I have acquired a Real SEMAPHORE Railway Signal and Signal lamp, Can you give me any information on it?

Question

Researches suggest that it was originally used on the Southern Region
of British Railways. More recently I am convinced that it hung in a
bar of the old Railway Hotel, which used to be close to Harrow &
Wealdstone Station UK. This was destroyed by fire and the site is now the place of retirement flats.
As i have no use for it how would i go about selling if it is worth anything or maybe giving it to a Railway museum or something.
The links below are to pictures of similar item.

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0aD57058UC6fL/610x.jpg



http://britishrailwaybooks.co.uk/railwayana/lamp/aberlamp.jpg

Answer 1

BR Southern Region used these "three position" semaphore arms for a while during the 1950's on lines that had been modernised with continuous track circuits as a precurser of the early suburban electric modernisation programme, the signals looked like an old mechanical semaphore arm but were in fact worked electrically in the same way as modern three aspect colour light signals are on permissive or tokenless block sections of ralway. The mechanical arm position was shifted to change the indication aspect (as would be seen by oncoming train drivers) using a 12volt E10 signal motor clamped to the base of the signal post, a rotating cam arm driven from the motors armature coils connected to the aspect casting via a steel wire.



Your example is incorrectly set up, the arm should be on the left hand side of the post, either the three aspect casting is placed back to front or is located on the wrong side of the post which means the cast spindle bolted to the post is fitted the wrong way round also. The arm in tum is back to front or upside down as this always faces forward to the left in standard practice.



Why not log this item for sale at the next Sheffield Railwayana Auction, professional valuers will give guideline prices and you can put a reserve on it. Dependant upon who wants it it could sell very well, these things are incredibly rare to find, I don't think a heritage railway group would want it other than as a museum piece.



This signal is totally obsolete nowadays (not used on preserved lines either) but the TPR relays that work this kind of equipment are still around, just as a guideline an HT1 4 ohm track relay to spec 2F1B BR938A is £105+VAT and you would need three of these (one to monitor each aspects repeater sequence at the controlling signal box's illuminated diagram board) to create a simple control sequence. So giving this item to a rail group preserved line is probably not such a wise thing in the longer term, not least of which because of its functionality. I understand a similar one exists in the National Railway Museum at York



Here are useful links below for you.

Answer 2

Sheffield Railway Auctions

Answer 3

If you can't find a museum to take it, you might try going to your local model train store or hobby store (if they have those in the UK) and see if you can post an ad for it (or if the store would like to buy it). Train enthusiasts are a devoted bunch and I'm sure someone would love to have it. I think it's cool!

Answer 4

well if itys got a name on it you can search that and maybe even ebay someone might have one for sell thats like yours really if you can look for images of railroad signals and might one one just like that one and then find more info on it

Answer 5

del boy you aint.

Answer 6

YES of course - see below





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what do you mean you can't read it? ;)