Signals & signal boxes

The Harbour station no longer serves the ferry port and Marine is effectively mothballed, although I believe it has not officially been closed. The pale blue ferry loading ramp can be seen behind the signal box. Foot passengers have to trek round from Newhaven Town station - thank goodness for wheeled suitcases!

This box is still functioning as a level crossing control. Most of the trains on the Seaford to Lewes branch are these 3-coach 313s, that we got when they were made redundant in London, by the introduction of London Overground's new stock. On Brighton & Hove Albion FC's home match days they use 377 eight-coach trains, to serve the Amex Stadium at Falmer. On down trips the 377s park their rear 4 coaches across this crossing, while the front 4 unload at Newhaven Town Station.

The narrow gauge railway, which runs up and down the valley, that the museum fills, only has one engine in operation at a time, so it has little use for signals. There is one ground signal at the western end of the loop here and there may be one or two at the Amberley Station end where there is a pedestrian level crossing with limited visibility.

This a close-up version of an earlier upload, to record the semaphore signal before it was replaced by a colour-light version.

Photographed for a railway-orientated website, I wonder if anyone is aware of other semaphore signals still in use on current railway lines, in Sussex. There used to be a great set at the east end of Hastings station* until fairly recently, but they are all being replaced by colour-light signals, operated from a few regional signalling centres. * www.ipernity.com/doc/philsutters/25726363/in/album/497721 Newhaven's third station, Newhaven Marine, is the old boat train terminal and, I believe, is still listed as an open station. If you book from there you get a cab from there to the Town station as the building is unsafe.

These four photographs were taken on a disposable film camera after my compact camera was stolen from my pocket on The Leas at Folkestone.Don't leave the carrying or safety loop hanging out of your pocket!

You've seen this crossing before, but not with a steam engine on it!

Two upper quadrant semaphore signals in their final few days/weeks/months of operation.

Dug out of the archives for uploading to another site, where there is an interest in semaphore signals, as can be seen in this photo.

Bexhill is a long station with deep platforms, whose canopies cover most of their lengths. It can accommodate 12 coach trains, although the usual trains are formed of 2, 4 or 8 coaches.