News Update

(Date of publish estimated due to no date on original post)

1) After a long and distinguished contribution at the centre of Romsey Signal Box Project, Dick Hewett is registering his personal 7-5-5 (closing signal box!) and has now retired from active involvement. A vote of thanks was passed at the last meeting of the Friends of Romsey Signal Box Committee and, as mentioned above, a special event is planned.

2) Following Dick's resignation as Treasurer, we are delighted to welcome Joan Bennett as our new Treasurer.

3) Romsey Signal Box is aiming to run an annual schedule of events as follows:

January: Operating Day (Adults)
February-December: Open Days monthly
March: Open Weekend to co-inside with model railway exhibition
September: Heritage Open Days Weekend Event
November: Operating Day (Younger Members)
Other special events may be advertised from time to time. However, the above schedule is ambitious enough given our volunteer capacity as a small project!

4) Site Works: we plan about 3-4 working party days each year - all are very welcome, £0 per hour will be paid, unlimited tea/coffee available, and the company's not that bad either.... Much work has been done to landscape the site, define borders, improve the walkways, shrubs and plants. The Visitor Centre has been developed to display signalling and railway artefacts. Restoration and display of external artefacts is also ongoing. Further details on working parties will be advertised in the next 'The Signal', or can be obtained via the Chairman's email address.

5) S&T Group: will probably meet about 3 times this year. The range of working S&T equipment has considerably widened, thanks to the Group. Current work includes fitting lever locks, restoring telephone equipment - including a connection to our Visitor Centre - and commissioning additional working signals. Further details will be advertised in the next 'The Signal', or can be obtained via the Chairman's email address.

6) 'The Signal' is our newsletter. We are aiming for quarterly production. Please, however, bear with us if this is less regular than we would like. Like everything else we do, we are entirely dependent on volunteer effort and goodwill.

7) Cowley Bridge Junction is our miniature signal box, currently being built. There is no further news on this, however its 'on the list' for your Chairman to chase up....

8) Romsey & District Buildings Trust continue to give us their invaluable support. I am pleased to report that the signal box has undergone extensive repair and re-decoration recently, thanks to the Trust.

9) Lastly, but definitely not least, it is a tribute to the dedication of our volunteers that Romsey Signal Box continues to thrive as a historic building, working museum, and community asset - thank you all. For those browsing our website, please do show your support for projects like ours. History matters, without it our culture would surely be the poorer, and buildings like the signal box would be lost....

Peter Chatfield
Chairman, Friends of Romsey Signal Box