West Somerset Railway General Discussion

So, which type of sign would you expect to see on or near a heritage railway signal box.....?

 

Reminder - Antiques Roadshow is being screened tonight (Sunday 1st Oct) at 8:00pm BBC1, filmed earlier this year at a very wet Minehead Station.

 

Is this gentleman particularly strong or good at disguising his discomfort? GWR boxboards, being of cast iron, are very heavy.

 

For security reasons this one is a cardboard replica.

 

Sorry chaps, late to the party again due to a firing turn and the WSRA AGM.
Regarding WW2 evacuations it went something like this.
Three types of zone we designated.
High Risk
Neutral
Low Risk.
This was all planned before the outbreak of war and lead by Anderson (also famed for Anderson Shelters).
Evacuation of Pregnant Women Mothers with very young children and school children with their teachers (as guardians) took place at the outbreak of war from high risk zones to perceived low risk zones.
As has been mentioned due to the so called phoney war a lot of parents fetched their children back home.
There was a second (re)evacuation at the start of the Battle of Britain.
Little known, but there was a third evacuation effort made towards the end of the war in Europe due to the concern about the V weapons.

 

'Somerset born and Somerset bred.
Strong in the arm, and......'

Seriously, though, they ARE heavy, but this one is short, and manageable by one person if you are reasonably strong. I did put it in Richard's hands for the photo to be taken.....

Robin

 

Like Dartmoor prison?

 

Devil's advocate moment: it can depend on the context. This is Washford in 2011 (modern signs clearly aren't a new arrival on the WSR)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/forest_pines/3701349263/in/album-72157605640553145/

 

That is at a public footpath crossing, not a signalman's walkway.

Robin

 

I would be interested in borrowing (or buying) a genuine GWR 'BEWARE of TRAINS' sign in order to have 4 replicas made for Broadway. Alternatively, we could share?
Send me a p.m. if you can help.

 

Fair point. I tried to remember for you if there was any equivalent signage on the SVR on my last couple of signalling turns there - unfortunately the getting of photos slipped my mind.

 

Like this? No idea if it's the genuine article, but if it is then you could try asking the DFR (And it's being used for a staff only walkway too - spotted on a visit last weekend!)

 

Thanks, Big.Stu, but that is a Midland one. OK on the DFR.

The real thing is similar, but has several detail differences, and if we are going to cast 4 replicas, we need the real thing as a model.

It should look like this:

Notice the smaller 'OF' , different corners, and beading round the edge.
Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

Best to enquire of Ian Coleby, who acts as our Museum Curator. If you PM with your e-Mail address, I'll put you in touch.

Robin

 

Conceivably that was the theory, but clearly it wasn't rigorously applied.

As an example, my mother was three, nearly four, at the outbreak of the war, and had siblings older and younger. She lived in London. So that would presumably hit the high risk, young children / school children criteria, but they weren't evacuated; nor were they later evacuated during the time of the V weapon attacks towards London.

My father was evacuated, but not until the summer of 1941, having lived through the Battle of Britain right on the south coast. He came back to Southern England well before the V weapons; indeed, his father (my grandfather) was an anti-aircraft gunner on the edge of what became known as "Doodlebug Alley".

I'm sure there was a plan, but the actual operation of that plan I think must have been considerably more haphazard than is commonly suggested.

Tom

 

No problem - I'm an Eastern man myself, so wasn't sure of it's origin It was actually the earlier discussion about modern signage on the signalman's walkway at Minehead that came to mind when I saw it, but that had disappeared in to the near distance of the thread by the time I got round to posting the photo.

 

I do believe I just spotted our Robin on the Antiques Roadshow…

Simon

 

You did. How much was she valued at?

 

She is not that old!

 

Three appearances so far; more than most of the experts