SIGNAL BOX OPENING AT SMALLBROOK JUNCTION MARKED WITH TOKEN HANDOVER

After almost 6 decades, an iconic signal box is back on its original foundations at Smallbrook Junction – where the heritage railway meets Island Line. Volunteers and staff from the Isle of Wight Steam Railway gathered with local dignitaries and other invited guests this afternoon (Friday) for a trip from Havenstreet down the line to Smallbrook, where a small ceremony was held. To mark the official opening, a single token was handed over to the train driver by Neil Drury, Engineering and Infrastructure Director at South Western Railway. It’s the first time such an exchange has taken place since 1966. The improvements at the junction have been made possible thanks to a £56,000 grant from the South Western Railway Customers and Communities Improvement Fund (CCIF). This has included not only the signal box build but also the installation of a customer information system powered by solar panels. It was in July 1923 that a junction was established at Smallbrook by Southern Railway, with a signal box erected. Its purpose was to speed up the flow of trains heading to Cowes and Ventnor from Ryde. Just 44 years later the signal box was removed, in January 1967, following the closure of the line the previous February. Now, almost 6 decades later,  a replica of the iconic signal box has been erected on the original plinth located between the Island Line and IW Steam Railway platforms.