The safety of both the railway traveller and personnel has been the reason for installing signals since the 1830s when passenger-carrying rail travel really began. Introduced at that time, the semaphore signal still graces the remaining mechanically-controlled railway lines. I find the semaphore signal a fascinating subject to photograph and will share some of my images to demonstrate the varying styles once found throughout the system.
The practice of signalling requires a vast knowledge of the subject; I will not be explaining the correct position or type of unit suitable for a particular placing on a model layout.
The Oxford Dictionary meaning:
‘System of sending messages by holding the arms or two flags in certain positions according to an alphabetic code’.
‘A signalling apparatus consisting of a post with a movable ‘arm’ or ‘arms’, ‘lanterns’, etc., taken from the French word: ‘sémaphore’.
In the early days of the Railway Age, signalmen who had a similar role to
