Farewell to arms

MANY Railway Magazine readers will have a fondness for the railways of Cornwall, whether as residents of the area or as visitors on holiday and other such trips. And what a marvel they are, with the main line threading its way from Plymouth the Penzance through stunning scenery, over impressive viaducts, climbing testing gradients, and having traditional branch line connections of the kind that have long since vanished from other parts of the country. A large part of the appeal are the county’s traditional signalboxes and their associated GWR lower quadrant semaphore signals. What a pleasure to spend a few hours on the platform at say Par, for example, and listen to the sound of bells and levers coming from the ’box, the ‘zing’ of the signal wires being pulled, the ‘thunk’ of a signal arm dropping to the ‘off ’ position, and the expectation of what might be coming down the track. Sadly, however, a large part of that charm has now been swept away as the manual ’boxes at Lostwithiel, Par and Truro have been closed, and their semaphores replaced by colour lights controlled from a panel at Exeter ( for more, see the excellent article by Network Rail signaller Craig Munday on page 36). It is a poignant moment for enthusiasts and historians, and just imagine if you will all the sights and sounds these ’boxes have witnessed over the years since they opened in the late 1800s. But, on the plus side, the changes should mean a boost for passengers and operational flexibility – allowing more trains to run, and being one step towards realising the Mid Cornwall Metro scheme of regular through services between Newquay and Falmouth via Par and Truro. None of the three ’boxes are to be demolished, those at Lostwithiel and Par in particular being Grade II-listed, so there is always the chance they will find some kind of further use – much like the one on the platform at Bodmin Parkway, which is now run as a coffee shop operated by the Bodmin Railway. And the upgrade work has not completely done away with traditional signalling in the county either. Four manual ’boxes remain on the main line at Liskeard*, Roskear (near Camborne), St Erth* and Penzance, plus there are two others on the Newquay branch at St Blazey* and Goonbarrow* – the four marked with an asterisk still having semaphore signals and all the atmosphere surrounding them that comes with that. Paul Bickerdyke, Editor