Chris,




Many thanks for your superb analysis of the functions of the UP distants below Ringwood's platform starter and advanced starter. I too have played around with the distance calculations and totally agree with your conclusions.





Firstly, I must pick up on the last paragraph in your e-mail and apologise for my errors. Looking more carefully at the notes I made at the time, the crossing keeper's cottage in Barrack lane does indeed carry the crossing identity "No.14", and the one at Crow carries "No.15" (not "4" & "5" as in my original message).




Very recent correspondence with George Pryer (associated with my as yet unsuccessful attempt to obtain a copy of his out-of-print "Signal Box Diagrams.... Vol.9"), has added a bit more to the story. According to George, the distant arm under Ringwood's UP advanced starter was as you say Crow Crossing's distant, but it was also slotted by No.14 Crossing. From my 2.5" OS map and your figures, No.14 Crossing was about 462 yds beyond Crow.




This suggests that the distance from the shared distant arm under Ringwood's UP advanced starter was possibly a tad on the short side for Crow at 792yds (or slightly less to Crow's UP home signal), and a bit on the long side for No.14 Crossing (approx.1254yds). Presumably then Crow's UP home must have had an inner distant below it for No.14 Crossing.




While we always knew that Crow had a lever frame (eg photo.70 in the MP book), its now clear that Hightown (No.16) crossing had signals and a frame, and No.14 crossing had at least a frame of some sort as well.




The caption to photo.70 also says that Crow was a block post until 1936. If this is true, then I find it rather strange that a 6 mile section between Ringwood and Holmsley SBs, once had an intermediate block post only a mile or so from the Ringwood end; unless of course any of the other crossings on the line once had full SB status as well. I really MUST get hold of a copy of George Pryer's Vol.9.....!!!




One final point to cloud the issue a little (although it may be my eyesight!). Looking at the MP photo.76 of Ringwood's UP platform starter/Hightown distant, I can only see on the lower balance lever plate, 2 balance levers and 1 drop-off lever for slotting the distant arm. This isn't enough. The slotting arrangemens for this distant arm to move to the OFF position it would have required:


a) the platform starter to be off, and


b) Hightown crossing to have pulled his UP distant lever, and


c) Ringwood's UP advanced starter to be off.




To do this all-mechanically would require 3 balance levers and a drop-off lever. Unless of course there are multiple levers on the upper balance lever plate and I can't make them out !




PS: I can't rationalise the location of No.13 crossing on my OS map at all. The distances seem to put it at a spot without any road or track, but I'll keep working on it !




Dave Fasham


(david_034@talk21.com)

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Replying to:

According to Section S1 of the Pryer/Paul "Track Layout Diagrams" series


there were indeed six level-crossings between Holmsley and Ringwood. Working


from east to west they are described as:-




No 11 @ 98m45c


Shappen Passage (No 12) @ 99m5c


No 13 @ 99n26c


No14 @ 102m41c


Crow @ 102m62c


Hightown (No16) @ 103m12c




Only Crow is marked as having a ground-frame (former signal-box)




According to the Signalling Record Society diagram for Ringwood there were


lower distants under both the Up Starting (MP photo 76) and the Up Advanced


Starting. The *latter* signal is also marked as "slotted by No 16 crossing",


even though Pryer/Paul mark no ground-frame at No 16 to do this function.


However as this signal was 1179 yards from Ringwood SB, this would place it


about 141 yards from No 16 crossing, just about right to act as its Up Home.




The SRS diagram shows also that Ringwood's *Down* Distant was a lower arm


underneath some other box/GF's stop signal. This signal is marked as 1398


yards from Ringwood box. As Ringwood SB was at 103m72c, this would place its


Down Distant at approx 103m8c, ie almost at the site of No16 crossing, so it


was probably under the Down Home for No16 Crossing.




Ringwood's Up Starting (the MP photo 76) was 357 yards from the box. It was


therefore 822 yards from the Up Advanced Starting, which we also assume to


have been No 16's Up Home - just right. It seems very likely therefore that


the distant signal about which you enquired was indeed the Up Distant for No


16 crossing, not Crow.




Ringwood's Up Advanced Starting was approximately 792 yards from Crow


Crossing SB, which would suggest that it's lower distant arm was the Up


Distant for Crow. Whether the Up Distant for No 16 acted as an outer distant


for Crow is a matter of speculation.




Unfortunately I do not have the corresponding volume from Pryer's series of


signal-box diagrams to see if that throws any light on the situation.




It's interesting that you found the No '4' on the cottage at Barrack Lane -


are you sure that it wasn't actually '14'?




Chris Osment


RailWest - the West Country Railway Archives site


railwest@bigfoot.com


http://www.railwest.org.uk

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Replying to:

I'm no longer convinced that the UP distant under Ringwood's platform starting signal is actually applicable to CROW CROSSING. Crow is about a mile away from Ringwood (trackbed distance) and this would be somewhat excessive for a distant to home signal distance. Suspect that the UP distant at Ringwood applied to the earlier level crossing at the SE end of Crow Arch Lane (whatever it proper name was).

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Replying to:

Can anyone help?




Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith's book BRANCH LINES AROUND WIMBORNE (Middleton Press) suggests that there were 6 level crossings on the old line between Ringwood & Holmsley (ref.caption to photo No.70).




In touring the area, I can only find the remains of 5 of them and even then am now certain of their correct names and status. Can anyone identify the 6th crossing and/or supply any information about their status from a signalling perspective?




Travelling east from Ringwood, the 1st crossing I've found is at the tee-junction at the SE end of Crow Arch Lane. What was its name and status?




The 2nd crossing I've found is in Moortown Lane (or an extension of it) and is presumably CROW CROSSING (ie Photo No.70 in the book). The crossing keeper's cottage is still intact and occupied and depicts the crossing No.5. The crossing box has gone of course. Is this really CROW CROSSING and is it Crow's distant signal (with slot off) that I can see in Photo.76 of Ringwood?




The 3rd crossing is in Barrack Lane & the obviously occupied crossing keeper's cottage bears the No.4. What was the name and status of this crossing?




The 4th crossing that I know of is Charles's Farm. I missed it on my last visit to the area but its the only one listed in the 1960 Appendix.




The 5th crossing that I now of is at Holmsley Passage. The rails are still intact under the tarmac but only the base of the cottage remains. What was the proper name and status of this crossing? There are no other crossings between here and the station site at Holmsley.




The other intersections between road and rail that I've found, eg Bagnum, were bridges (the abutments remain), except I'm not sure how the trackbed crossed the road between Burley and Thorney. Is this my undiscovered 6th level crossing?