Engager and Disengager

I read David Allen’s article on East Anglian semaphores ( RAIL 858) with great interest, having visited the Wherry Lines several times in the past few years.

How unfortunate that David managed to miss the rare and probably unique item of mechanical signalling equipment at Lingwood - namely the Hodgson’s Distant Signal Engager and Disengager, although he mentions that both the Station and Chapel Road ground frames have to reverse their Distant levers before the Up Distant will ‘clear’.

Although the design dates from 1898, the example at Lingwood was probably not installed until 1962, following alterations to the level crossings and associated signalling.

More recently, the original Hodgson’s Controller at Lingwood was discovered to have worn to such an extent that a replacement was fabricated by the Norwich S&T Department. The original was donated to the Cromer Railway Signalling Society for repair and restoration.

Briefly, in the Up direction at Lingwood, a single Distant signal covered both the Station Road and Chapel Road level crossings, but the Distant signal was located too far (1,817 yards) from the Chapel

Road level crossing Ground Frame for conventional mechanical ‘slotting’ to be used.

Consequently, a Hodgson’s Distant Signal Engager and Disengager was installed adjacent to the Station Road Ground Frame, connecting the Station Road Distant signal lever to the signal arm itself only when the Chapel Road Ground Frame Distant lever had been reversed.

The installation has been fully described in the Signalling Record Society’s Signalling Record issue 175 (January/February 2016).