yard closed (in 1963 I think) and the sidings were lifted, the entire signalling block was removed and the colour light signals became distants for Solihull and Dorridge (known as Knowle & Dorridge in those days).

Can anyone shed any light on this?
Cheers,
GK

[dinmore]

This website has some pics of widney manor, including one of the signal box. It is a superb site, if you havn't seen it before it's bound to keep you occupied for a while!!!,Regards, Mike

http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/widneymanor.htm

[greenknight]

This website has some pics of widney manor, including one of the signal box. It is a superb site, if you havn't seen it before it's bound to keep you occupied for a while!!!,Regards, Mike

http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/widneymanor.htm

Cheers Mike, as you say, a REALLY good site: I've bookmarked it.
There's some EXCELLENT piccys of my old favourite station. In fact a couple of the pictures on the Widney Manor page are in the Middleton Press book as well.

Sadly, the signal box closure date mystery remains unsolved though!!

Thanks anyway,
GK

[greenknight]

This website has some pics of widney manor, including one of the signal box. It is a superb site, if you havn't seen it before it's bound to keep you occupied for a while!!!,Regards, Mike

http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/widneymanor.htm

Cheers Mike, as you say, a REALLY good site: I've bookmarked it.
There's some EXCELLENT piccys of my old favourite station. In fact a couple of the pictures on the Widney Manor page are in the Middleton Press book as well.

Sadly, the signal box closure date mystery remains unsolved though!!

Thanks anyway,
GK

AT LONG LAST I think I may have solved the mystery! I was browsing the excellent web site http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk and reading through the MOT report on the collision at Knowle and Dorridge station on 15/8/1963, I read in paragraph 31 that the signalman at SOLIHULL sent the "Train Entering Section" bell code to Bentley Heath Crossing Box at 1:08pm.

So why did SOLIHULL box send the bell code if there was a signalbox at Widney Manor which would have been the next box between Solihull and Bentley Heath Crossing if as Messrs Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith claim in their book that the Widney Manor box was still in use until Sept 1969?? As it was a Thursday lunchtime I think it's hardly likely that the Widney Manor box would have been switched out! Sunday lunchtime maybe, but not a Thursday!

I also read in paragraph 68 that the Up Fast semaphore distant signal for Bentley Heath Crossing was shortly to be replaced with a colour light signal. That says to me that the two distant signals (as evidenced by the three-aspect - two amber and one green - as well the ATC ramp just in front of them) I remember on the Up Fast & Up Slow that were just to the south-east of Widney Manor station were the said colour light distant signals mentioned in the report as the distance between Widney Manor and Bentley Heath would be about right for the distant signals - especially as there is a long curve leading up to Bentley Heath box as mentioned in the report.

It is also possible that the whole signalling block that was controlled by Widney Manor box was converted into an Intermediate Block Section with control being shared by Bentley Heath Crossing box and Solihull box. This might also explain why Solihull box kept its Advanced Up Starting semaphore signals some way past the station (i.e. beyond Tudor Grange Swimming Baths) after all the sidings were lifted which would double as (outer home or) home signals for the Widney Manor IBS as well as starting signals at the end of the platforms at Solihull. I know these originally served the sidings/crossovers just to the east of the station but there's no reason why they couldn't serve as Outer Home signals as well!

I think the mystery is solved at last! It looks very much like the Widney Manor box was taken out of use when the goods yard closed in 1963 and all the sidings were lifted and the block was converted to an IBS. The LMR didn't waste much time in trying to destroy their old rival as they only took posession of the line in January 1963!

Nice to know one's memory is still holding up! Think I might drop a line to Middleton Press!

GK