SIGNAL BOX "AWAY DAY"

 Yesterday, Sunday the 29th June, several of the friends of Romsey Signal Box had a day out.

We went by mini-bus into Dorset. We visited the Gartell Light Railway and then on to Shillingstone.

The Gartell Light railway photos and video.

A couple of photos from Shillingstone.

I think I can say that a good time was had by all.

Our thanks go to Dick for organizing the trip and transport, and also for doing the driving.

FOR INFORMATION...

 The Netley Marsh Steam And Craft Show is in July.

The dates are the 25th, 26th and 27th July 2025.

Here's hoping for good weather!

OPEN DAY ON SATURDAY THE 19TH APRIL

Romsey Town Mayor Cllr John Parker and family visited the signal box site on our last open day.

They are seen here about to have a demonstration of the signal box working.

 NEWS FOR THE 17TH APRIL 2025

Three of our younger members distributing ballast.

Charlie, Edward and Noah requested a private visit to the signal box site, which was arranged for today.  They had a long session operating the main signal box and then went outside in the sunshine to distribute some ballast from the ballast trolley.

I have to say they were all very well behaved and it was a pleasure to have them there.

The newly painted white railings.

Whilst the boys were "playing" Adrian and I got on with some other tasks.

Adrian put some decking oil on the cafe porch, the Cowley Bridge porch and the level crossing. This looks a great deal better and will get another coat in due course.

I wire brushed and painted the white railings, which now look a lot brighter.

The newly lit Cowley Bridge model.

A few days ago I took the Cowley Bridge model home to install some miniature lighting. After several hours of "fiddling" the model now has a light in the entrance porch, a light over the booking desk and even a flickering flame effect in the stove. I re-installed the model yesterday.

Small enhancements such as these can make all the difference.

Dave

APRIL UPDATE...

Our open day today was blessed with glorious sunshine all day.

We had 46 visitors who started to arrive as early as 10.30am. A high proportion of those were willing to gift-aid their entry fee, which really helps us, and so a big thank you for that.

Around the site...

Recently a working party had a good sort out and tidy up around the site. The lean-to (our workshop area) was really tidied up and a new workbench created. One of our volunteers very kindly donated a piller drill which will prove very useful.

To the rear of the lean-to was also cleared of rubbish and swept up. Access is now much improved.

Our tool and equipment shed didn't escape either!

This received a thorough going over, throwing out the rubbish and tidying up the remainder.

After we close to the public it's a free for all to grab any cake that was unsold.

A popular pass time as you can see!

SCHOOL VISITS UPDATE

On Thursday the 13th March we hosted another school visit.

We received some really good feedback and have possibly even recruited another member. The Friends of Romsey Signal Box are delighted and feel we are making a positive contribution to young persons education.

WE'VE SEEN THE LIGHT! 

In the corner of the signal box site there has been a lamp post for several years but without a lantern on the top.

The lantern was donated to us some time ago. It has now been restored and rewired and was installed yesterday, the 27th of February 2025.

 The lantern and installation was a very kind donation from BHM Electrical, for which we are extremely grateful.

The lamp really does look good and is an added "authentic" feature to the site. The next step is to paint the lamp post black, which will be the finishing touch.

Our thanks go again to BHM Electrical, who have been so generous to us over several years.

Dave

SCHOOL VISITS... 

Many of you will be aware that we open on non-normal open days for special visits. This includes things such as U3A, Scout, Cubs and other groups.

We are now hosting school visits. There are several booked throughout this year and hopefully this trend will continue.

The photos in this blog entry were taken during a school visit on Tuesday the 11th February.

The visit lasted about two and a half hours. This being the first of many visits this year was a very interesting exercise for both the signal box staff and the teachers etc. A short "debriefing" afterwards brought up one or two points where slight changes could be useful.

We all hope these visits will be fun and educational for the children and rewarding for the volunteers and school staff.

Our thanks go to both the volunteers for giving up their time and to the schools for visiting us.

Should this sign read "Beware Of Volunteers"?

Only Joking!

First and foremost I do hope everyone has had a lovely festive season and that 2025 will be good to you all. Are you like me and really find it hard to believe that it is 2025 already? It seems the older I get the faster time passes.

Now, this time of year things are pretty quiet at the signal box. The season kicks off again on Saturday the 18th January with the first open day. Things do happen in the background whilst we are closed to the public however.

Various repairs, servicing and maintenance will be going on in preparation for the year ahead. I was there this morning to carry out one or two jobs. One of these was to service and lubricate the garden railway rolling stock.

I also took the opportunity to have a practice operating Cowley Bridge. I didn't appear to crash anything and so hopefully I am getting the hang of it by now!

If anyone has anything to report or perhaps would like to post a photograph or two do get in touch. I'm sure there will be more articles and information posted here in due course.

Best wishes to everyone.

Dave