Signals & signal boxes

This LED screen repeats the information given by a signal at the far end of the platform, which the drivers of shorter trains, starting from Eastbourne, may not be able to see clearly. In the past the main signal would have been an upper-quadrant semaphore signal and the repeater a centrally pivoted board, which the LEDs now imitate.

These are among an ever decreasing number of these semaphore signals. They have generally been replaced with some form of electric light signals. By now these are increasingly l.e.d. types. These will in turn be replaced by on-board signalling systems.

St Leonard's Warrior Square station is where the tiny silhouette of a train can be seen at the far end of the tunnel. That station sits between two tunnels, so you can see the shadow of the curiously-named Bo-Peep tunnel beyond the train. Across about half of the south of England, the electrical power supply for trains comes from a third rail, on the outside of the running track. In stations the third rail is positioned on the side of the tracks furthest from the platforms. On other stretches of track the third, power rails are often on the outer edge of the tracks, as can be seen in the area of the bridge in the view above. The railways have to maintain fencing all the way along the tracks and post warning notices about the dangers of touching the live rails where ever the public may get close to railway lines.

The signal box is now redundant. The control of trains has been centralized in a relatively small number of centres around the country and these old mechanical boxes have been switched out, in many cases after well over a century of service.