Middlesbrough area signalling modernised

NETWORK Rail completed the £45 million Middlesbrough to Whitehouse resignalling scheme on November 16, after a three-day engineering possession, reports Richard Horner.

The scheme to improve route reliability involved the installation of new equipment over six miles, including new cabling and LED signals, and the transfer of signalling control to a digital workstation at York Railway Operating Centre (ROC).

The NER ’boxes at Middlesbrough and

Whitehouse were closed under the scheme. Sadly, the 1874 NER type C1 box at Whitehouse, fitted with a McKenzie and Holland 40-lever frame, was demolished in the early hours of November 14.

Middlesbrough’s 1877 NER type C1 ’box, upgraded with an IFS panel in 1978, is slated for demolition during a future engineering possession.

Signallers were given training on simulators at York ROC to familiarise themselves with the new Middlesbrough workstation.

RICHARD HORNER Northern Class 156 two-car DMU No. 156449 passes Middlesbrough signalbox on November 10, with the 2D09 08.22 Saltburn to Darlington service.